twins

RINA

Three months later…

The view outside was intimidating. Large expanse of uncultivated land, mountain backdrops and hard rugged terrain.

Having your loved one with you could help a lot. It made a great deal of difference. For you, safety was sure, and the evil inherent in the world ceased to exist.

I shrugged.

Mammà's presence always made me forget we were in the middle of nowhere. And likewise my presence to her. I wasn't freaked out at night when it was eerily quiet and my body forced me up for a pee or a late-hour snack. Dark halls didn't scare me anymore; and so was being in isolation.

I'd forgotten what going out was. Running errands, racing to class, seeing similarly dressed persons —all those were now alien. And I was okay with it, as the smile on my face showed. Mammà was the reason. The cheerful future was too.

A tear dropped as I looked down, inevitably meeting my protruding belly. I was three months and two weeks gone, a stone throw from being free forever.

I rais