“Sorry, I mean, who are you?” It felt like I was stabbed with her response. My greatest fear had come true; she had forgotten me. “Do I know you?”

“I’m- I’m-uh-” I stuttered, but my words were cut off as the door opened and Claire entered with fruits and lunch for us.

“OMG! You’re awake!” Claire exclaimed, quickly running to hug Kalix. She must have noticed me watching, as she immediately backed away. “Sorry, got carried away.”

I was about to mention her amnesia, but Kalix spoke first. “Claire, why are you saying sorry? Do you know this lady? I think she’s lost,” Claire froze, and the big grin vanished from her face.

“Come on, stop playing, Kalix, can’t you remember her? She’s Samantha!”

“You know her? Oh! I’m sorry!” She turned to me, “You’re Claire’s friend? I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” She seemed genuinely not joking.

“Kalix, stop playing! Stop pulling pranks, you dimwit!”

“Claire, can I step out for a moment?” I excused myself and quickly left the room. I heard her calling me several times, but I ignored her.

Why was it like that? Why did she forget me, but not the people around her? Why me? Did she never really love me that she can’t remember me?

———-

“I’ll have you imprisoned! You mess the wrong person! How dare you spread false information!” I woke up to the loud voice outside the house. I jolted awake before getting up.

My forehead creased as I saw many people gathered in front of our house, including the district captain and the mayor, with the captain shouting and pointing fingers at my mom. Damn!

“Then do it, send me behind the bars! But what I said was true! You’re the mistress of the mayor! Esther saw you two!” My mom shouted back, pointing at the captain. The mayor just massaged his temples.

Even though I should be leaving, I stopped. Damn it! My mom’s gossiping tendencies escalated again! Damn it! I tied my hair back before fully getting up.

I could still see my brother and father in the living room, seemingly indifferent to what was happening, just watching, one engrossed in his phone.

“Mum! What’s going on?” My mom stopped momentarily and looked at me, but she continued arguing, so I approached the captain and the mayor. “Mayor, captain, I’m sorry for my mom’s behavior. Can’t we discuss this?”

I always did this. My mom was known throughout the district for her gossiping, but I never expected her to rile up even the captain and mayor, I’m freaking tired of my mom’s antics.

“I’ll have your mom imprisoned, Samantha, let’s just call it even! She’s spread too much gossip! I’ve called her to my office several times! I’ve talked to her nicely several times,” I just looked at my mom as if she was the one aggrieved here. “I’ve been ignoring her because you’re my goddaughter, and because of your father, but this is too much!”

I couldn’t help but scratch my head. “What did mom spread?”

“She claimed that the mayor and I have a relationship! Samantha, if your mom were sane, she’d know that the election is near, and we’re both married! What does she think she’s doing?”

I winced at what I heard. I noticed more and more people gathering around us. This wasn’t funny anymore, all because of my mom.

“I’ll have you imprisoned, Pilar! You’ll be in jail tomorrow!” I thought my mom would be scared, but she just rolled her eyes. “You have some nerve! That’s your last eye-roll against me!”

After the captain left, the others accompanying her, including the gossipy ones, gradually dispersed. Some of the fake sweepers who pretend to sweep dry leaves in front of their houses, six to eight houses away from ours, reached here.

“Pilar, I hope you didn’t do that, you know the election is near, it could damage our image, mine and the captain’s, you know we’re both running, right?” I thought my mom would apologize, but she just sighed and went inside the house.

I scratched my head before facing the mayor, “I’m sorry about my mom. Can you talk to the captain to drop her complaint?”

“I’ll talk to the captain, but I can’t promise,” I just nodded. My mom always, always never learned, always managing to slip away from these things. “I’ll go ahead, Samantha.” I just nodded before finally going inside the house.

“Mom, why did you do that to the captain and mayor? You know the election is near, you could have finished it before gossiping about them. What if the captain proceeds with her complaint against you?”

She sat down and stared at me sharply, “Then find a solution, make a way for me, promise me, you can find a way. You owe me your life, Samantha, maybe you forget, but you owe me your life.” I was left speechless by what she said.

“Hey, Samantha, why is there nothing in our fridge? Where are my drinks? My friends are coming over later, what are we going to drink? Are you going to embarrass me?” My father shouted from the kitchen while looking for drinks in our small fridge.

“Dad, it’s still a day before my payday, I only have my allowance right now, can’t you just hold off drinking for now?” I have a job in town as a cashier, but my salary is minimum, for my fourteen-hour shift, there’s barely anything left for me, except for my allowance to get by until the next payday.

“Well! How dare you tell me that? I’m your father, who are you to tell me that? Just because you’re the one supporting us?” I shouldn’t have told him, “Give me two hundred bx, I’ll buy drinks at the corner, and one hundred for snacks.”

“Dad, I only have five hundred left, that’s for me, remember? And I already gave you fourteen thousand last week.” I was surprised when he suddenly stood in front of me, and I couldn’t avoid his huge hand that landed on my left cheek, “Don’t answer me like that, Samantha! I’ve been providing for you since you were a child! Can’t you even give me alcohol?!” he shouted, and I tasted a metallic liquid on the side of my lips.

In the end, I couldn’t do anything but give the three hundred pesos that were supposed to be my allowance. I didn’t leave my room and sulked for a while.

When it was nine in the morning, I got ready for work. This was always the case, I had to provide for their luxuries too. My father was addicted to alcohol, gambling, and cigarettes, and my mom, gossiping. I’ve bailed her out several times to get her out of jail, because she’s been imprisoned several times.

There have been divorces, sibling murders, job losses for women, framed students, all because of her gossiping. I don’t even know why many still want to gossip with her, knowing what’s happening to her. And now, she targeted the mayor and captain, just because the election is near.

I quickly got dressed and combed my long hair before taking my old bag hanging on the back of the door. “Mom, I’m leaving.” I said goodbye to my mom, who was talking to someone on the side, she didn’t pay attention to me and continued what she was doing.

I just shook my head and headed to the subway stop, it took almost thirty minutes before I reached the shopping center where I work.

“Hey, red head seems in a bad mood today,” Lexi greeted me as soon as I entered the locker room to change into my uniform, he’s referring to our boss “I heard he’s firing people.”

I stopped but quickly moved and went out of the locker room, I heard Lexi calling me, but I just ignored her and went straight to my spot, taking a deep breath before opening my line.

I smiled broadly and looked at the customers looking for the shortest lane, “Good morning! This way, it’s open.” They immediately lined up, and I started serving the customers.

I saw my boss enter the customer service area, and behind him was a woman wearing a crochet-style top and black fitted jeans, carrying an expensive sling bag, which didn’t really match her blonde hair. She seemed nauseous.

After serving the second customer, I noticed my boss walking towards me with the woman.

“Samantha, I need to talk to you first.” I just nodded and grabbed my “Closed” sign board and briefly excused myself from the few remaining customers in line.

“What’s up, boss?” Even though I wasn’t feeling good about what he was going to say, I still forced a smile.

“This is Amore,” he introduced the woman to me, I looked at her and smiled, and she nodded in response, and that’s when I noticed her seemingly uncomfortable expression, “She’s newly hired as a cashier here.”

“Do I have to train her, boss? Okay, sure.” I breathed a sigh of relief as it seemed he was only asking me to train her.

“No, she’s replacing you; today’s your last day at work. I’m not hiring additional staff. Just go to my office later for your final paycheck.”