Continuous Writing - Runaway Maid

One afternoon, you returned from tuition class and found your front door wide open. There was no one at home. However, the television was on.

One fine day, my mother, a homemaker for more than ten years, received a phone call from her previous employer. He wanted to offer her a job. We gave her all our support to pursue her career. With that decision made, the need for a maid thus arose naturally.

Eka arrived, meek and obedient. She performed her tasks fairly well. She washed, cooked, ironed and kept the house clean enough. We were quite pleased with this new member living under the same roof.

With Eka's help at home, my mother could focus on her job without much worries.

Last Friday, I returned from tuition class and found the front door wide open.

"Eka! I'm home!"I called out for her. There was no response. 

I walked into the house and looked for her. The television was switched on to the RTM channel. She was not in the kitchen. Neither was she in her room. I searched the toilets and the bedrooms. 

There was no food on the dining table. The basketful of laundry was untouched and worst, she was nowhere in sight. More angry than puzzled, I flung my bag on the couch. We had instructed her many times not to switch on the television.

My rumbling stomach protested in hunger. I went to the kitchen to prepare cup noodles and hastily loaded the washing machine with the soiled laundry.

"Where could she be? She is not supposed to go out at this hour!" I complained to myself.

With the cup noodles in my hand, I walked back to the living room. I passed by her room and sensed something fishy. I pushed the door open and stuck my head in to take a peek.

To my least expected, the room was bare except for the neatly rolled up mattress. Her two duffel bags were gone. I went to the common toilet. My heart sank. I did not see her towel and her toiletries.

She had run away. Our maid had run away!

Why? Why did she run away? Was it planned or done onimpulse?

I called my mother to tell her my discovery. My voice shook when I spoke to my mother. I felt both angry and betrayed. Judging from the door and television, she must have left hastily.

I completely forgot my hunger. We had been treating her well and she did not show any displeasure working for us. Why did she have to pack up and leave without a word?

We notified the maid agency. They advised us to wait. They seemed nonchalant about the matter for they had come across runaway maids too many times. Confidently, the agent told us that she would show up either at the agency or the embassy.

True enough, when we next heard about Eka from the maid agency, she had been repatriated to Indonesia by the embassy. It was not known why she chose to leave.

It is four months after she packed up and disappeared from our house. We struggled a bit without her but life moves on. My mother is doing well in her job. I still go to school every day.

There is no more Eka to prepare the meals and to get the housework done. Nonetheless, life goes on, with or without her.