Mara woke up to the sound of a gentle humming. She lay on her back on a soft bed, quite unlike the one she was used to sleeping on at home. She lay still for almost a minute, staring at the white ceiling as her current situation slowly dawned on her.
She was in the hospital. She had gone through a lot in the delivery of her child and had passed out in the process. That was the most she could remember. Her first thought was the child and she quickly turned to see if it was beside her. But unfortunately, that was the wrong direction. Instead it was her stepmother she saw.Mara's heart skipped a beat, knowing what that woman was capable of. Certainly, she would soon receive an earful of verbal abuse, so she tried to pretend as if she was still unconscious, but ooops! Rosa chose just that moment to glance at the bed."Oh! So you're awake, bitch? How do you feel now, eh? Don't bother to answer that. I have only two things to tell you. One, the piece of trash you gave birth to is on the other side."Mara quickly turned and her eyes encountered the beautiful form of her sleeping baby and she sighed with a full heart. Tears welled in her eyes as she thought of what this all meant. She was now a mother! She was now responsible for the life and future of someone other than herself. It was both a thrilling and depressing thing for her. But her stepmother didn't let her have this moment in peace."Now that you've seen the trash, here's what I have to say next. Listen very closely. I've been waiting here for hours for you to wake up and hear this directly from me. Your mother was a filthy worthless whore, just like you are."Mara flinched and shuddered at the force with which the insult was launched, but Rosa went on, glad of the effect her words had produced."Do you know you're not my husband's child? Yes, you're not. Your whore of a mother had you for some tramp somewhere and imposed you on my husband. Now, listen and listen good. My husband and I do not want to see your worthless face ever again! Don't come to the house or we'll have you arrested. Don't call us either. And don't come anywhere near us forever!"***
And don't come anywhere near us forever! And don't come anywhere near us forever!The words were still echoing in her head even though they were said 24 hours ago. Since then, a lot of things had happened. After her stepmother left, she had spent the next few hours crying bitterly and bemoaning her ugly fate. What was she going to do now that she was rejected by her only family? Where would she go with her child? Since neither her father nor her stepmother had paid the bills at the hospital, she was also indebted to the hospital. But the doctor that delivered her of the baby had been kind enough to allow her stay till the next day. Mara knew she would have to leave eventually, but it still came as a shock when, the next night, she was asked to quit the bed to make space for another patient. One thing led to another and when it was found that she would never be able to pay her debt, she was turned out immediately. And now, here she was in a shopfront, on a dark cold night, the wind howling like a legion of demons. She sat with her back to it, trying her best to keep her baby away from the chill. Even though she covered it with every spare piece of material she had on her, it still cried unceasingly. Mara was at her wit's end. She had only a thin gown on and her teeth were chattering due to the icy wind blowing endlessly against her back, but all she thought of was how to keep the baby comfortable. She had absolutely no experience with child care, being barely an adult herself, so all she could do was rock the infant and press it against her bosom while chaffing its hand with her mouth to try to keep it warm. She was so engrossed with this activity when all of a sudden, she felt a searing pain slash across her back."Aaah!", she screamed aloud and began to shiver uncontrollably. Obviously, a speeding car had splashed ice-cold water on her!Now, she knew it was raining and stormy too. She had not noticed the rain since she had been so focused on comforting her crying baby. She turned her head around and saw that a vehicle with its lights on was parked right there on the road. It was probably the same vehicle that had splashed water on her back. A clap of thunder struck, completely illuminating the road in a massive flash of lightning. What Mara saw made her heart sink. No matter what happened, this image would forever reman stuck in her head. A man was standing beside the car in the rain with a gun in his hand. And he was looking in her direction!The first thought that came to her mind was that her stepmother had sent someone to get rid of her and her baby just to make sure she never bothered her and her husband ever again. In an involuntary act of protectiveness, Mara hugged her baby tighter.
More and more peals of thunder struck, but there was no lightning to illuminate the area and the lights on the car were now turned off, but Mara still kept her focus on that direction. She was too numb to be scared. She was not afraid of death at all. She knew it would come eventually and it was better to die quickly through a bullet than slowly through cold and starvation which was what was certain to happen to her and the baby.Suddenly, a bright light flashed on her face, momentarily blinding her. But it was not lightning, it was torchlight. Mara flinched as she saw what she was staring at: a hand holding the torch and another hand holding a gun!"Holy Mary! Wh... what on Earth are you doing out here with a baby?", the man exclaimed, quickly putting the gun out of sight as he saw that he was pointing it at a defenseless young woman and a little crying baby.But Mara said nothing in response. Not that she could if she wanted to because her lips and throat felt frozen. She could only sit there, shivering and holding the baby close to her chest as if she was a statue on a shaky foundation being blown by the wind."Hold on," the man said and then rushed off. In a few seconds, he returned with a coat and a large cloth. Without wasting time, he threw the cloth around Mara's shoulders and covered her head with some part of it. Next, he tried to take the baby and wrap it in his coat, but Mara refused to let go."I just wanna help. I won't hurt it," he admonished. But it was in vain. Mara still refused to surrender the baby. So he settled for covering it with the coat."Can you walk?", he asked, shouting above the noise of the thunder peals. Even though she heard him, Mara didn't or couldn't respond. The man took her for a deaf and dumb girl, so he simply helped her up to her feet with the baby in her arms.The moment she gained her feet, the girl swayed helplessly, the cold seemingly overwhelming her as she began shivering even more than ever, her teeth chattering like castanets. But through it all, she held on to the baby with no thought of letting it go. "Come with me, please," the stranger begged, but as usual, Mara made no indication that she had heard him, so he took matters into his own hands and held her tight, shielding her and the baby from the howling icy wind and slowly led her out of the shopfront onto the road and towards his car. It was not very easy getting her into the car since she still insisted on holding onto the baby, but somehow, he managed to get her into the front passenger seat and then he jumped into the driver side and pulled the vehicle out of the area in record time."I was attracted by your cry. I'd thought you were in danger," the man soliloquized as he drove, occasionally glancing at the mother and child beside him.The car was now as warm as it could be. The baby was now sleeping peacefully and the mother had stopped shivering. He wondered how she had come there, where she came from, if she had expected to meet someone or if she was lost. But how would he find out all these since she was deaf and dumb? He'd have to take her to the police station by morning. Hopefully, they'd be able to get useful information from her."I wonder how you ended up in such a situation though," he murmured beneath his breath. "Glad I came just in...""Thank you," Mara murmured softly and the man's eyebrows shot up in surprise."Y... you can hear me? I thought... Well, how did you end up in that place in this crazy weather? Where are you from?"Mara tried to speak, but she couldn't place the questions in the right order in her mind. Her senses were only just beginni
Throughout the rest of the day, Mara lived in suspense. Whenever she heard any footsteps, she started in fear, thinking it was Leo's wife come to throw her out of the house or Leo himself coming to ask her to leave. Earlier in the morning, after fixing her with her worst withering glare, Leo's wife had left her alone and she had not seen her since. She knew she was somewhere in the house. God knows the house was large enough for many people to live in it and still not come in regular contact with one another. But she had seen Leo and despite trying so hard to see if his manner towards her had changed, she could not find any proof of it. Instead, he had eagerly asked about her health and went on to play with the baby after she had repeatedly assured him that she did not need to see a doctor. He seemed happy to have her in the house and he and little Leo (she had decided to keep it as the baby's name) were strongly attached to each other. This made Mara wonder when or if his wife woul
"Sh... should I take this one back to them?", the new secretarial assistant stuttered in confusion.Leo said nothing; he simply turned to her with an "are you okay" look on his face. This was the office and the familiarity between them was for the house alone."Sorry. I'm sorry, sir," she apologized, gathering the papers with trembling hands and dropping them on the floor in the process. It was her first day on the job - her first job ever - and she was so nervous."Will you pack this stuff and take your clumsy ass out of here!", Marks roared, startling her and nearly making her trip. But Leo raised his hand immediately to quiet his friend.One fuming and the other patient, they both watched as the trembling Mara struggled to gather the sheets of paper on the ground. When she was done, she held them to her chest and bolted from the office as fast as her legs could carry her.Marks exhaled deeply as soon as she'd left the office. He had been holding onto his temper all the time she had
Leo hummed a tune as he brushed his teeth vigorously. He was late for work and he was so much in a hurry. Being late was not his usual MO but somehow, he had overslept last night. So much that Dalia who usually went to work after he did had already left before he woke up."Hmm," he sniffed as the bell on the front door rang for the second time. Wouldn't someone go answer whoever the hell was ringing??He continued brushing until... the third ring of the bell. This time, it was long and obviously anger-driven. Furious at the inefficiency of the domestic staff, Leo slammed his brush on the sink and hurriedly washed his mouth before rushing over to the front door. He expected to see one of the staff also rushing to open the door, but none of them were in sight! What mad inefficiency and stupidity! He would give them a piece of his mind before leaving for work this morning."Yes?", Leo questioned almost angrily as he pulled open the door to find a young man in a ironed white shirt standin
Leo made himself comfortable, or at least he tried to. To avoid suspicion, he ordered a cheap drink with a part of the money he had on him - currently the only thing he had in the world. Even though he shifted anxiously in his seat just outside the coffee shop, he was determined to wait patiently till he achieved his goal. He tried not to think of his current predicament; it was a conspiracy or maybe just a huge misunderstanding. Maybe his friend, Marks, had not seen him and was mocking someone else. No matter which it was, it would be fixed. He was sure of that.Even when he had finished his coffee, Leo kept sipping at the empty cup to give him enough excuse to remain in the shop. He certainly would not dare to buy another cup of coffee, not till he was sure of his future. Hour after hour passed. He had no watch, but the clock in the shop served him well and when noon struck, he kept all his attention on the building - his building.The staff filed out in pairs and trios, to enjoy th
He was deep in thought as he climbed off the taxi, planning and arranging his next line of action. He knew that his enemies were determined to put him down and keep him there. With all that had happened, it was clear that this was no warning or a dry run either. Whew! What a tough life.Absentmindedly, he pushed the gate so he could get in, but to his surprise it didn't budge. Woah. He didn't remember locking it, so what was the problem? With a quick sweep of the eye, he found what the problem was: he had been evicted."Huh?", Leo gasped as he went closer to read the notice pasted on the gate. What on Earth was all this? Surely, this had to be against some laws? He had rights, didn't he??He looked around to see if he could find anybody who could give the slightest clue as to who had pasted the notice and locked the gate, but the entire place was quiet. Christ! This was the biggest blow yet. Where would he live? From a billionaire to a homeless beggar, in less than 24 hours?Confused,
"Please make yourself comfortable, sir," Mara said, showing Leo to a sofa as they stepped into the house he had given her back when they first met."Thank you," Leo nodded with a smile and he couldn't help but sigh in tiredness as he slumped on the soft piece of furniture. That walk from his house to the coffee shop was a long and tedious one under the hot sun. He could use some cool water now, but he felt it would be disrespectful to ask for it so soon."Here, sir," Mara said, bringing him a glass of cold water in anticipation of his need.Leo didn't even remember to say 'thank you' before he grabbed the glass and downed its contents in a few gulps. He was that thirsty! When he was done drinking, he looked up to find that Mara was holding out a jug, offering to refill the glass."Thank you," he rasped as he held out the glass to her and she filled it for him. Whew. His wife never did this for him. He wondered where Mara had learned to be so nice and attentive. He never really did get
Leo walked fast, casting his eyes all around him at the quiet and peaceful environment. It was very much unlike the city. No noise, no crowd of constantly moving people, vehicles and stationary buildings. It was all sunny, calm and quiet with the occasional chirping of insects and birds. This was why he had chosen this spot to have a secret retreat. He had been looking forward to surprise his wife with it before Mara came into their lives and he had to put that plan on hold. Good thing he did. If his wife had known of the house, he would have lost it too and both he and Mara would have been completely homeless now.Shading his eyes to see better through the glaring sunlight, he caught sight of a house up ahead. It was a house on a farm. It would do for what he had in mind. Doubling his steps, he made straight for the building.When he bought the bungalow that now housed Mara, he had not had the time to take a detailed tour of the area to know his neighbors. Back then, he had thought i