Chapter 31: Silvia (5)
From then on, Silvia was no longer allowed to make friends with other children.
And Silvia had to follow all the rules her mother set.
Rule number one: I must write a diary entry every day.
Rule number two: I must show it to Mom.
[The teacher gave me a carton of milk and told me to share it with my classmates who were in the classroom.]
Then in the diary, the words "classmates" were circled in red ink followed by what her mother wrote.
{Who exactly? Don’t be vague, and try to be more specific about who you talked to.}
[Today I got a perfect score again, and the teachers praised me.]
Then her mother replied in the diary with red ink.
{I already checked with the teachers. They said they never said anything like that.}
And this was...
Rule number three: I must not lie.
Her mother would always watch her from afar. There were even times when she investigated someone who got close to Silvia.
The rules kept increasing.
Rule number four: I must keep my phone unlocked.
Rule number five: I must spend weekends with Mom.
Rule number six: I must eat whatever Mom prepares.
Rule number seven: I must read Mom’s recommended books and hand in a book report every month.
Rule number eight: I must stop when Mom tells me to.
Rule number nine: No contact with boys till adulthood and I can’t watch anything over PG-13.
Rule number ten: I must not fight the rules.
"I have my own thoughts too, Mom." Silvia said while looking at her mother with a sad face.
"Shush."
"Are my thoughts wrong?"
"Right." Her mother’s voice was firm. "They’re all wrong. Just pretend that your thoughts don’t exist."
Her mother then looked at her.
"What’s with that look? Do you think I’m being too harsh? If anything, it’s you who’s being harsh on me."
"I only ever think about you. What would help my daughter succeed. What would be a better path for my little angel."
"That’s all I ever think about." Her mother’s voice softened, but it felt extremely frightening to Silvia.
"Don’t you know how hard I’m trying? You really don’t know the sacrifices I’m making. You can’t betray me. You must not betray me." Her mother’s voice became very heavy on the last sentence.
She was required to never betray her mother. She was not allowed to have her own thoughts either.
"But... Mom—"
"Do you want to go to the beach with me again?"
The light in Silvia’s eyes immediately disappeared. Her face turned gloomy.
"Is that what you want?"
***
The noisy atmosphere of the cafeteria during break time sounded louder than usual. There, Liam and Silvia sat at a table in the corner near the window where sunlight could slightly reach their faces.
The sunlight felt very warm. However, after hearing Silvia’s story, Liam felt very heavy.
"Are you serious? Your mom is that strict with you?"
How could a mother restrain her child to such an extent? Liam did not understand why Silvia’s mother behaved like that. What Silvia told him were only the rules imposed on her, and how her mother always threatened to die whenever Silvia did not follow what she said.
Silvia nodded with a gloomy face in front of Liam.
She smiled bitterly and said, "My mom decides everything in my life. The college I have to go to, who I can be friends with, and even how I should feel."
"My mom has an idea of who I should be... but she never asked me if that’s what I wanted."
"And I can’t, I don’t have the strength to meet my mom’s standards. I’m so tired of it." Silvia’s hand on the table trembled violently.
Liam did not know what to do. If he was invited like this, and after listening to Silvia’s confession, only one thing was on his mind right now.
Silvia definitely needed his help.
"So... your mom is very strict, and she always threatens to die if ’you’ don’t meet her standards and don’t match her ideal person?" Liam repeated while stirring his drink.
Silvia could only nod.
Liam rested his head on his palm. He already had so many problems, and now a friend needed his help. How should he handle this?
He knew he did not have to help Silvia, but when he saw her like this, strangely her current fragile appearance felt very familiar to him.
"I’m sorry, Liam. I actually didn’t want to drag you into this problem. But there is no one else I can rely on for this. I need your help."
Liam made a sound of agreement. Then he finally thought of something.
"Alright. I get it now. The way to stop your mom from restraining you is to disappoint her. Of course, it’s not that simple, right? You could have disappointed her a long time ago, for example by screwing up your exams. But then you would definitely be punished, right?"
Silvia gave another bitter smile. Liam’s guess was correct. She had once disappointed her mother. But instead of punishing her, her mother had threatened to die.
"So the only way is to disappoint your mom through external influence, right? That’s why you need me. You need me to make your mom disappointed in you. But I’m confused about how to do it." Liam stroked his chin.
Actually, Silvia had already thought of one way last night. However, she was not sure whether Liam could carry out this plan. He would definitely feel very uncomfortable with it. But this was the only thing she could think of.
"Actually, I—!" Silvia raised her voice, but Liam stopped her with one finger.
"Hold on. No, I’ve already thought of something." Liam said with a smile on his face.
This plan had just occurred to Liam, but it also felt very heavy for him.
"How about I become the number one student in this school to disappoint your mom. Right?" Liam said with a smug expression as if he had just guessed Silvia’s plan.
However, Silvia only lowered her head with a blush on her ears.
"No... that would be too much for you, who is already very busy with many things." Silvia whispered, her voice almost carried away by the wind.
Liam then decided to drink his juice. In the end he stayed silent, looking at Silvia from behind his glass and waiting for her plan.
"There is one most effective way to disappoint my mom." Silvia said with a determined voice.
Rule number nine: No contact with boys till adulthood and I can’t watch anything over PG-13.
"I want you to corrupt me."
"Cough! Cough!"
Liam immediately coughed hard upon hearing that.
’HUHHHH???’
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