“Karina, wake up!”
The shout, accompanied by the blanket being yanked away, made Karina, a twenty-seven-year-old woman, open her eyes at once.
“What is it, Ma? What time is it? I’m still sleepy!” Instead of getting up, Karina grabbed her pillow, fluffed it again, and went right back to sleep.
Sinta, Karina’s mother, wasn’t about to let that slide. She hurried to the bathroom, filled a bucket, and threw the water in Karina’s face.
Splash!
Karina flailed in shock.
“Flood! Flood! Flood!” Karina woke up instantly.
She sat up, wiped her face, and slowly opened her eyes.
“Mom... what the heck?” she complained. “Look at this. Everything’s soaked. The mattress is wet, the blanket is wet—who’s going to dry all this now?”
Sinta’s face was dark with anger. She immediately pinched Karina’s ear.
“Why, you are, obviously! Who else is going to dry the mattress? You think I’m going to do it? Don’t count on it!” she snapped.
“Ow, that hurts, Ma... Let go!” Karina hissed in pain.
“Karina, do you have any idea what time it is, and you’re still sleeping comfortably like this? Instead of getting up early, cleaning the house, cooking, or doing any other productive activities. No, you do none of that. Every time you have a day off, you just lounge around pointlessly like this. What are you going to do with your life?” Sinta continued lecturing her, both hands planted on her hips.
“Ma...” Karina tried to stop the lecture, but she knew that if she answered with one word, her mother would fire back with ten. Still, staying silent wasn’t a solution either.
“What are you actually going to do with your life, Karina? You’re this old and still acting like a teenager. Don’t you realize your age? Look at you—with your lazy attitude, who’s going to marry you? You don’t even have a boyfriend. You don’t have a boyfriend, let alone a crush!”
“Why can’t you be more like your younger sister? Look at her—she’s so diligent. She already has a boyfriend, too. They’re even serious about moving toward marriage. She’s put it off just because she’s thinking about you, waiting until you have a partner first!”
Sinta was practically exploding.
“She’s put it off just because she’s thinking about you, waiting until you have a partner first!”
Karina, who had been looking down all this time, finally raised her head.
“Huh? So my sister has been putting off her marriage this whole time just because I don’t have a boyfriend?”
“What, you think she’d really marry first while her older sister is still single?” Sinta snorted. “Starting today, I’m giving you three months.”
“Three months for what?”
“To get a boyfriend!”
Karina’s eyes widened.
“If you’re still single after three months, I’ll find you a match myself.”
“MA!”
“No negotiating!”
Karina stared at her mother in despair.
She had just woken up and was already facing a marriage ultimatum.
“Ma, there’s no way I can get a boyfriend in three months.”
Karina shook her head emphatically. Her expression showed absolute refusal.
“And that’s not even counting getting acquainted, getting to know each other, figuring out your feelings, and only then dating. It’s not as easy as buying vegetables at the market, Ma.”
She let out a long sigh.
“Even when we buy vegetables, we still have to pick out the good ones. Sometimes they look fresh on the outside, but it turns out they have worms.”
Karina pointed at herself.
“A boyfriend is even worse. He might look nice at first, but once you start dating, he could turn into a headache.”
Sinta stared at her daughter, her expression growing even darker.
“And?”
“So I don’t want one!”
Karina said it firmly, as if she had just won a major debate.
But Sinta merely smiled faintly.
For some reason, that smile made the hairs on Karina’s neck stand up.
“All right.”
Karina furrowed her brow.
“All right?”
“Then I’ll choose one for you.”
Karina’s eyes went wide.
“WHAT?!”
“I don’t want one!” Karina refused firmly.
Sinta immediately pointed at the bedroom door.
“If you don’t want one, then get out of this house right now!”
Karina, who had been sitting there comfortably, fell silent at once.
“Huh?”
“Listen carefully. You’re twenty-seven years old. You have a job and can earn your own money. So why are you still living in Mom’s house?”
“Because it’s your house?”
“Exactly. My house.” Sinta nodded decisively. “That means I also have the right to decide who’s allowed to live here.”
Karina swallowed.
“But, Ma...”
“No buts.”
Sinta pointed at the door once more.
“Find a boyfriend in three months or find yourself a room to rent today. You choose.”