Come Home

Eleven

Chitthip likes her peace. She likes it when she's in a place where it's just her and her thoughts can run as free as they please. A good portion of her day is spent like that but it doesn't mean she's a loner or an introvert. In fact, if you ask anyone who knows Chitthip good enough, they would all say that she's the furthest thing on being a closed off person. Simply, her hobby is to be alone and think things through.

Because of this, she has a very strict rule for everyone in their company that all visits to her office should be announced beforehand as she really hates it when her thoughts gets interrupted rudely.

So when the door to Chitthip's office opened as she was staring at the pendulum swinging back and forth on her desk, she had the urge of grabbing the said object and throwing it to whoever entered her space.

It was Danika, Chitthip's assistant who at the moment had a really petrified look in her face for knowing that her boss doesn't like to be disturbed.

Before Chitthip can scold her assistant, the door opened wider and Minnie walked in. "Minnie?" Asked the mother in bewilderment. The last time she knew, her daughter was in Korea. She wasn't aware that Minnie was in Thailand.

"Danika, leave us." Minnie said seriously without looking at the lady. Her eyes were trained dead straight to her mother.

Danika looked hesitantly at Chitthip who gave her a nod. With that, she left the room before her boss chucked something her way for barging in the office.

Minnie slammed a file on her mother's wooden desk. "You know, do you?" Her voice was low and furious.

Chitthip looked at her daughter then the file on her table. Nothing about it told her what it was about so she took it to see what her daughter was accusing her of. The first thing she saw was LISA MANOBAN written in red and all capital. Next were photographs of Lisa from a distance and awkward angles, suggesting that they were taken in secret.

But Chitthip pretends to play dumb. "What are you implying that I know?"

With an accusatory finger pointed at her mother, Minnie remarks, "that you knew where she was all along."

From Minnie's tone, Chitthip knew that there we're no doubts in her daughter's head that she wasn't lying and that was saying a lot because it takes a great deal of things for Minnie to be sure of something, something Chitthip thinks is what separates her daughter from others.

Minnie is never one to believe on something based on people's words alone. She takes her own initiative to dig the truth, the whole truth, she would gather numerous evidence and depending on her conclusion based on her evidences, that's what she would believe in. Chitthip always though her daughter would be a great scientist because of that trait.

So now that Minnie was claiming that Chitthip knew where Lisa was, Chitthip knew there was no other option but to tell the truth because if she lied, Minnie would just end up finding out about it one way or another.

"Yes. I've known for a long time." Chitthip slowly let the file fell from her hand and back on the desk.

For a few seconds Minnie stared at her mother with so much fury. You don't understand, Chitthip said in her head as she received all the anger directed to her. "Why did you lie to me? I should've known you were lying when the private investigator couldn't find her here in Thailand but it makes it so much worst that she was in Korea this whole time. It makes me think that maybe I bumped into her without even knowing that it was my long lost sister, how close our distance have ever been, or if we've ever been in the same room and those thoughts are driving me crazy!"

"Your sister isn't lost, she just doesn't want to be found by us. I've known where she's been for a long time."

Minnie slammed her hand on the great wooden table. "Then why did you not tell me?! You know I've been looking for her this whole time, I would search the whole world if I have to, even hell if that's where I would find her, but you just stood back and not tell me you knew where she's been all along?" A look of disbelief and disappointment crossed her eyes. "How could you? You know I've wanted nothing more in my life than to meet her."

Chitthip shook her head. "If I knew you'd be this obsessed with your sister, I would've never told you you had one." 

"Tell a kid wonderful bullshit stories about her sister, this is what she'll end up as; longing, not obsessed." Chitthip did not say anything, because once again, was Minnie correct. 

That was all happening because of Chitthip. She planted all those thoughts of Lisa in Minnie's brain when she was a little kid, of how the two would be the best of friends, they would play all the time and they would grow up having each other's back no matter what, but that was all before Chitthip found where Lisa was and learned that her oldest daughter no longer want anything to do with them. 

Unexpectedly, Minnie heard her mother mutter, "I'm sorry." Chitthip Bruschweiler, the brains behind the successful Bruschweiler Corporation, the woman the whole world knows as the one who worked her way out of poverty, the cold and strong woman who has never been fazed by anything said sorry. Minnie thought she must be dreaming. 

Matching her mother's tone, Minnie pleaded, "answer my question. Why did you not tell me you knew where she was all along?"

Chitthip looked up to meet her daughter's pleading eyes. Minnie must be tired, Chitthip thought. Her daughter's been searching for her sister ever since she could afford to hire a private investigator but Minnie would always be disappointed when the investigator comes back baring no news about Lisa because of the false lead she always gives her daughter to intentionally stir her away from meeting her sister. Minnie has been through enough disappointments and Chitthip decided that it was time she let her daughter know what she knows. 

"I never told you because you would get hurt. I knew Lisa was in Korea years ago, since she was seventeen. I was so excited when they finally found her and I flew there as soon as I could. I was excited to bring home your sister but when I got there, she didn't want to go back home to us." Chitthip felt the pain she felt six years ago when Lisa looked at her with so much resentment that she couldn't help but to hang her head low. The pain still felt so fresh to her that she remembered exactly how her heart contracted in pain. "She hates me." She confessed with nothing but hollowness present in her expression. "She hated me and didn't want to go back to us. I didn't tell you that I went to see your sister because I didn't want you to be disappointed that you might never see her and since then, I tried keeping you away from her, I was against you studying in Korea and managing the business there after you graduated because that meant you getting closer to finding her. Knowing how you've always been, you would've done the same thing I did when you find her and I didn't want you to get hurt when she loathes you like she did with me." 

"Mom," Minnie put her hand on top of her mother's on the desk. She could tell her mother was sensitive to the topic and she should've noticed that long ago but she was so too focused on finding her sister that she couldn't see anything else. "Thank you for looking out for me but you should know better that I would find Lisa no matter what and I would do anything for her to be a part of my life, even if she doesn't want to go home to us." 

So yeah!!!!!!!! Minnie from Gidle is Lisa's sister. If you haven't noticed yet, half of Gidle's members are already in the story and yes, eventually everyone will be in it too. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA