Aeja let out a deep sigh. She had ignored her mother long enough.
She pulled out the phone from her front pocket, sure enough it was her mother's ID on the screen.
She answered it but said nothing for the first few seconds. Mama's background was chaos. She wouldn't have heard Aeja anyway.
"Hello?" Mama asked uncertain.
"Hi mum"
"So you're alive?" She asked.
Aeja contemplating deflecting for a second. Mama sounded distracted by whatever was in the background. However, mentioning the fact would bring them closer to Mama's real reason for calling.
So she groaned instead.
"Tisaeja what you've done is very wicked. Very, very wicked. Do you know how worried I was. I called you soo many times. Where've you been?"
Mama wasn't done. Aeja knew that all too well. She pursed her lips and waited.
"Why didn't you answer my calls? Why would you put your father and I through this? I thought the worst had happened and someone had stolen your phone!" With each word, Mama's voice rose and she switched between three languages with flourish.
"I was driving. No one would take my phone"
"You travelled in that death trap? You're even more reckless than I thought."
She switched languages to speak to someone in the background "Yes, right there please. Why don't you move it a little to the side? Doesn't that make more sense? How else will you get in?"
A short pause while the person answered.
"Ah, ok. I'll leave it up to you then" Mama said, her voice more audible with each word.
"Mum, I'm very busy"
"How long have you been harbouring such wicked thoughts?"
The truth or the disguised truth?
"Tisaeja, why are you like this? You didn't think to leave a note? Some explanation? Why would you just pack out of the house like some disgraced criminal? What were you thinking?" Mama said, she flicked through three languages as she spoke.
She had moved from irritation to a fury only known to come from her.
"Mum, please. Not now"
"Then when Tisaeja? Do you know how worried your father and I have been? No one knew where you were for a long time. I had to find out from the council" She sneered.
"How embarrassing that was. Only to come home to find you had emptied it" Mama continued to switch between languages as she spoke. One was not enough to contain her bubbling emotions.
"I wanted to try something different. And I wanted my own space too. Papakyi will be moving in with his pregnant girlfriend in a couple of months-"
"-you know her name. That's rude" and then to the people around her "Yes, thank you. How much?"
A short pause where coins were stacked on top of each other with a distinct clang
"Well that's all you're going to get. I didn't have time to withdraw paper. I can transfer, but that'll take a couple of days plus tax"
A disgruntled man spoke and after a few minutes of conversation, Aeja heard the distant soft bang of the door and the latch to secure the flat.
"Hello?"
"Hi mum"
"Tisaeja, can you hear me?"
"Yes, mum" She said, keeping the strain from her voice
