“Come on, Eve! It’s dangerous here!” Christopher shouted while dragging me toward the sidewalk.
“Let go of me!” I brushed his arm off violently and crossed the road, only to see that the car was slowly starting to move again.
“Stop right there, Isabelle! It’s me, Yvonne! What, are you that much of a coward that you don’t even have the guts to see your own daughter? Get out of the car right now!” I yelled at the top of my lungs.
There’s no way a gentle and kind woman like Mom would be so heartless and leave me like that! I’m sure she must’ve had some unspeakable reason for running away! I just want to see her and find out how she’s been! It’s not like I want to go live with her or anything!
For a brief moment, I was reminded of how we used to play hide and seek in the garden when I was five.
Isabelle used to hide really well behind the trees, and I couldn’t find her at all. Thinking she had disappeared, I began crying out loud where I stood. She would then come out of hiding and hug me tightly, kissing me on the cheek as she promised to never leave me.
We went to an amusement park when I was eight, and we were having a great time on the merry-go-round when tears rolled down her cheeks all of a sudden. I asked her why she was crying, but she kept quiet and refused to tell me anything.
Scarlett and Yvette showed up in the living room of the Tanner residence later that afternoon, and Nathan told Mom they were here because they were part of our family. There wasn’t a trace of guilt on his face when he said that, and Isabelle objected to his decision on the spot.
However, Nathan simply slapped her hard across the face in response, scaring me so much that I broke out crying. Isabelle then carried me into the bedroom, and we both stayed up all night. She sang me songs and read me stories before crying silently with me in her arms. I eventually fell asleep in her embrace, and she was gone by the time I woke up the next day.
Thinking she had probably gone out for a bit, I waited all day for her to return, but she never came back. Instead, Nathan then brought me to Scarlett and asked me to call her “Mom” instead.
With tears in my eyes, I ran straight toward the car that had stopped at the traffic light while shouting, “Wait for me, Mom! It’s me, Yvonne! Don’t you recognize me?”
I hammered hard on the car window until it was slowly rolled down, revealing the familiar face that I had been missing for over ten years.
“Is there something I can help you with, miss?” The woman in the car asked in Angladurn and looked at me in confusion.
I kept quiet and simply stared at her as a look of disappointment filled my eyes. The woman was wearing the same dress and looked just like Isabelle from the side, but she was definitely not my mom.
“Are you all right, miss?” she asked while handing me a paper towel.
“Sorry, I mistook you for someone else.” I shook my head and walked away. After making my way back to the sidewalk, my knees gave out beneath me, and I burst out crying outside a store.
“Why won’t you come and see me, Mom? Have you forgotten me completely? Where are you? I’m all grown up now, Mom! Why won’t you see me? Have you never missed me at all?”
Christopher then knelt down beside me and pulled me into his arms as he whispered, “Don’t cry, Eve. You just mistook her for your mom. Who knows, your mom is probably missing you like crazy somewhere else!”
“No… No…” I shook my head and grabbed his arm tightly as I said, “I saw her, Chris! I saw her, I really did! I definitely saw my mom!”
