Princess Mae

9

It was uncomfortable, Omar and the girls looking at her with no explanation.

"When my mother gets home, you're in trouble," Mary finally said for the second time.

Princess was completely in the dark. She thought about the day and there was nothing she had done to warrant trouble. The whole day she had followed every instruction. Omar was watching her closely, waiting for her to react; waiting for her to inquire. But she wasn't going to. If there was trouble it would be theirs to say. Even though she had done nothing wrong, she was not going to incriminate herself by being defensive.

Omar said, "It's okay. She didn't know. Princess is new and she doesn't know about water on the bathroom floor."

So that was it. The water she spilled from the shower. So what? She cleaned it up with the towel, just as she was told. If anything, she suffered most from this mistake, forced to dry herself with a sopping wet towel. And anyways, how would they know about this water on the floor? Then she remembered somebody outside the door when she was straight from the shower. Someone creeping.

Omar said, "Come with me. I have to show you something."

Princess followed Omar to the downstairs bathroom; a room she had not yet seen. Mary and Sarah followed enthusiastically; wanting to witness her misfortune exposed. The bathroom looked the same as the one above, but without a tub.

Omar pointed up to a corner on the ceiling. The white paint was yellow and discolored, plaster bubbling down roundly. He said, "You see the water from the shower leaked down to the ceiling and now the plaster is falling. And look, you see along the wall. It's coming down the wall, too."

Sarah said, "Princess is in big trouble."

As if it wasn't enough to leave your entire life behind and be thrust into the care of people without compassion. As if it wasn't enough to find first love on your last day. And as if it wasn't enough to brave this cold and culture alone. But now there was this; a stain on the ceiling. And she knew that Jinky would take full advantage of the mistake. Not even a day on her watch and already the broken ceiling to evoke her priggish nature. The emotions that Princess had gummed up inside, now becoming unstuck. There was nothing she could do about it.

As Omar grabbed her waist firmly and pointed her to the trouble she had committed. He said, as if she didn't understand when it was told the first time, "You see what has happened? Now the ceiling will have to be patched and the wall, too. You see what you did?"

And while he forced her to reckon this trouble, he did not say the words harshly, but sympathetically. He said them as friend who wanted to help. He was still holding her waist when the emotions finally boiled forth. First coming as stuttered breaths and bulky gasps, then followed by a seaway of tears dripping upon the floor.

Omar told the little ones to go back to the other room. He bent down and nuzzled into Mae's hair and against her ear, he whispered, "It's okay, Princess. I'm going to help you with this. I will explain everything to Jinky. Not to worry. I'll be your friend."

And as he said these things, his hands slid up from her waist and rested in the place where buds had turned into tiny blossoms.  He continued, "I'm going to be your friend, Princess.  I will take care of this and I will take care of you. You trust me, right?"

Whatever had become of the tears, she could not say. Her body now rigid and afraid to move as he held her firmly and uncomfortably. His breath hot on her neck and his hands up where they had no business. Over and over in her mind all she could do was think of her mother. She just wanted to be in the two rooms once more. If only she had never gotten sick; or if only she had died.