Silver light from the lightning spread across the night sky.
The sound of raindrops slowly started, and the fragrance of wet soil filled up the air.
The dark room became chilly, with cold air gushing in from the open windows.
A large bed covered with white sheets was placed at the centre of the room and a fair, young lady dressed in a sheer gown laid on the bed with her eyes closed and her breathing even.
The picture seemed enchanting, and the contrast between the sleeping beauty and the stormy sky looked magical.
The door to the room was opened and promptly closed. A shadow moved slowly towards the bed. The dark figure came closer with every passing second, finally leaning towards the beauty on the bed.
--
"Ahhh..." A scream sounded in the silent room.
Isabella opened her eyes in terror, her heart thumping hard and her head aching tremendously.
Sweat dripped down her forehead and tears flowed out of her eyes. Her palms were sweaty and her whole body was trembling.
Her heaving chest and teary eyes made her look like a pitiful bird kept bound in a hellish cage for years.
"Mommy...." the little girl sleeping on the other side of the bed jolted up and turned on the bed light, then looked up at Isabella.
Hearing her daughter's sweet voice, Isabella calmed down and hugged the little girl tightly. The little girl patted Isabella's back with her tiny hands.
"Mommy... Did you have a bad dream again?"
"Yes" Isabella nodded lightly and continued holding her daughter.
"Don't worry mommy. I'm here with you" the little girl said in a sweet, cheery voice.
The mother and daughter duo hugged each other and soon drifted into sleep with a smile spread across both their faces.
-----
"Mommy, Good morning" the little girl greeted and placed a kiss on Isabella's cheek.
Her daughter greeting her with a kiss and 'good morning' was the thing Isabella would die to enjoy every day.
Fear from her the last night's nightmares and her lingering sleepiness were shooed right away with her daughter's kiss. She jumped down the bed in good spirits to start a new day.
Isabella rushed through a series of morning activities as she had to be at work on time. Her salary for the day would be deducted if she was late even by a few minutes.
It was already hard to keep up with the increasing cost of living with her low salary, she wouldn't dare be late to work.
Isabella picked up her bag and ran towards the door.
"Mommy..." the child seated on the couch in the living room shouted eagerly.
"What?" Isabella who was almost at the door halted and turned around.
"You forgot something" little cute pie spoke seriously.
Isabella rummaged through her shoulder bag and found everything she needed.
The child watched her mother's actions, hurried towards the door and stood beside her mother.
She thought her mom would at least give her a goodbye kiss or a hug before leaving but she couldn't directly ask for one now and make her mother feel guilty.
Isabella noticed her child and asked instantly "Baby... I've got everything I need. What did I forgot?"
"It's here" The little girl opened her hand and handed something to Isabella.
"This..." Isabella was stunned to find a string of unevenly spaced glass beads in her palm.
"I made this for you, Mommy. You can look at it whenever you miss me"
The little girl tugged her mother's skirt asking her to lower herself and gave Isabella a sweet kiss on her cheek.
Isabella didn't know what to do except to hug her daughter tightly. However, in her heart, she already felt unbearable pain and guilt clouded her mind.
One small gesture from her child was enough to move her immensely, but she never once provided her child with this kind of warmth.
Isabella was always immersed in her work and hurried daily life that she didn't realize how much her baby missed her love and company. Although she hired a nanny during the day, she knew a nanny could never compensate for a mother's presence.
As a single mother, she had enough on her shoulders and failed to make time for her child. Perhaps, she never made time for herself too.
Isabella always lived under the shadows and never looked for an opportunity to walk into the light.
But now looking at her daughter, Isabella decided to change her way of living and her attitude towards the world.
She couldn't keep herself buried in pits of oppression. Instead, she had to pull herself out and stand bravely in the open world. She had to become someone strong, capable, with unlimited energy and support to look after her child.
"Alright. Help me wear it" Isabella handed the string of beads to her daughter.
The little one tried tying the string around her mother's wrist but her little arms made her action clumsy and she couldn't tie it properly.
Isabella smiled looking at her daughter's disappointed face. The little one was down because she couldn't tie the string around her mother's hand.
The string was so thin with limited length, that the little child struggled to tie it without slipping.
Isabella was delighted watching her daughter's adorable actions and expressions, she couldn't help but keep kissing her daughter's little face repeatedly.
Filled with her mother's little kisses, the little one giggled before gazing at her mother's lovely face.
"How about we do this?" Isabella picked the beaded string from her daughter's hand, rolled it around her fingers and tied it around her necklace. It looked like a ball of beads was hanging from the metal chain, making it a perfect pendant.
"See, it's so close to my heart, I can always feel your presence here..." Isabella patted the ring of beads hanging down from the chain that kept rubbing across her chest.
"Wow. Mommy, it looks so beautiful" the child clapped her little hands in joy.
Looking down at her daughter's smiling face, Isabella felt content. Just when she thought she could finally leave the house, the little one asked an innocent question on a topic that felt like a ticking time bomb to her.
"But mommy, do you think daddy will feel bad if he knows I'm more closer to your heart than him?"
Isabella flinched. Never once, not even in her dreams did she imagine that one day her dear baby would talk about her father.
She stared at her daughter in a daze. It wasn't that she didn't want to reply but she didn't know what to say to her daughter.
Her mother's silence made the little girl uncomfortable and she didn't know what caused her mother to look so bad.
'Is mommy feeling sorry for me that I don't have a daddy?' the little girl thought as she gazed at her mother who stood rooted in a daze.
The little girl decided to ease her mother's heart and broke the silence. "Mommy, I will soon find a daddy myself. You don't have to worry about that"