C42 Chapter 41

"Angeline why?" Potpot asked me curiously while bending down to catch a glimpse of me. I shook my head one after another and then I finally got inside the side-car. But maybe you're looking at someone else, maybe you're just feeling that where you're looking at, I'm there too.

And because Potpot's tricycle can't enter the narrow road - which was actually made just for people to enter the compound where Mama and I rent, Potpot only took me to my opening.

"Thanks for bringing me Pot." I told him when he stopped the tricycle. He smiled at me and then he took something from the drawer of his motorcycle. I don't know if it's because of the heat or because both of Potpot's cheeks are really red right now.

He is not dark even though he is from the province. The color of her skin looks like a peach so you can see that her face is red now. I reached him out of my big brown paperbag and then he scratched the back of his neck.

"Uhh. I found out from Auntie Miranda that you like empanadas and citsaron and vinegar, so when I saw you earlier in town, I remembered you and bought some." Immediately after what he said, a very wide smile appeared on my lips and it was as if I was suddenly salivating and there was nothing else I wanted to do but eat that empanada and citsaron while being filled with vinegar.

"Thank you Pot!" I was so happy for him that I hugged him but I was also immediately overcome with a strange feeling. You know the saying that a look can kill you. I immediately turned behind us, there was no one. I turned my eyes around but I couldn't really see anything.

"Is it my problem Angeline?" I hesitantly shook my head and then said goodbye to him that I was going to stay at our house.

I even frowned when I didn't hear any noise in our house, our dog Whitty did bark but Mama didn't come out to meet me. Where is he? It's getting dark and usually I can only see Mama here outside and she has just finished cooking something for us to eat for the evening but she is not there. I entered our house and called Mama.

"Mom?" But I still haven't got an answer. I first went inside our room, but he wasn't there. Next, we went to the work done by Mama and I, but he wasn't there either, there was nothing in the back of the house either.

"WHERE ARE YOU?!" I screamed but I still didn't get an answer from Mama, while my chest was gradually filled with intense nervousness. Even though our close neighbor's house is far from the house that Mama and I are renting and my legs and back hurt a bit from walking, I still chose to go to the neighbor's house. Mom might just be there! I kept telling myself but I was really scared.

"Which Mira?" I called the old woman who lives alone in this big bungalow house. Their dog barked just tied to my side of the gate and then the old man came out. He even frowned when he saw me.

"It's getting dark Angeline, what else did you do here Hija?"

"Uh. I was just going to ask if Mama is here?" He immediately answered me that Mama has not come to see him today. Next was our neighbor Mang Ambot but he said he was not there either, they didn't see Mama. I even asked them if I saw them go to our house but they said they were not at home all day so they didn't know.

In fact, the rice harvest is this month, so people are more often in the rice field than at home. Until I got to the farthest house of our neighbor but like the information I got from the previous ones I asked, I got the same. Mama didn't go to them and they didn't see her either. Where did you go Ma?

I was anxious to go home. I am so nervous that even my stomach hurts because of the fear of what might have happened to Mama. I went straight to our small wooden table to get my water and I noticed white bond paper folded neatly. Where is it from? We don't have anything like this! I immediately took it and looked at what was inside it.

Nicole,

It's been a while. If you wanted to see your mother again. A chopper will fetch you tomorrow morning.

- Trigger

My hands and legs were shaking as I slowly sat down on the wooden chair facing the table as my tears fell. How did Trigger find us here? And then what is he planning on Mama? Is he retaliating because I ran away from our deal after he answered about treating Mama? Wasn't the pain he gave my heart enough when he proposed to Ciffer in front of many people? Then he gave me a remembrance. And then I caressed my stomach.

It's not that I regret it because what we were doing was fruitful, I'm even happy because I'm going to have a baby and with Trigger. The man I love so much and I want to be with forever, but someone else loves me and even worse than my best friend, he is still married.

I just don't want to mess up her happy marriage with Ciffer when she finds out we're going to have children. What will Ciffer tell me? For sure she'll hate me and my baby with Trigger. And I don't want that to happen. That's why he chose to go far away and hide but he found us and now he even took Mama.

No matter how hard I tried to sleep last night, I couldn't do anything at least for Baby. Worry for Mama eats me up. How about what Trigger did to him? What if it was like the ones I used to watch on TV where they would take Mama to an abandoned warehouse and then tie her in the middle while I was surrounded by many men with big bodies and drinking.