This Girl's life (part 9)

“Your mother, I thought she had past away?” asked Sofia with her mouth full of rice noodles.
They went to the ‘mamak’ restaurant near the Central Market to seat down and talk. Sofia’s stomach was growling with hunger. None of them had eaten breakfast. Bai Yoon had also ordered rice noodles. Ana however didn’t order anything except a warm cup of coffee. When Bai Yoon and Sofia insisted that she eat with them, Ana had obliged and ordered toast. She requested for a fork and knife and started to cut them in tiny pieces. .Ana chewed the piece of toast slowly. Sofia had finished four forkfuls of rice noodles when Ana finally swallowed her piece. It was painful to watch her as Ana vigorously cut the rest of the remaining toast into small itsy bitsy pieces and robotically munching them for 10 minutes before swallowing. There was still a huge portion of the toast left on her plate. Sofia noticed her friend winced while eating, forcing the food to enter her throat even though Sofia was convinced that there was no food left to swallow as Ana kept munching until Sofia was sure it had dissolve along with her saliva before it reached her throat. Ana was trying very hard to fight the urge to throw up. It was shown all over her face. She wasn’t enjoying her food, to Ana, she was facing an execution.

Bai Yoon and Sofia looked at her, REALLY looked at her. Her fingers were frightening boney with the veins jutting out in clear view, there were black rings around her eyes, her facial skin was hung to her facial bone structure, they were rough and dry and her lips were terribly dried with cracks on the upper and lower lip. Not even applying lip gloss would help those lips. How had they not notice these features before? Ana had zipped back her windbreaker up to her neck. Her hands were shaking as she was trying to cut the toast.

Ana shook her head.

“ I thought the same thing. Then I was reading a fashion magazine when I found a photo of her inside,” said Ana. She took out a photo and a magazine clipping from her bag. She gave the photo to Sofia.


Sofia looked at the two articles carefully. One was an old worn down brownish photo of a beautiful woman in a kebaya, with long hair curled in a bun. She was beautiful and she had nice hazel brown eyes just like Ana. The other article was a magazine clipping of a fashionable woman, straight hair cut to shoulder length, beautifully make-up and her eyes had changed to light green. She was wearing a short light green blouse below her waistline and a simple black trouser. She was posing in front of the camera with her arms around an equally beautiful girl of mixed heritage who could be her sister or one of the models.

There were a lot of difference between the pictures but the trademark mole above the tip of her right cornered lip was evident and clearly shown in both pictures.

DATIN SURIA AND DAUGHTER.: Was the title.

Mr Faizal’ voice loomed in Sofia’s head. “Ana thinks that her mother is dead.” Could it be that Datin Suria was her mother? Mr. Faizal himself said that she left them. Sofia felt guilty towards Ana. She had found the answer herself. What would she think about her father? He had kept her in the dark all these years. Sofia looked at the pictures again; they couldn’t just jump into conclusion.

“It can’t be the same person Ana. You could make a mistake,” said Sofia looking at the pictures carefully.

“It is her,” said Ana pushing the pictures towards Bai Yoon. Bai Yoon took it and didn’t say anything for a few minutes. Sofia slid closer to him and looked at the picture again. He was tracing the collar bones of the woman in the pictures. They looked square and firm similar as in the latest picture. Her smile although a bit control in the magazine had the same allure as in the old photograph. The person was fairer and more in control in the latest picture than innocent and naïve in the old picture.

Bai Yoon looked at Sofia who was peering at his shoulder. He put the photos on the table.

“It MIGHT be her,” said Bai Yoon looking at Ana.

“Or it could be someone who looks like her.”

“It is her, I know it is. Dad never told me where her grave is, only that she past away in Singapore and he hardly talked about her. I found this old photograph a few month ago, in the storeroom dated a year after her death with an address at the back, and then, a few weeks later I found THIS picture in a magazine. It has to be her,” squeaked Ana trying to hide her tears. “ Come on guys, there’s nothing wrong in checking the address right?”

Bai Yoon motioned for Sofia to follow him outside the restaurant. As soon as they got out of the restaurant Bai Yoon turned towards her.

“What are we going to do?” asked Sofia.

“We help her,” said Bai Yoon firmly.

“What if this is a mistake? What if that is not her mother? Can she accept that?” asked Sofia worriedly. She was so afraid of her friend, afraid that she couldn’t accept the fact if that lady wasn’t her mother, especially in her condition. They shouldn’t have allowed her to drink caffeine. It could only affect her emotion and also her blood pressure.

“Right now we have no option. If we don’t help her, she’s going to runaway. We can’t let her especially in her state of mind. Whatever that’s causing this illness is not only physical it’s also mental. She’s not going to talk to her father at least we can help her find some disclosure on her mother. Did you see how she touched her food. By this rate her health would be taken for the worse. We have to help her,” said Bai Yoon stubbornly.

Sofia didn’t like this at all. None of them were familiar with the Kuala Lumpur area. Sofia had took out some money from her piggy bank, just enough to stay for the night. Which never crossed her mind, she was sure both of their parents would be on full alert once they realized Sofia and Bai Yoon never came back from school. Sofia didn’t want to admit that Bai Yoon was right, which he was. The only way to help Ana was to go along with her and find the truth. She turned to look at her friend who was staring at the toast now. She turned towards Bai Yoon who was waiting for her answer. Sofia sighed and nodded. She hoped that this wasn’t the worst mistake that she was making in her life. Time was 9.30 am