Chapter 359: Debt of birth.
After terminating the last bad manager, Sienna and Mija went to a small restaurant for a late lunch. It was not one of those fancy establishments but a homely one, with a history going back to 160 years. An old couple and their granddaughter managed the place. At the moment, only Sienna and Mija were the customers inside.
The two women were sitting at the counter, digging into grilled fish and rice, with cucumber salad. Mija was in her usual state of melodrama-complaining after every forkful of food.
"He went on a third date," She hissed, her voice rising and falling with theatrical despair. "A third date, Sienna! With that woman his family arranged. Do you know what a third date means?"
Sienna ate more fish, shaking her head. "No."
"Sex! They are having sex." Mija screamed.
The elderly couple at the grill looked up, disapproval in their eyes which were fixed on Mija. From her, they looked at their 17 year old granddaughter who didn’t know where to look.
Sienna grimaced. "I am sorry for my friend, she is having relationship problems. But they are not really relationship problems as she is not actually dating the man she is obsessed with."
The coupled raised their brows, looked at Mija one last time and went back to their duties. Not surprisingly, the granddaughter was sent to clean the back kitchen.
Mija sighed. "He is seriously considering her. It means he’s--"
Sienna raised her hand, and fox along with it, silencing Mija with a look. "It doesn’t mean anything. Not everyone has sex on the third date."
"Yeah, you had it on the first one." Mija cut in with a murmur.
The old woman’s tongs fell to the floor.
Sienna kicked Mija’s stool. "Shut up! Stop saying nonsense. All this means is that Wayo is following his family’s wishes. They raised him. They love him and want the best for him. You knew this crush of yours was a dangerous gamble from the start."
Mija pouted, the scales on her cheek shimmering faintly in the light. "But I thought.....we had something. I thought he was just dating her because he was bound by the expectations of his family. They cannot force a woman on him if he doesn’t want her."
Sienna sighed. Mija’s love was based off of a dream, she was ignoring reality. Sienna was about to remind her that men who bowed to family arrangements rarely broke free, when the restaurant door slammed open.
A fox beast woman stormed in, her presence cutting through the conversation of the women. She was young, late teens, with bright dyed pink hair and a piercing on her upper lip. She marched straight to Sienna as though she had come for her.
"You," she said, pointing at Sienna. "You are the matriarch. You are in charge of the office of the cub affairs. I demand that you do me justice."
Sienna set her fork down and turned around slowly. Mija blinked, startled, then leaned closer, whispering, "I have dealt with brats like this. Loud hair, even louder attitude. If you engage her, you will end up being trashed on BeastNet."
Sienna didn’t want to tell her friend that she did not have much of a choice. "Make an appointment---"
The young woman cut in rudely, her voice loud enough to draw the stares of the old couple and frighten a customer that had just pushed the door open. "I want to sue my parents. They gave birth to me without my consent. And now that I an eighteen, they want me to move out, to support myself. How ridiculous! I didn’t ask to be born. They chose to have unprotected sex and have me. They chose this. They owe me. They must take care of me forever."
Sienna’s brows arched. I hope Ali doesn’t turn out like this, she thought.
Mija nearly choked on her drink.
"You want to sue your parents," Sienna repeated, her tone flat.
"Yes," the girl snapped. "They are selfish. They brought me into this world without asking me. They should suffer the consequences of their choices. They should pay for my existence."
Sienna leaned back, studying her. The girl’s attitude was terrible--her words dripping with arrogance, her posture defiant.
Mija, ever eager to meddle, leaned forward. "Sweetheart," she began, her voice syrupy, "that’s not how life works. Parents raise you, yes, but once you’re grown, you must---"
The girl cut her off with a glare. "Who are you? This is fox business, not snake business. Don’t patronize me, snake. You don’t understand. I didn’t ask to be here. Why should I suffer the burden of survival? Why should I go to school and be force to work? They chose to have me and I have chosen to live off them forever. Since they chose this for me, they should take it to the very end."
Sienna’s patience thinned. "So you just want to eat and sleep and live off them forever? Parents are not immortal, they will die someday and you will still have to take care of yourself then."
The girl snorted. "They must leave me a trust fund and care takers. If they can’t afford to do so, they must kill me before they die. We must iron all this out in the lawsuit."
Mija almost fell from the stool.
Sienna huffed in shock. "Child, are you hearing yourself? Being alive is a gift. You cannot sue your parents for giving you life and you cannot tell them to kill you if they can’t leave you money."
The girl touched her comm, quick to start recording. "You are unjust! You claim to be a fair matriarch, yet you side with oppressors. My parents are tyrants, forcing me to live, forcing me to grow, forcing me to leave their home. I demand justice!"
Mija looked at Sienna helplessly. "She’s...she’s serious."
Sienna’s eyes narrowed. "Child, justice is not bending the world to your whims. Justice is balance. Your parents raised you, fed you, clothed you. Now they ask you to stand on your own. I am sure they don’t mean that you will be abandoned completely. They simply want you to cultivate a spirit of independence. Survival is not a burden, it is a responsibility. This is not oppression, it is life."
Sienna thought these words would knock sense into the girl but judging by the sneer on her face, it was a waste of time.