One night, Clara and her husband were heading to the opera. There was a premier and they wanted to go. Clara had planned for this evening. She was dressed so fancy before she left. Her dress was long, and it glittered. She looked glamorous. Lisa imagined how everyone else would look at the opera. They would look rich and classy, like Clara.
Before closing the door, Clara informed Lisa, "Take care of the children. Cook noodles for dinner."
Lisa did as she was asked. At eight pm, she put all the children down to bed. This was their regular bedtime. Then, she headed down to her room to enjoy a bit of time alone. Less than an hour passed when Nataly came down to her room. She knocked loudly and when Lisa opened her door, she heard the baby crying.
"Lisa, the baby wants to play," she whined. Lisa sighed.
"Our baby does not follow any regime. Sometimes he wants to play at night," her host family once told her.
There were times the baby wanted to play at night because he had slept through the day.
This was going to be one of those nights.
Lisa followed Nataly up to the baby's room. Nataly went back to her own bed. Lisa took the pink, screaming baby in her arms. It didn't take two minutes for Lisa to stop him crying, and got him to smile up at her. Lisa played with the baby. She was exhausted. She hoped the baby would play for an hour and then feel tired. But hours passed, and the baby was still wide awake.
The host parents came back after midnight.
"Thank you for taking care of the baby," Clara said.
"You are welcome," Lisa answered, then went back to her room.
She was even more exhausted than before. But, she was kept awake by the nightmare she was living in. How was she supposed to explore the country, if she was always looking after the children? How was she supposed to learn the culture or customs if this family was all she was around? She was trapped in this golden cage. These spoiled children took all of her energy.
Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.