1. Alethea (1)

"Whatever the job is, I’ll take it. The important thing is that I can get out of this place and earn a good salary," Alethea pleaded to her childhood friend, Callie.

“It’s not that easy, Alethea. I can’t just give you a job, especially one that takes you abroad,” Callie replied with a sad expression. “I have to make sure you get a good job and a decent employer. I don’t want you ending up with someone cruel or abusive. You have no idea how ruthless some rich people out there can be. Someone as naive as you would be easy prey for them,” Callie said, trying to calm her down.

It wasn’t the first time Alethea had begged Callie—her schoolmate and the daughter of the owner of a labor placement agency—to help her find a job abroad or at least one far away from the small village where they lived.

Alethea was desperate. She wanted to get away from her family—not because she didn’t love them, but because she was exhausted by her mother’s constant demands.

She was tired of being both the scapegoat and the family’s cash cow. Alethea was always blamed for anything that went wrong at home. She was worn out from being the target of her mother’s endless criticisms, as if she’d never made any sacrifices for her family.

She was also tired of being treated like a stepchild.

It wasn’t that Alethea couldn’t be independent or didn’t want to find a job on her own. She had the courage to leave, but she knew courage alone wasn’t enough to survive in a big city. What she needed most to leave her hometown was money.

Yes, money—the damn thing that always made her feel useless as a daughter. Money, money, money, which always seemed more valuable to her mother than anything else.

Alethea had worked hard, doing her best within her abilities, but no matter how much she toiled, her efforts were never acknowledged. Even after all her hard-earned wages were taken by the woman who gave birth to her, her mother still accused her of hiding money. Worse, she treated Alethea as if she were a thief.

It had been four years since Alethea graduated from high school, and during that time, she hadn’t been able to enjoy a single cent of her own salary.

 “This is all you got?” It was the same routine question Hera asked every time Alethea came home after receiving her salary. “You must be hiding part of your paycheck. Where are you keeping it? What did you spend it on?” The accusations were always followed by a search. Not just her bag, but her entire body was inspected by her mother, making Alethea feel like a thief.

“For God’s sake, Mom, that’s all the salary I earned this month,” Alethea would say, over and over again. She didn’t even dare take a single bill from the money her employer gave her. She always handed over the envelope exactly as she received it, untouched.

“Don’t lie to me. How could someone’s salary fluctuate like this? Last month, you brought home more than this,” Hera snapped, still not believing her.

Alethea tried her best not to shout or curse at her mother for her distrust. She was already exhausted from work, and before she could even take a sip of water, her mother would bombard her with accusations and demands, knowing full well that today was payday.

“Last month, the store’s sales were pretty high, which is why Mr. Sameer gave us a good bonus. But this month, sales were lower, so the bonus we received was smaller,” Alethea explained as simply as she could, though her mother still looked unconvinced.

“This won’t be enough to cover expenses until next month,” Hera grumbled, sitting on the sofa. She kicked Alethea’s younger brother, who was lounging comfortably while watching TV, to make him change his position. “Every day, the price of necessities keeps going up. Do you think this money is enough?” she continued to complain.

“That’s all the money I have, Mom. I can’t just go and ask Mr. Sameer to raise my salary,” Alethea said, her voice laced with exhaustion. She was tired of repeating the same sentence every time.

 “That’s why you need to be smarter, Thea. Take a bill or two from the cash register. He won’t notice if a little money goes missing. Or better yet, smuggle some groceries from his stock into my shopping bag when I come to the store. Add a little to the weight on the scale, or sneak in some other items into my bag,” her mother suggested with a twisted sense of advice.

“Mom, that’s stealing,” Alethea reminded her.

“It’s not stealing. It’s a bonus for all the hard work you’ve done for him. Imagine how hard it would be for him to manage the store all by himself.”

“It’s not Mr. Sameer who would suffer, but me. If I’m caught stealing, he won’t hesitate to replace me. And if he finds out, he could throw me in jail, Mom,” Alethea argued back.

“You won’t get caught if you’re smart about it. And when I give you advice, you should listen. What, just because you give me money, you think you have the right to talk back? Have you forgotten who raised you and cared for you all these years? Or are you planning to shirk your responsibilities to me? Do you want to be an ungrateful child?” her mother asked, her tone rising with frustration.

“I’m not trying to be ungrateful, Mom. I’m just stating the facts,” Alethea replied, her voice weary. It wasn’t just physical exhaustion weighing her down; she was mentally drained as well.

“If you won’t listen to me, then find a better-paying job than what that old Sameer gives you. If he can replace you that easily, then you should be able to find another job just as easily.

"If you could earn more, I wouldn’t have to stress over what to cook for you all every day,” her mother added as she stood and walked toward her room. “This money you give me—it’s just a temporary loan,” she grumbled again. “Do you think I’m a servant who can be ordered around to cook your meals and wash your clothes whenever you like?” she continued to rant as Alethea sat in silence.

“I’ll use this money to pay the electricity bill and your brother’s allowance, and in half a month, it’ll all be gone,” her mother muttered, still complaining as she disappeared into her room.

And this wasn’t the first or second time Alethea had heard such discussions. It didn’t just come up every month when she handed over her paycheck to her mother. Her mother would bring it up every time she felt the need for money, always criticizing Alethea’s inability to earn more.

It wasn’t as though Alethea hadn’t tried to support her family’s finances. She had put in the effort—what she believed to be considerable effort, if not extreme. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to earn a higher salary, but achieving that required qualifications she didn’t have. She wasn’t a college graduate who could land a prestigious office job. She was just a high school graduate with average grades and no special qualifications.

There were other able-bodied people in their household, yet it was Alethea who bore the weight of supporting everyone. Her salary wasn’t just used to cover living expenses; it also went toward paying off debts—not her own, but those of her father, mother, and younger brother.

And despite everything Alethea did, her efforts were still deemed insufficient in her mother’s eyes. To her mother, Alethea wasn’t working hard enough—she was still seen as lazy and unreliable.