“MAMA, I don’t want to go to school,” Maya told her mother, sobbing. Maya was a 6th grade student in a public school in their town.

“And why is that, sweetie?” her mother asked calmly. Her mother was always calm, soft-spoken, and gentle with her. To Maya, no one was more loving and nurturing than her mother.

“They are always bullying me. Look, there is paint on my skirt again. They put paint on my chair!” she exclaimed then burst out crying.

Her classmates thought she was weak; that was why they were always bullying her. “Why didn’t you fight back?” her mother asked.

“My teacher would get mad at me.”

“I know, but you have to be brave. If you are not doing anything wrong, learn to fight back.”

Honestly, she was a little hurt by what her mother was saying. Instead of going to her school and complaining about her bully classmates, she always just told her to stand up for herself and learn to fight back.

“Mama…” that was all she could say before she started crying again.

“Sweetie, in this world, weaklings are not allowed. If you don’t fight back, they will take advantage of you. No one will watch your back all the time; that's why you need to be strong for yourself.”

Maya just nodded her head and sighed. Her mother told her to go to her room and rest, so she did. After changing her clothes, she went to their vast backyard.

She was wondering why their house was so far from their neighbors. They were located in a deserted part of their town. Their house was surrounded by lots of tall trees. She was always scared during the night because she heard a lot of noises coming from animals that she was not familiar with. Maya got used to it. She just didn't want to go out during the night, even if her parents were asking her to do something outside.

Maya had no friends, so she was always playing alone. No one ever dared to go to her place, maybe because it was too far from the other houses. She had never brought a classmate to their house because she wasn’t close to anyone. Maybe they were afraid to befriend her in case they got bullied too.

She could not understand what the bullies got out of bullying her. She didn’t know why some people found happiness in other people’s suffering. Maya got her kite and played with it in their backyard.

She was accustomed to playing by herself. Sometimes, she became envious when she watched her classmates play happily together, but she was trying not to be hurt anymore. Most of the time, she prayed that her classmates didn't pay attention to her because every time they did, she only got in trouble.

There was only one kid who had ever played with her. She had been just five years old when it happened. The little boy had been lost and had stumbled upon their place. Kal, that had been the little boy’s name. Maya could still remember the color of the sky when she first met Kal. It was like orange and blue were fighting to take over the sky. Kal was the first kid to play hide and seek with her.

But they did not play for too long because he had to go home. His mother would scold him if he stayed out any later. Kal promised her that he would come again, but that didn’t happen. Maybe he had already forgotten about her. She wouldn't blame him, for that was seven years ago.

But Maya would never forget Kal. She could even remember Kal’s dream; he wanted to become the mayor of their town. She could not even imagine having a dream like that because during that time, all she wanted to do was play. How could a five-year-old boy have such big dreams already?

Maya stopped playing with her kite when she saw some men walk into her house. All of a sudden, fear filled her heart, but she tried to fight the fear. She put a lot of effort into running toward the house only to be taken aback when she heard a gunshot.

Her knees were trembling as she walked towards the window, and she was stunned when she saw her parents lying on the floor. There was blood all around them. They were both unconscious. Maya was not sure if she should run far away or yell and fly into a rage?

But before she could do anything, someone covered her mouth. She tried to fight, but she was very weak.

“Don’t be afraid,” whispered the person covering her mouth. “I am not your enemy.”

It was a woman’s voice; Maya was sure of it. She became calm, then started crying. The emotions that had been bottled inside her broke free.

“I will bring you with me, but don’t make a noise,” the woman whispered again.

Maya nodded. The woman uncovered her mouth and carried her. She ran, carrying her as if she were weightless. The woman put her down after making sure that no one was behind them.

They rode in a black car that had been parked nearby. “Where are we going?” Maya asked.

She could not see the woman’s face. She was wearing a black hooded jacket and a black mask; she was also wearing oversized shades.

“Who are you? Who were those men, the ones who shot my parents?” she asked while crying even though the woman was not responding to her.

“Please, answer me,” she pleaded.

“I don’t know,” the woman answered. “Someday, you will find the answers to your questions. But right now, I only ask one thing of you: trust me.”

“But I don’t even know you!”

“Roma.”

“What?” she asked, confused.

“I'm Roma. Are you satisfied now?”

“How do you know my parents?”

Roma did not respond.

“Are we going to the police?”

“I am.”

“I will come with you!”

“We can't let the killers know about you.”

“But—”

“Just listen to me!” Roma screamed.

Maya was taken aback and just cried.

Roma brought her to a quiet and secluded place. It was like a ghost town. There was no sign of anyone living there. Roma parked the car in front of an old gate. She thought that the gate might have originally been blue, but it looked black now because it was old. Some parts of it were even rusty. Roma opened the gate for them to come inside.

Junkyard. That was the first thing that came to Maya’s mind when she saw what was behind that rusty old gate. They passed through the junkyard, and she saw another gate. Everything looked different after passing the second gate. She saw a clean yard that looked simple but vast.

“You should stay here while I think about what to do with you. Don’t worry about your parents' case; I’ll handle it. The killers cannot know that Myra and Enrico have a child.”

“How do you know my parents?”

“They helped me once, and I am just returning the favor by taking care of you.”

Maya waited for Roma to take off her shades and hood, but it never happened. “What will I do now? My parents…”

Maya trembled when she remembered the gruesome sight of her parents lying on the floor. She was confused. What had her parents done to those men for them to want to kill them?

“What did my parents do to them?”

“They didn’t do anything wrong. For now, I will leave you here. I'll come back if I learn any news. This house has everything you need. There’s food too. Don't go outside, do you understand?”

“You're leaving me here alone?” she asked, scared. All of a sudden, she wanted to hold Roma’s arms and never release her. “Please don’t leave me here alone.”

“You need to be brave. What's your name again?”

“Maya.”

“Be brave, Maya. I'll be back.”

“But…”

Roma gave her the key to the house and left. She did not take the car. Roma locked the gate then climbed it like she was an expert, jumping over both gates without effort. Maya’s jaw dropped watching Roma leave like that. Who was Roma? And what would she do now?

***

Maya could not eat or function for a week. She had nightmares every night about her parents' death. Roma had not come back, and Maya was afraid that Roma would never show her face again.

Maya sighed, her eyes focused on the canned sardines in front of her. She was planning to eat them for dinner. The kitchen was stocked full of canned goods. She was not complaining though. Canned food was better than nothing. But what would she do when she ran out? Roma had to show up. But how could Maya contact her?

She was close to going crazy living in that house alone for a week. One more day, and she’d go mad.

“Why don’t you open it?”

Maya almost jumped upon hearing the voice. She was sure that was Roma’s. “How did you get in?” Maya asked. She hadn't heard the door open or close.

“When I went back to your old house, it was burned to the ground—with your parents inside. No evidence. No witnesses. The house was not even in your parents' names. The only thing left was their ashes. The investigation will go nowhere because everyone is keeping their mouth shut.”

“But you and I both saw what happened!”

“But I didn’t know them. I can’t even remember what they looked like. And you, they can never know that you are alive. They should never learn of your existence. You have to change your name. I found a place for you to live under a new identity. I also found a new school for you.”

“I don’t want to go to school,” Maya stubbornly replied.

Roma was taken aback. Maya still did not know what Roma looked like. She had been covered when she rescued Maya, and even now, she was wearing a headscarf. Roma was still a mystery to her.

“What do you want to do instead?”

“I want to avenge my parents' death.”

“You are too young to think about that.”

“I don’t mean now. I will get stronger, and when I am sure I can handle it, I will look for my parents' killer.” Tears ran down Maya’s face. She was so tired of being weak. And just like her mother always told her, she needed to learn how to fight back. That's what she would do.

“What do you do for a living?” Maya asked Roma after she had calmed down. “How can you jump so high? Why can’t you show me your face?”

Maya heard Roma sigh before she sat down in front of her. “I don’t know if there's really a word for what I do. Secret agent is probably the closest. Do you know what that is?”

Maya shook her head. She didn't know what Roma was talking about.

“My services are illegal, against the law. I'm hired by those at the top to clean up their trash. It's not an ordinary job. Do you get me?”

“A little.”

Roma nodded. “My life is far from normal. If you don’t want to be like me, go to school. Just like you, I don’t have a family. I don’t have friends because emotions are prohibited in this line of work. Is that what you want?”

That got Maya thinking. Yes, that was what she wanted. She felt like Roma was a strong and brave woman. She wanted to be like her because only then could she avenge her parents' death.

“I want to be like you,” she replied.

***

“I'm Allison. Roma sent me. Are you sure you don’t want to go to a normal school?”

Allison was a very pretty woman in her mid-twenties. Fair-skinned, her hair was straight and long, and she possessed a very gentle face. Maya answered Allison’s question with a nod.

“I will be your teacher. If you want to be like Roma, you need to be smart. You can’t survive in this job if you are stupid.” Allison had an angelic face, but her words were harsh.

Allison just kept on preaching even though Maya was not responding. Allison threw the books she had been carrying onto the coffee table, then she sat down on the floor. “We will begin now. I will also teach you martial arts, but of course, not today.”

Maya nodded then sat down beside Allison. Maya thought that Allison seemed like a real teacher with the way she was acting. The only thing that she did not understand was how Allison knew Roma.

“Are you just like Roma?”

“Don't ask me questions that are not related to your lessons,” Allison replied then stood up. “Fill out that questionnaire.”

Allison went outside to smoke. Maya sighed. She had a lot of questions, but neither Allison nor Roma wanted to answer them. Roma said that all she had to do was obey her.

A few years later, the routine was still the same. Allison showed up every day to teach her academically. Roma and Allison took turns teaching her martial arts too. For three years, she didn't leave that house and saw no one except those two women.

“Do you not use guns?” Maya asked Roma. It had been three years, and Maya had still never seen Roma's face. Maya had gotten used to it. She stopped questioning why. She knew she would not get an answer from Roma.

“I don’t.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t kill people. That's another thing I want to teach you, to do this job without killing people.”

“When will I start getting jobs?”

“When I am sure you can finish them. Right now, you’re still not ready.” That was that, and they continued practicing martial arts. Roma didn’t seem to get tired while Maya was already exhausted; she just wanted to lay on the floor. Despite that, Maya was happy. She was happy that Roma and Allison were giving her their time and attention even though they were not related by blood.

She didn’t even know her extended family. She had grown up in her old house with only her parents. They never told her anything about the rest of her family, and no one had ever visited them in that old house.

Even though Maya was not walking the normal path, she felt okay. She preferred this path to being bullied at school. She also loved the feeling that she was stronger now and no one could oppress her. She would fight back, just like she had promised her mother.

After her martial arts training, she joined Allison for computer lessons. Allison told her that she would need to know a lot about digital things as an agent. “You can’t be an agent if you don’t have basic hacking skills,” Allison said. “By the time you are ready to replace me and Roma, the world will be even more modern than today. That is why you need to learn about computers.

Maya nodded and got ready to listen. She only had two teachers, but she felt like she had learned way more than a regular student. Her teachers were no-nonsense; they only taught her what she needed to know.

Maya was eighteen when Roma entrusted her with her first assignment as an agent. The job was easy. She had to steal a file from a local businessman's house. She didn't know who she was working for or what the client would do with that file, but that was not really any of her concern.

All she had to do was finish the job. There was no room for whats and whys. She was not dealing with the clients; that was Roma’s job. If she thought about it, her boss was really Roma. And Roma had only one rule: Do not kill anyone.

She got fifty percent of the payment for every job well done; Roma got the other half. Roma opened a bank account using an alias. Faking documents was easy for Roma.

Maya climbed the wall of the businessman’s house without getting nervous. There were lots of guards, but no one noticed her. She moved as quiet as a cat. She went into the study and got the file that her client wanted without sweating. She moved in and out of the house without getting caught.

Maya smirked. “That was very easy,” she whispered after jumping out of the yard. She walked away normally, like she had not just done something illegal.

“Can’t you give me something harder than this?” Maya asked Roma when they met back up. Roma would get someone to deliver the document that Maya had just stolen to their client.

“Don’t get too full of yourself, Vindicta. You’re just starting.”

Vindicta. That was her code name. That was the name she had given herself now that she was working with Roma and Allison.