Chapter 1

“Mama, why do you always follow Papa around so much? You act like his servant”, little Amara asked her mother. The question popped up in her mind while she was getting her hair done. Jet black, wavy, and thick but couldn't be tamed by her tiny arms.

The elder woman with the same hair chuckled as she combs her daughter’s mane, “Well, the job of a wife is to be devoted to her husband. Help him whenever there's a chance. Be with him through thick and thin” She finished off with a braided crown resting on her head, just like the princess she was.

Amara turned to face her mother and replied, “But Mama, my friends’ mom at school are not like that. They’re always talking to the device in their ears and looking at their watch. They’re not like Mama”

The woman kneeled down to face the confused princess and said, “That’s because our families are different. Mama, grandma, great-grandma, and all the way up to your oldest grandma have always followed this duty as a wife”

“Hehe, you said duty”, giggled Amara. The mother replied with a gentle smile.

Amara stood up from her seat with the help of her mother hands. Her face know the same height her kneeling mother and asked, “Will that mean me too? Will I be helping my husband too and be able to be as happy as Mama and Papa?”

“Of course. The unconditional love we give to our husband will be given back to us”, said as she stood up and gazed at her little princess.

Amara was then picked up and embraced. The smell of her mothers natural scent with the meadow fragrance from her clothes flew in Amara's nose. The smell making her snuggle in her mother's embrace. “But that'll be when you're older. My little princess is still too young to think about husbands and marriage", her mother claimed.

"And I bet your father would be bawling his eyes out when I mention this topic", she muttered underneath her breath. Amara hummed in question, not hearing what she said.

"Nothing", her mother replied.

The sound of door interrupted. The door revealed the maid who was the culprit. "Madam, the Sir has arrived home"

"Papa! Papa's home! Let's go Mama. I want to ask him for a kitten. Let's go! Let's go!", Amara exclaimed as she thrashed in her mother's hold, eager to see her father.

“A kitten?”

“Yeah! Papa said if I did good on my final test he would buy mw a kitten. And I want a gray fuzzy kitten. Like the one on the cat food commercial we see on T.V.”, Amara blurted out.

“Really? If we do get one, what should we name it?”, the mother asked

“Abu¹!”

“Abu? As in grey in our language? But what if it’s a girl? Abu is boy name is it not?”, the woman pondered in thought.

Amara rambled on, “It can be for a boy and a girl, Mama. I’m going to buy a lot of toys for them, brush their fur, cradle them to sleep, play with them, feed them yummy snacks, an-“

"Alright, alright. Be patient, my princess. Let’s go see your Papa" The woman chuckled and walked to the entrance with her daughter in arms.

Their voices fading away in the background, replaced by the sound of her name being called.

"Lady Amara. Lady Amara. Lady Amara!", her body being shook. Amara groggily opened her eyes, still recapturing what has happened. A dream. It was only a dream.

 After a few moments she sat up, still half asleep. Amara looked to the left side of her bed and saw Silvia, the maid who had been with her since birth.

Silvia was like a second mother to her. Being there during her first squeal, first crawl, first word, and first walk. Supporting Amara from the background when her mother isn’t there, especially now after both her parents’ passing.

Amara recalled the dream of her mother from her childhood. A memory that has become one of the constant dreams she has ever since her parents’ passing. A sigh slipped out of her mouth. She glanced at clock, still 6 o’ clock. She turned towards the window to the right side of her bed. Basking in the morning sunlight, Amara viewed the sight of New York’s many landscapes she become too familiar with.

“Was it another dream of Madam, Lady Amara?”, Silvia interrupted.

Still gazing at the view, Amara answered, “Yeah. I guess that’s the 22nd time in a row now” Amara turned back and stared down at her hands as she fumbled with the violet silk sheets.

Silvia sat down beside Amara and whispered in a soft voice, “It’s alright Lady Amara. You still have me have me here beside you”

“I have prepared a bath for my Lady”, Silvia said as she stood up from the bed.

Amara hummed in response and headed towards the bathroom. She saw the bath that was prepared by Silvia. A familiar fragrance danced in the damp air. Another memory came into mind, she recalled having a bath together with her mother in the morning when she was too lazy to bathe by herself. Her mother would sit behind her combing her fingers through her hair as she told stories of her own childhood and the life she had before Amara was born.

She slipped out of her night clothes and stepped in the bath that was too big for one person. She soaked her body and recalled all the events happened in the last 2 months.

First it was her father who had died while on a business trip to Japan 2 months ago. A tragic plane accident caused by a thunderstorm that killed almost everyone but leaving 34 survivors, and her father not being one of them. Then it was her cat, Abu. He died because of old age, being with Amara since she was 7 till the day she became 25 on the 16th of April. And it was one of the worst birthdays Amara has experienced. Lastly it was her mother who passed away 22 days ago. Dying from exhaustion because of the amount of work she had to do in her husband’s stead.

Amara curled up in her place, realizing again the pain of losing her dear ones. A lone tear escaping her eyes.

 After a good 40 minutes, Amara stood up and wore her bathrobe out to get bedroom. There she sees Silvia waiting for her presence in front her vanity.

“My Lady”, Silvia said in a soothing voice, she combed and dried Amara’s hair as soon as she sits down on the chair.

“Today I have made you your favorite for breakfast, nasi goreng². Then Mr. Mandino will drive you to work as usual”

A small frown made its way to Amara’s face. Thinking about the past days eating alone in the grand dining room that was once filled with the chattering of her family, “Can you join me for breakfast Ms. Silvia?”

“I believe I can’t do that my Lady. You know how it is, I still have to do the other chores”, the elderly woman responded.

Amara responded with a sigh. She waited for Silvia to finish doing her hair. Styling her hair that had reached her hips was too much of a job for Amara herself, so she would do her own makeup instead.

Half an hour has passed and Amara was done. Amara looked in the mirror to see her reflection. She looks like a spitting image of her mother but with eyes of her father and longer hair.

“I’ll be downstairs my Lady”, Silvia said

Amara stood up from the vanity and walked into her closet. She chose a baby blue formal with a short slit on her leg. She grabbed her bag and keys and headed downstairs to the garage.

There, she is met by Mr. Mandino, who has been he father’s chauffer since the early days. “Good morning Lady Amara”, he greeted her as he opened the car door. “To the office?”

“Yes, to the office we go”, Amara instructed.

*****

¹ Abu means the color in Indonesian

² Nasi goreng means fried rice in Indonesian

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