6
Reunion
She entered the house, which was empty. Dad obviously was late from work and from the noise, which came from the kitchen; she understood that her mother was busy cooking the evening meal. She quietly went to her room and sat on the bed. She decided that she must tell her side of the story today, and make her parents understand where she was coming from. She must get her mother’s attention, with hope in her heart; she stepped out of her room and slowly walked towards the kitchen.
Her mum was busy preparing dinner, a well-chilled ‘Fiji Gold’ beer bottle was beside her. She loved her beer and it was an evening ritual. While preparing dinner Mum would be sipping her favourite beer, she would enjoy a couple bottles, she claimed it placed her in a pleasant mood. Maria, thought she would be lucky to get her Mum’s attention today.
She cleared her throat to attract her Mum’s attention. “Mum… I guess, you heard.” Before she could complete her sentence, her Mum snarled, “Yes, my dear, the whole of Levuka, I presume knows by now!”
“But Mum, there is no truth in….” Her mother interrupted abruptly, “Look, my girl, I have no time to discuss this matter now. Dad will be here at seven this evening to take me to a party at the Ovalau Club. We will talk about it tomorrow.” She snapped.
“Ma, I want you to spare me some time to listen to my side of the story, please.” She begged, but her mother did not resent, instead in a high-pitched voice she yelled at me. “Honestly Maria, you have brought humiliation and shame upon your family and yet you have the audacity to stand here to give me your side of the story?” Interrupted by the sound of the telephone ringing, she walked away from the kitchen to answer the phone in the living room.
Maria looked at her mother in shear disbelief! How could she do this to her? How could she show such indifference to her child’s plea to be heard? “Unbelievable,” she thought sadly.
She looked at the glass of beer and felt a surge of anger rise… yes, she thought in frustration, she had a great deal of time for bowling, snooker and parties, but no time to listen or comfort her heart-broken daughter. “Oh! I hate her!” she howled like a wounded animal. In a fit of rage, she threw her glass of beer on the wall; it shattered into a million pieces. She rushed out of the kitchen crying bitterly. She entered her room and collapsed on her bed and cried.
Her mother’s voice could be heard from the living room. “Yes, the chicken chop suey is almost done, David. Tell Richard, I’ll take a taxi to the club if he can’t make it by seven.”
“Yes,” thought Maria bitterly, “Go, mother dear and enjoy yourself, but on your return, your only child would have left home for good!” she lay there wondering if her parents would even notice her absence.
She stayed in her room while her mother was getting ready to go to the party at seven. She wondered whether her mother would care to come to her room before she left for the Ovalau Club. She was disappointed, and heard the taxi driver knock on the front door. Her mother called out “John, could you help me carry the food to the car, please.”
“Sure, Mrs Paul,” he answered as he entered the front door to assist mother. She waited until they left, got off the bed and looked around. “Well,” she sighed with sorrow and said to herself “this is goodbye.” She dragged a small red suitcase from under the bed. It was covered in dust; she took a rag, which was hanging on a hook just near the study table. She dusted the suitcase and began to pack just a few dresses and other things, which were urgently needed for her departure. She closed the suitcase, sat on it and wondered if her parents would look for her when they realised that she has ran away from home.
She rushed into her bathroom to have her shower change into her black slacks, blue t-shirt and she also put a warm jumper on. She came out of the bathroom and sat at the dressing table to get ready. She looked at herself in the mirror and seriously wondered what would happen to her once she departed from home. She had no definite plan, she was painfully aware that she was fleeing from home solely to punish her uncaring parents.
“Serves them right! Let them suffer! Oh, how I hate them!” she cried hatefully. She came out of her room to check if her dad had returned, so she crept silently into the kitchen. She saw her dinner set out and the food cover placed over the plate. “Yes, dear Mum, she never forgets to provide…” she looked away, “Why couldn’t she cancel that wretched party, aren’t I an important part of her life?” Tears filled her eyes; she clutched her chest as though this desertion hurt her both physically and emotionally.
With tears streaming down her face she returned to her room for the last time. She grabbed her red suitcase and walked out of her room heading towards the front door. She shut the door behind her, and said, “This is goodbye.” She dragged her suitcase down the “Baba Hill” with a heavy heart. She was scared but was determined that her parents must suffer for neglecting her, and for not paying attention to any of her needs.
After descending the steps of the Baba Hill, she approached the Levuka Public School premises and walked towards her close friend Jenny’s house. Nerves got the better of her, she wondered if Jenny’s mother would let her spend the night with them. She knew that this proposition may not work for her, she felt troubled and scared, sadly she wondered, if she has done the right thing by leaving the security of her home. In her house, she hadn’t even thought of a positive plan as to where she was heading or what she would do to support herself… she was only sixteen years old…. A cold shudder ran down her spine!
“Oh my god,” she uttered in desperation “What have I done?” Just as she was contemplating her next move, she heard a familiar voice call out to her, “Maria, where to? Suitcase and all?”…..teased her friend, Emily. Most of her friends knew that she felt unloved and uncared for at home. Emily wondered if her parents found out about the problem Maria faced at school. Maria, did not stop to talk to Emily and hurried along towards Jenny’s house. Emily wondered why Maria, who is normally very friendly, walked away without greeting her. “See you later,” called out Emily, who felt snubbed by Maria’s indifference!
Half way to Jenny’s house, Maria changed her mind. She decided not to trouble her friend Jenny, and turned left into the main road and kept walking towards Beach Street. She stopped at Wing Lee’s Shop for a moment. She was hungry; she bought a coconut cream bun and a bottle of milk chocolate. She placed it in her handbag. The proprietor of Wing Lee, who knew her parents well, asked, “Where do you think you are going young lady, with a suitcase and all at this time of night?” Maria paid for the bun and her drink and quickly walked away without saying a word to ‘Uncle Lee,’ Lee looked suspiciously at Maria and wondered if he should call her father.
Maria quickly darted out of the shop and hurriedly walked towards the Post Office. “I can take shelter for the night at these premises and in the morning I will take the boat out of Levuka for good.” She thought bravely. She thought she would take shelter with her cousin Rose in Suva. The town looked eerily deserted; Levuka usually looks like a “ghost town” after nine. But today, it looked dusky and a frighting eeriness! One or two people were walking along the road and a few people seated by the sea walk, fishing. The wind was nippy and miserably cold. She wondered if it was the icy breeze that made her shudder or her decision to run away from home, which made her tremble!
She approached the old M.H. Building and turned to the left to get to the wharf region. The planks at the post office creaked as she walked on them. She sat at the far end of the building. The sky was grey and oppressive, it matched her mood. She left her suitcase by the side of the customs office. The Levuka wharf looked cold, uninviting and deserted. Deserted save for a boat named “Rosina’ and at the far end of the wharf she sighted an IKA Corporation boat. She felt alone, and the cold breeze brushed her sorrow face. She sat down facing the lighthouse. The monotonous sound of the machinery from the Fiji Can and the Pafco Fishing Company made her aware of the boring and uninspiring life some people led in the town.
Chin in hand, she wrestled with the thought- ‘could she face life alone? She was a mere ‘kid’ and yet in frustration and pain she left her home. She realised at this point in time, that her departure was a foolish decision. Shivering with fear and anxiety she wondered if she should return home, and apologise for her stupidity. She was just angry with her mother for ignoring her plea to listen to her side of the events. Anger once again soared with her and in the height of frustration she cried, “No way, will I go back to them. Let them suffer!”
She vividly recalled the events of the immediate past. The town’s hunger for gossip was ignited by the scandal started by a spiteful schoolmate. Before she had a chance to defend herself against the devastating lies, she had lost her so-called friends, but worse than that, her family had rejected her. This struck hard and wounded deep. She couldn’t understand her parents at all. How could they believe in the town’s gossip without giving her an opportunity to explain her side of the story? They abandoned her when she needed them most. She was at first stunned, then uncontrollably enraged that they had listened to, let alone believed in the lies spun by vicious people.
Most of her school friends faced similar problems; their parents were never available when they needed to communicate with them. Like her folks they were either drinking with some friends at the club or else playing pool. Left on their own, the teenagers assembled at some friend’s home and experienced a life of freedom and the ‘privileges’ of the adult world! This is how she was first introduced to liquor. It started as fun but like some of her friends, she too had a problem as time went on. But did their parents have time to ponder between their sips of gin and tonic, beer, rum or whiskey? She was saddened and bitter about how life had taken this disastrous end? When the children got into trouble the parents got uptight and indignant, like her mother when she approached her earlier this evening.
Old memories flooded her mind…memories of her childhood and of her family. She clearly remembered how her “maid” a “house girl” as they were commonly known as, attended to her every need. Her parents were the “socialites” of the small Levuka Community. Frequently, they attended some social event like a wine and cheese, birthday, or club party. On the rare occasion they were home, they always invited some friends over to entertain them. So she was always left alone with the maid Emma. Emma was attentive, loving and caring. She made her feel loved and secure; she was indeed like her surrogate Mum, her refuge and her guardian. These thoughts made her depressed. The reason for her departure from home was merely to make her parents realise how wrong they were to be totally absorbed by being “high and mighty socialite” in this wretched community.
The chilly ocean breeze made her shudder with cold. She folded her arms tightly around her, to keep her warm against the cold and the wretched world. It struck her at the very instant that all that she wanted is her parent’s love and protection. She was craving for their love but she has never ever felt she had that precious connection with them. She slowly got up and headed for the Ports Authority Building. To her utter amazement, she saw at distance her parents standing together bracing the blasting chilly wind. Indignantly she turned away from them. Her mother walked towards her and called out “Maria, my baby, come to Mum!” A lump caught in her throat she fought to suppress her excitement at the thought that her parents had actually cared to look for her. “Let them suffer, I’ll not return to them,” she thought hatefully. “I have suffered, it is their turn now!” she uttered bitterly to herself.
“Don’t bother Ma, go and enjoy yourself at the party!” she screamed at her and began to run in the opposite direction.
“Maria, come back!” called her daddy. “We want you home!” He sounded distraught and desperate. Maria was angry and furious with her parents. She ran towards the far end of the wharf with tears streaming down her face. She screamed at her parents, “I’m going to kill myself, I’ll throw myself in the sea, you will be better off without me!” she shouted as she continued to run away from them. She was determined to jump into the sea to end her miserable life.
She heard footsteps right behind, she was blinded by tears, she couldn’t see her way ahead of her, but she continued to run towards the end of the wharf. Suddenly she felt strong arms encircle her and hold her firmly. “Where do you think you are going to young lady?” asked a Fijian man. She looked up and saw a tall, dark, hefty Fijian man looking down at her. She was trembling all over and crying “Leave me, please, let me die.” Suddenly she felt weak, exhausted and suddenly fainted. A thick curtain of dark cloud engulfed her, floating aimlessly in the sky!
She tried to open her lids but they felt heavy. She heard a soft sobbing sound by her bedside. She tried once again to open her eyes. She saw the matronly figure of her mother sitting at the other end of the bed weeping. She suddenly realised that she was in her bedroom, she was home again! At first she was happy that she had made her mother suffer. Then she felt selfish, ungrateful and mean. She thought maybe her parents had realised that they were solely responsible for the way they had treated their only daughter. She tried to lift herself up, and her mother came to assist her in doing so.
“Maria, my child, will you forgive us? My baby, how you must have suffered thinking that we didn’t love you,” she cried! She placed her arms around Maria and began to weep with deep remorse.
“Hush Ma, don’t cry. I’m so sorry for running away. I felt as if there was no room for me in this house, where there was no love for me.”
“Oh my darling child, how could you ever think like that, you are our flesh and blood, our precious child,” in saying this she held her daughter close to her and wept. For the first time openly and sincerely. Maria put her arms around her mother lovingly, there in that embrace, she felt warmth and love. Both mother and daughter felt the birth of a new union.
“Ma, I didn’t take the….” said Maria. Her mother placed her hand on her mouth and whispered, “Hush, my child, no more of the past, sad incident. Let the past be buried forever, we learn from our mistakes. Let’s move forward with positive and loving thoughts to make this home a loving and happy home, my darling child.”
Dad looked at the mother and daughter with a tear stained face. It was obvious that he had remained silent, weeping heart-brokenly for the mistakes done in the past. He rose for a group hug and said, “My dearest child, thank you for showing us that we had neglected you, our home life…” he was choking with emotion and shaking with deep regret.
Maria finally understood, that her parents had done some soul searching and reached the follies of their past. She was ashamed that she too had hurt them in her own selfish manner. She hugged her father and said, “Oh Dad, let us put our yesterdays behind us and look ahead for a better tomorrow.”
The warmth and the affectionate embrace of her parents assured her that all her tomorrows would be better than the yesterdays. She was so relieved to be home at last!
Footnote:
