Phoenix ✔️

Chapter 4: Promising Goals

¨So, Nina, are you going to Bosnia and Herzegovina for the summer?" I ask, as I sip my coffee. I raise my voice a little bit, because although the cafe is small, the talk amongst others is very prevalent, with almost all of them raising their voices to talk with their peers. Nina nods, as she puts her coffee cup down.

"Yeah, I'm leaving in a few weeks. But, Ramadan is finally over. You have no clue how much I've been stuffing my face with food all day," Nina says, as she nibbles at her muffin. I look down at the many other things on her plate that she's been staring at hungrily. Chocolate pastries that are flaky with butter and cooking, muffins that are soft and pillowy, and gooey chocolate chip cookies that crumble delicately in your mouth. It looks like she went to a hotel which had free breakfast and she stocked up on everything that was available to eat. I chuckle a little bit, as I tuck a lock of hair behind my ear.

"So, how have your grandparents been doing? Did they complain to your mom that your Bosnian is too broken?" 

Nina snickers behind her coffee cup. She shakes her head."Surprisingly, they complimented my Bosnian. They said that it's getting a lot better nowadays. I've been practicing a lot on my parents lately, and so far, it's going great. What about you? Does your German sound like you've been spending too much time in a Hamburg bar?" 

I roll my eyes. Out of all the places in Germany, why Hamburg though? "Nina, German is one of my mother tongues. You know that my dad is half German, and was born in Germany. He's been speaking German to Dom, Elena, and I ever since I learned how to speak. Thank gosh my mother tongue isn't Finnish." Nina snorts.

"I'm never learning Finnish. It's number of language cases is more than the amount of times that Elena and Dom have insulted each other. And you say your dad spoke German to you three growing up, and your sister still decided to learn Dutch." I shrug.

"Beats me. My sister also wanted to learn Thai, because Lara's half Thai. She kept on butchering the tones, so she gave up." Nina chuckles.

¨Well enough of that. How about you and your mom?" she asks, and it's like everything stops. Her words are like the mechanism that seems to stop all the clocks around the world. It was like someone slapped me in the heart with a slab of sandpaper. I stop drinking my coffee, and the cup still remains at my lips. I slowly lower the cup down and set it on the table, while biting my lower lip. I sigh, as Nina looks like she already regrets asking me.

"I shouldn't have asked, Nicole, I know. But I can't stand to see you being chewed up by your mom. You have to do something." I drum my fingers against the table, as I pick my cup of coffee again. I could feel my heart go sore inside, with all the excruciating memories of what she had done to my family throughout the years slowly coming back to me and chilling me throughout the bones. 

"Nina, I promise you, the minute I get out of college, with my shiny degree, I will get my dad and my siblings out of my mom's wrath. I want to help them, because they've struggled so much. I want to help them. I really do. But it's far from my power at this point." Nina sighs. I can see the sadness in her eyes when she reflects on the cruel punishments that I have suffered at the hands of my mother.

"Nicole, when you graduate, promise me something." She opens up a bag of potato chips. I nod.

"Well, it depends on the promise. If it's to go into the closet, and come out saying, "I'M BACK FROM NARNIA!" then I'll do it, but if it's to go murder your bully with a chainsaw you bought, then I will not do it." Nina rolls her eyes.

"You're so weird. No, the promise is that when you graduate and get a job, get yourself out of the whole thing. Cut all contact with your mom, and take your dad far away from that monstrosity you consider a mother. You promise?" I set my cup down, and I nod.