Seven

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Eliza startled awake from her dream, her heartbeat throbbing loudly in the silence of the night.

Last night, just as Lily flung herself towards Eliza, Eliza managed to find her keys amidst the flurry, hurling herself into the house before locking the door shut.

Lightning flashed across the dark night sky. Lily kicked Eliza's door ferociously, the loud echoes reverberating throughout the entire house. Eliza leaned her entire body against the door, scraps of paint falling from the walls every single time Lily kicked the door. Some paint fell into Eliza's eyes, causing her eyes to sting with pain.

After some time, Lily left. Eliza could vividly recall Lily's haunting words before she left, "Eliza, you'd better have a death wish."

Even though the rain had stopped, the air was still terribly warm and stuffy. Eliza turned over and looked at her mobile phone. It was only 5 in the morning.

Eliza wiped the sweat off her neck and switched the electric fan on before returning to her bed and falling into a daze. The sky gradually grew lighter with each passing moment. When 6:45AM finally arrived, Eliza picked up the phone and called her mother who was currently faraway.

"Hello? Is this Lisa? You're not in school yet?" The slightly raspy voice of her mum rang out. Eliza could hear sounds of communal showering from the other end.

Eliza lowered her head and rubbed her eyes, "Mummy."

"Eh? There's no more toothpaste! Sis, could you lend me some toothpaste?" Her mum appeared to be very busy, and only managed to continue the conversation after getting some toothpaste, "Lisa, is there something wrong? Why aren't you heading to school yet?"

"Mummy, could you......come home......to take care......care of me? At least, until.....until after......examinations end?"

Eliza's mum rinsed her mouth before responding, "I can't even take a single day of leave now, as it's currently the peak production period for the factory. If I tried to take two months' worth of leave, I'd definitely be fired. Lisa, be good and persevere for two more months – you can do that, can't you?"

Eliza fell into silence.

Having received no response from Eliza, Eliza's mum gradually quietened down and went to a more secluded corner, "Lisa, are you missing mummy?"

Eliza nodded her head, before responding in a low and quiet voice, "Yes."

Eliza's mum coaxed her gently, "Our Lisa is going to enter University soon, so mummy needs to earn sufficient money required to pay for University. If mummy stops working, who else would be able to provide for Lisa? We can't possibly beg, could we?"

Eliza wiped the sweat from her face, and asked in a muffled voice, "Are there.......fans at your.....dormitory?"

"It's not hot over here." Eliza's mum replied, "Don't worry about me. Lisa, focus on your studies. Mummy would only be able to enjoy life when you start University."

Eliza's feelings gradually returned to some degree of normalcy and calm.

Even if her mum returned, she could do little else except comfort Eliza. Furthermore, her wish was rather extravagant in nature, and was in actuality a luxury that her family was unable to afford.

When Eliza opened the door and stepped out, she was greeted with a huge expanse of the azure blue sky. Eliza could already feel the heat from the glare of the morning sun.

Eliza cautiously made her way to school, and succeeded in arriving at her classroom in one piece. Kayla's seat was still glaringly empty.

The entire classroom was engaged in a hearty discussion.

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