halfway through

I turned to wave goodbye, for the last time.This was exactly what I’d hoped for one month ago.

Mino fought back her tears in vain; her flushed face was evident. Standing wearily behind her were Ma and Pap, both sharing an incredulous expression on their faces. They reached the decision earlier than I would have expected. Turning back to the familiar threshold, I forced a grin. A satisfactory one.

It was unsuccessful.


“Carper,quick, they’re here!”

Molly announced with stark excitement radiating from her face. A wide smile plastered on her face, revealing visible wrinkles gracefully formed at the sides of her tender eyes. She pulled me to the modest couch and made me sit. Rubbing her hands with uneasiness, she arranged her words carefully.

“I understand that it’s been really difficult for you to commit so quickly into yet another new environment with strangers whom you were to regard as your mum and dad… but really, you’ve got to do something if you don’t wish to have the fourth time! I know…it’s tough for you to accept them as your…”

“Then why even let me go?” I retorted, sensing an inevitable déjà vu.

Molly lost all her words and paused. Then, she placed both her hands gently on my shoulders. They drooped under her weight.

“Let’s not begin, shall we? They want the best for you. They’ll love you unconditionally…”

“You want the best for me too. If you cared for me, you wouldn’t let them take me away,” I said defiantly.

Molly shook her head slowly, clearly disappointed with the indifference I portrayed in her situation.

A thud on the door dissolved what would be an imminent ‘Molly’s lessons for life’.