"Mama..."
"Hm?" she looks at Shu while drying the little's hair.
"Where did you meet Uncle Zee?"
Pan halts. She blinks her eyes, staring at her daughter.
"Why?"
"I like him. I have a good feeling about him," Pan feels bummer. These are the scariest words among those babble tatters that Shu ever said to her.
"Oi, you have a crush on him?" Pan tries to make a joke. Shu pinches her cheek.
"Don't change the subject, please! It's not for me but for you!" Shu pouts her lips.
"Shu, I've told you many times..."
"I know you don't want to. But..."
Shu looks down. She bites her lips a bit.
"Shu, are you gonna say that you need a father?"
"I-"
Pan stares at Shu. Her gloomy eyes make Shu torn apart.
"I'm not a good parent for you, right?"
"No... It's just that..."
Pan waits patiently.
"Mama, I have a good feeling about Uncle Zee. I mean, I can look upon him. He's a good man," says Shu. Pan keeps quiet. She lost her mind when Shu told her that.
"Shu, you just met him once. You cannot evaluate people in that short period..."
"And here I am telling you that he is a good person. I like him. I trust my judgment," the girl stubbornly upstands her opinion.
Pan sighs. Shu's stubbornness complements her too-hip parental style, and she's the person that Pan fears the most right now.
Who's to blame?
Of course, Pan needs to look at herself in the mirror! It's on her, for sure!
"You gonna meet him again?" asks Shu.
"Nah. He's a senior and he will graduate soon. I don't think I'll meet him again," Pan replies fast. Yeah, the answers seem realistic.
Shu clamps her palms together and shuts her eyes tight.
"Bunny, what are you doing?"
"Praying," she subtly replies to her mother.
"May I know what are you praying for?" Pan smiles at Shu.
"This and that. Nothing much," Shu pulls her blanket and tuck herself to bed. Pan watches her with a smile on her face.
"Good night, bunny..." she gives her daughter a good night kiss.
"Mama..."
"Yes?"
"I just want you to be happy..." Shu softly tells her before shuts her eyes and drifts into a dreamland.
***
It's a bit hot tonight, so Pan decided to do some laundry. Even though it's not good to dry up clothes under a roof at this hour, she still does it anyway. She will have a rushing morning tomorrow, so this will buy her some time.
While watching the clothes tumbling inside the washing machine, her mind drifts and wanders around. Shu's words and what happened today at the sports day appear too good to be true. After some years, she meets a face that she unexpectedly sees is something beyond her plan.
And now Shu is slowly taking a liking to Zee.
This is a nightmare for her. She sighs as she watches the clothes tumble up and down, just like her feelings now.
YOU ARE READING
You And I : Part 2
RomanceA story about three freshmen; Pan, Han and Yara, who become friends while they enroll at the Intertech Institute. Pan, who had a bitter past, met Yara, an innocent but feisty girl who lives far from home. Together, they create a bond with Han, a bea...
