I See You | Abdul Kahar - P. High Council

1.

Dahlia

  'Kau memang anak sial! Bawak sial!'

'Kau keluar dari rumah aku! Kau keluar!'

'Eh kau ni kan anak pungut. Kesian aku tengok kau.'

  'Mak bapak betul kau pun tak nak kau. What makes you think your adoptive parents sukakan kau?'

  'Kau aku rasa bukan anak perempuan. Kau ni anak jantan.'

  Dahlia was awakened from her sleep with a throbbing headache. Sweat covered her forehead, down to her neck. She breathed heavily as she slowly sat up. She groaned and rubbed the sweat off her skin.

  A knock was heard from her door before the knob fiddled and turned. Her eyes that were still half asleep diverted to the person who entered her room.

  "Dahlia...Dah bangun ke?"

  Dahlia hummed a response and nodded, "Ye ibu."

  "Ah bagus la kalau macam tu," she gently said as she sat by Dahlia's feet. "Lia okay ke? Kenapa nampak macam tak sihat je?"

  "Lia okay—"

  "Kalau Lia tak sihat, takpe lah. Tak perlu pergi sekolah tu, ok? Lia rehat kat rumah. Ibu bilang ayah pastu Lia tak perl—"

  Dahlia touched her mother's hand which cut her off. She sighed, "Ibu, Dahlia okay. Ibu tak perlu risau. Dahlia akan mandi dan siap-siap. Lepas tu, ibu dan ayah hantar Dahlia pergi sekolah baru."

  Her mother's eyes welled up in tears as her lips turned to a frown.

  "Ibu risau Dahlia. Ibu tak nak lah kalau apa apa jadi dekat Dahlia. Sekolah tu bukan untuk Dahlia—"

  "Tapi Dahlia tetap kene habiskan SPM Dahlia. Lagi berapa bulan je ibu," Dahlia assured. "Dahlia tahu yang Dahlia dah banyak buat kesalahan dan menyusahkan ibu ngan ayah. Tapi ibu ayah tak pernah putus asa and always helped me. Walaupun Dahlia ni cuma anak angkat—"

  "Tidak. Dahlia bukan anak angkat. Dahlia tu anak ibu. Dahlia anak ibu dengan ayah."

  Dahlia gave the older woman a comforting smile, even though she knew she could never be theirs. Ibu was more of a mother than her biological mother could ever be. 

  "Okay ibu. Thank you. Dahlia banyak-banyak berterima kasih dengan ibu. Kalau bukan untuk ibu dan ayah, tepi jalan tu la rumah Dahlia. Confirm kalau sesiapa tanya tempat mana paling sedap tido, Dahlia boleh tunjuk pavement mana yang paling terindah."

  Her mother gently slapped her arm and clicked her tongue. Dahlia giggled, seeing how her ibu was reacting well to her teasing.

  "Ibu percayakan Dahlia. Dahlia boleh jaga diri. Nama je lemah lembut tapi orang tak tahu yang Dahlia ni orang kuat."

  Her ibu rolled her eyes and put up her index finger to Dahlia, "Dah. Ibu tak nak kamu bergaduh lagi, faham? Lebam-lebam semua tu. Ibu tak nak nampak tu semua. Ibu tak nak satu hari ibu kehilangan kamu pasal bergaduh."