181 Days of Madeline Jesty

Chapter 20: Two Mothers

"What was that, by the way?" Ms. Lilian asked after ordering our drinks. She had brewed coffee, while I only had a cup of hot chocolate. "You were talking to a woman a while ago."

Well, I guess I have to start with Amielle's issue. "That's Amielle's aunt—"

"And who's Amielle?"

"Oh, she's one of the staff here. Apparently, her aunt is the owner of this café."

"Oh, is she named Cornelia?"

We both laughed at her question. It made me wonder how many cafés had the owner's name to its name. "Yes," I responded as I smiled. "Ms. Lilian . . . may I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead."

"You see, I think Amielle's being abused at home," I started to explain, my fingers tapping my cup. "I often see bruises, which she would hide under her sleeves. She's the only staff member who wears long sleeves!"

"Where're her parents?"

"I don't know. She never mentioned them."

"Hmm." Ms. Lilian sipped her coffee before speaking. "You're a good friend, Maddie, for wanting her to get out of her situation, but you must do it gradually. There are many, many occasions where the abused decides to stay for many, many reasons."

"That's why I couldn't understand. Why couldn't she just leave—"

"Stop right there." She waved her hand in the air to interrupt me. "That's something you should avoid saying, Maddie, especially in front of her, okay? Remember that. You will only make her feel worse, and she'll only blame herself even more. Besides, it subtly shows her your privilege that she doesn't have . . . yet. Walking away from years of abuse is hard. I'm sure Amielle has thought about it."

My shoulders dropped, thinking if there were ever moments wherein I told her she should just get out. I hoped not, and if I did, I hoped Amielle had forgotten about them. "Then . . . then what can I do?"

"The help must come from her. No matter how much you want to take her away from her current situation, in the long run, it won't help. She must empower herself first. What you can do is to tell her that help is available. If you can talk to her, ask questions about her feelings, and then tell that you're worried about her."

"So I don't intervene?"

"No, Maddie. You might have connections, but again, it must be the abused who should call for help . . . not to you, but to the necessary authorities—"

"But the police didn't even bother!"

"I am sure there are kind ones among the corrupted, but if she feels uncomfortable with the police, there are organizations who can help. Maddie, look at me." Ms. Lilian carefully touched my hand and added, "You intervening may only harm yourself, and I don't think Amielle wants that."

"She'll . . . blame herself when she does."

"Correct."

I felt guilty of my past actions. This remorse was suffocating, I wished I knew better. If only I had guidance from someone like Ms. Lilian sooner, then I could have been more empathizing and knowledgeable toward Amielle.

"Hey, hey, hey," Ms. Lilian interrupted my thoughts as if hearing what was inside my head. "Don't be too hard on yourself, okay? We make mistakes. What's important is we learn from them."

"I just . . . I just wish I had talked to you sooner." I sighed.

"You know, Maddie, the moment you got an almost perfect score in my most difficult exam, I knew you had great talent and potential."