From the moment I woke up this morning, the smell of nasi lemak assaulted my nose. I got up quickly, washed my face, and padded downstairs.
"Morning, Hariz. I made your favourite today. I won't be home until tomorrow evening."
I hummed in response. She looked fresh—probably got a good night's sleep. Being an ER nurse, her work hours are all over the place. Just thinking about it makes my head hurt. How has she survived until now?
I scooped a generous portion of rice and loaded it with sambal. Mama just smiled. I could sense she wanted to comment but held back. It's always so quiet between us. We're just not the talkative type. My sister was the noisy one. The parrot. It's been ages since I last saw her.
A while back, she emailed me a link to try her new horror game that's still in development (I believe that's the game that's been keeping her so busy). But when I pressed the start button, the screen froze. Again and again. Nothing worked. I even called her countless times, but she never picked up. Crunch time, I guess. It's been a month. I wonder...
"Ma..." I said suddenly, breaking the silence. "Have you talked to Maya recently? I've been trying to reach her. No luck at all."
Mama looked up. Her eyes widened slightly. Her mouth parted like she wanted to speak—but no words came. Then she blinked hard, grabbed her bag, and rushed over to kiss my head.
"Sorry, dear, I've got a meeting in 30 minutes. Totally forgot. There's more nasi lemak in the freezer, okay? Heat it up if you're hungry. Bye!"
And just like that… she was gone.