Chapter 123 - Your Mother

Shi Ai sat in the car and watched the moving scenery outside with a blank stare. The word 'p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.e' was resonating in her head. Her fists clenched and all she wanted to do was go back and hit the man again. But in her heart, there was a measure of pain and ache. Her birth mother had not been 'that' by choice but by force of the circ.u.mstances. And she had hoped to get out of that by trying to save and scamper the money. But those people had taken away that chance as well! They will have to pay. Each and every one of them, whether the hid under the earth or over the skies, she will find them and make them pay! Her face had turned cold which made her features seem somehow sharper. Shi Ai felt as if her brain was going to explode. Just then a large hand landed on her head and stroked it. Jolting back to reality, Shi Ai felt a sense of calmness run through her. He was there with her. As long as Ah Hai was with her, he would make sure she stayed strong. Catching his wrist,  she brought down his hand and entwined her fingers with his. 

They drove straight home and Ah Hai carried the two boxes inside. Placing the boxes on the table in the kitchen, the two people stared at them intently. After a while, Shi Ai said, "We are going to have to call a locksmith to break this lock,isn't it?" 

Ah, Hai looked up from the box and shook his head. This box is one of a kind, Xaio Ai. You see this company's mark on the corner. thi company was famous for making unbreakable locks and small boxes. But not everybody could afford this type of box. This was made only on order for wealthy people who wanted to hide their priceless items. The company never even gave duplicate keys to the holders so that no one could misuse it. The metal used to make this box and lock is a special alloy with many metals mixed to keep it resistant to heat, force and even water. So that whatever is inside can remain safe. Each box was designed to the buyer's specifications. Xiao Ai, we have another mystery to solve. How did your mother get this box? The signs of tampering on this box show that the Grey's also tried to break it open but were unsuccessful. Give me a few hours and we will have solved this mystery soon. Until then we can browse through these photos that Mr Grey has handed over." 

Shi Ai nodded and then opened the box to browse through the photos. The first photo, she picked up was a faded picture of three girls. It was almost enough to break her. It was a picture of herself, her sister and Silvia. They had their arms around each other and were grinning happily at the camera.

Another picture was of Mrs Grey and a woman who she thought was her mother. It was a side profile but she could see the similarities. Another picture was of a group of people or rather couples. Shi Ai looked at the date on the back and estimated that she would have been unborn at the time. There in the centre stood a couple with a cute little girl in the woman's arms and the man's hand around the woman's shoulders. She looked at the man carefully, trying to think if she could remember anything about him but all she drew was a blank. This man was her biological father. He did not look evil, Shi Ai thought. He looked like a normal middle-class man. Her mother, on the other hand, looked like a princess. There was something wrong with this photo but she could not guess what it was. She frowned and then showed the photo to Ah Hai. There is something weird about this picture but I cannot guess what it is. Can you see any abnormality?"

Ah Hai took the photo from Shi Ai's hand and observed it carefully. His eyes probed every person in the photo and then narrowed, " You are right. There is something weird about this picture. First, there are only couples in this picture but the man on your mother's left is not part of a set. We can guess that maybe his spouse is the one cl.i.c.k.i.n.g the picture but even then it is very odd. The second thing is the looks. Though your mother was a beauty, she is well-groomed. More so than other women of her class. See the others, they are well maintained but their hairstyles, their clothes are all practical and well worn while your mother's are what one would call trendy from that time. And she is happy in her relationship. Maybe at this time, her husband had not gone off the right path."

Ah Hai then looked closely at the picture once more and said,"The man is mostly her cousin or her sibling. They have features which are similar to you and the others."

As Ah Hai explained, Shi Ai also noted these minute differences. Keeping the picture aside she then continued to browse through the other pictures. There were not many of them but she found a few here and there where she could see how time had been unkind to her mother. Shi Ai was segregating the pictures with her mother in them when Ah Hai suddenly took a picture from her hand. It was when Shi Ai's mother was pregnant. She guessed that this picture was when her mother was carrying her because she could see the haggard lines on her mother's face. But Ah Hai was staring at the picture too intently. Had he found something else? 

Taking the picture from his hands, she looked at it carefully but could not find anything out of the ordinary. But Ah Hai definitely had found something.

She looked up to question him but the man had already vacated his seat and was clearing the table. In a cold tone, he said, "We need to have lunch first and then continue with your training. We can look at the pictures later. I'll be serving the food, go and wash your hands." Before she could utter a works, Ah Hai had already turned his back and was working on placing a pot on the stove.

Shi Ai did not budge and continued to stare at the photo until it was snatched from her hands and a cold voice barked," I told you to go wash your hands. Why are you still sitting there?"

Shi Ai was almost scared at this tone but she persisted, "Why? What is wrong with this photo that has you doing this? Isn't it just a maternity photo?"

Ah Hai continued to look coldly at her and they engaged in a staring contest until Shi Ai was forced to look away and stubbornly say, " I will not move until you tell me the reason!"

Ah Hai closed his eyes and tried to calm himself before saying, "Shi Ai, you have had a disturbing emotional day and there is no need to add more stress to it. Let's just leave this aside for now and I will tell you later. Be a good girl and wash your hands."

Shi Ai banged her hands on the table and muttered, "I am not a kid. Tell me what it is you have seen!"

Ah Hai was also frustrated as he tried to reason out, "Whatever it is I have seen, I can only guess and I don't want you to get worked up over anything so if I am sure that my guess is correct, I will let you know!"

This time Shi Ai said nothing but only mutinously stared at him. Rubbing his fingers on his forehead in apparent agitation, Ah Hai wondered if he should tell her. Seeing the always calm and collected Ah Hai so fl.u.s.tered made Shi Ai's heart race with dread. She knew whatever he was going to tell her would only hurt her. She tried to harden her heart and hear him out.

Having come to a decision, Ah Hai finally muttered,"Look Xaio Ai. You know that sometimes a person's circ.u.mstances are not in their hands. There comes a time where you just want to put your head in the sand and pretend to be an ostrich. Until now, you have not judged that your mother over what she had been forced to do so keep that in mind and do not judge. Alright?"

Shi Ai could only nod at this new pleading tone on Ah Hai's voice. What was there in this picture that had affected him so badly?

Looking into her eyes, to observe her reaction, Ah Hai said,"In this picture, your mother is not just pregnant, she is also stoned. Meaning she is high on drugs. Your mother may have been using drugs or even addicted to them..."