Stronger (18+)

1. Foundation

© VeGirl 2015

"Maya, can't you tell me about yourself?"

Maya looked up at Zoe sitting in front of her.

"If you don't mind me asking," Zoe added hurriedly with an alarmed expression.

"Don't look so worried ma fillette." Maya sighed. "It's a long story, and I don't think you'll like it." She shook her head, not sure that she liked it herself, but then again if she could do it again she wouldn't have changed a thing.

"Please Mistress."

Maya's brows furrowed. "Not if you say that."

She looked a little startled.

"It's a long story," she repeated with a sigh.

"I have time," Zoe said encouraging with a hopeful expression. "But if you don't want to, I'll respect that."

Maya thought about it and then sighed. "I grew up in Japan..."

"Japan? I thought you were from Hawaii."

She gave her a stern look and Zoe lowered her eyes again. "Sorry."

Maya smiled at her but she didn't catch it. She reminded Maya of herself at a younger age and she would soon find out. With a look at her curious face Maya sighed once again. "I'm gonna need a drink if I'm gonna get through this," she muttered and got on her feet.

"I can get you one if you like."

"No!" The word was sharper than she intended as Maya walked up to her vast liquorcabinet. On the lowest shelf she moved the bottle of whiskey on the far right side and grabbed the bottle behind it. It was an unopened bottle of Absolute Vodka and she peeled off the plastic around the neck before turning the cap off and poured a small amount in a glass. The scent of vodka hit her for the first time in years.

That smell stirred feelings inside her, deeply hidden and Maya had to fight to regain balance to continue. With that glass in hand she returned to the crisp white leather couch and sat down next to Zoe again. "What I'm about to tell you, you can't tell a soul; if you do I will never speak to you again, do you understand?" Maya didn't look at her and she didn't have to, to know how pale she turned instantly.

"Yes, I understand," she said in a weak voice.

"As I said; I grew up in a small town in Japan. The culture I grew up with in Japan doesn't raise people to be selfcentred; it teaches us to be humble and to strife to be better. Throughout my childhood I honed the skill to do better and from being used to be the centre of the universe, I learned to stay on the sidelines." she looked up at Zoe's bemused face. "Because you don't want to stick out." Maya sighed.

"When I reached my teens, my body strived in a different direction than my friends though and perhaps that little fact played in my personality." She shrugged as if it was unimportant. "Shorter than my friends and let's say... more voluptuous than the others, I was a sore thumb that realised that the sidelines could be a good place to hide in. "

"But you're gorgeous!" Zoe gasped.

"Hush mon fillette."

"In school I became a hard student and in my lower secondary level I was already fluent in French, my strict teacher was responsible for that. Let's talk a little of her." Maya pursed her lips and was certain that her eyes squinted as well. "Miss Kimura was a beautiful woman but she was harsh. She believed in perfection. I have a lot to thank her for." Maya paused for a moment and got lost in that early past, that was easier to think about than what was to come.