When her name was called, Whira took a deep breath and went inside.
“We know you used to do good work,” the woman sitting across from her said. “But this job requires time and attention to detail. Are you sure you can balance it with your family?”
Whira clasped her hands in her lap.
“I can’t promise it will all be easy,” she replied. “But I can try. I quit before because my child needed me. Now I want to work not because I don’t love my family, but because I want to help them. We want to go home and see my parents.”
The woman nodded slowly.
“If you’re accepted, can you start next week?”
Whira nodded. “Yes.”
An hour later, she walked out of the building with a lighter step. Nothing was certain yet, but they had asked her to wait for their decision that afternoon.
Under a tree near the gate, Whira called Amri.
“How’s Keysa?”
“She’s fine. She cried for a bit earlier, but she’s asleep now.”
“Have you gone to the fields yet?”
Amri glanced at the hoe still leaning against the fence by his mother’s house. “In a little while.”
Whira knew he was lying. “What’s wrong?”
“We’ll talk at home.”
The call ended far too quickly. The happiness that had just begun blooming in Whira’s chest slowly turned into anxiety.
That afternoon, the call finally came.
Whira had been accepted for the job.
She covered her mouth with her hand, holding back tears of happiness. The pay wasn’t much, but it would be enough to help with their daily needs and set aside a little at a time for the trip home.
By the time Amri returned from the fields, the sky was already beginning to darken. His shirt was soaked with sweat, his pants were spattered with mud, and he held several vegetables from the harvest that he hadn’t had time to sell.
Whira was already waiting for him in the front room.
“I got the job, honey.”
Amri stopped near the door. The relief that briefly crossed his tired face was quickly replaced by worry.
“Thank God,” he said softly. “Congratulations.”
“Are you happy?”
“Yes.”
“Then why do you look sad?”
Amri set the vegetables on the table. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
Whira waited.
“It’s about going home.”
Whira’s heart began to beat faster.
“We’re going home next week,” Amri said.
Whira stared at him in disbelief. “Next week? But what about the money?”
“I borrowed it from someone.”
“Who?”
Amri fell silent.
“Who?”
“My older sibling.”
Whira’s happiness immediately collapsed. “Your sibling? The one who’s always said I’m just a burden on your family?”
“They’re willing to help.”
“Nothing is ever free with your family.”
“Don’t start again, Whira. I’ve been trying to find a way.”
“I just want to know the terms. After we go home, are they going to keep controlling our lives? Or does Keysa have to stay at their house in exchange?”
Amri clenched his hands, then relaxed them again. He was too tired to get angry.
“They’re only lending us the money.”
“Then why did you hide it from me?”
Amri didn’t answer.
Keysa woke up crying in the bedroom. The sound made them both fall silent. Their unfinished argument hung between them.
Whira hurried inside to soothe her daughter. Amri remained standing in the front room. His phone vibrated.
A message came in from his older sibling.
Amri, don’t forget our agreement. Once you arrive, Keysa will stay at Mom’s house for now. You and Whira need to start working right away to pay off the loan.
Amri read the message over and over. He knew this was the condition he hadn’t been able to tell Whira about from the very beginning.
His finger was almost on the delete button when Whira appeared in the doorway, carrying Keysa. Her face was pale. She didn’t ask anything. Her eyes had already read the screen of Amri’s phone.
Keysa was still crying in her mother’s arms, unaware that her parents were facing a problem far greater than the cost of the journey.
Whira held her tighter.
For the first time, she wasn’t afraid of failing to go home.
She was afraid that going home would only drive her family farther apart.