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5 months ago
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Mrs. Hudson sat in the front row seat and watched her daughter come on the stage as her name was called as one of the graduates. She moved to the stage with dignity and self-respect. Her green jumpsuit and white pumps added to her elegance.
She hadn't been prouder to call Maya her daughter. "You are my little bit of heaven" she would tell her while swinging her playfully, till she squeals with joy. That was almost twelve years ago and here she was, all grown up. Despite all the challenges they had faced especially when her father deserted them.
It had been ten years since her husband eloped with her niece, her brother's first child who was young enough to be his daughter. Causing a strained relationship between her and her brother.
That fateful morning, she had come downstairs to start brewing coffee as she normally did every morning, he had placed the note under the coffee maker where he knew she would find it. She never for once suspected that her husband was unfaithful to her, she could take a vow that he couldn't and wouldn't harm a fly. But here he was hurting her.
She had been broken and depressed, especially since she thought he was happy in their marriage. They had normal arguments like couples do but he never gave her any reason to doubt what she thought they shared. She wondered where she failed or went wrong in her marriage.
How and when they started the affair, was a mystery to her.
Her niece had visited them last summer, when she got a job in their state she had asked them to let her stay till she got her own apartment. Maya's mum had noticed that her niece and husband had become close but she never suspected they were having an affair.
They both hurt her more than they could have imagined. She blamed her husband more, he was supposed to be the older one and he had been the one who made vows to her and not her niece. He failed her and Maya.
She had cried her eyes out and stayed indoors for almost a week. Because of her daughter, she fought her depression and won.
Her brother had been disappointed when he got wind of what had happened, he didn't take the news well and was rushed to the hospital when he collapsed. Thankfully it was nothing serious or life-threatening.
But the situation had caused a rift between her and her brother and to some extent their relatives thus making them uncomfortable in the presence of each other. They both tried to avoid one another in family gatherings. But over the years through the help of family members and friends, they were able to look beyond the betrayal and their relationship blossomed.
Mrs. Hudson had taken up the challenge to train her daughter as a single parent, taking her to dance class, swimming lessons, and birthday parties. And she had grown to become a beautiful young woman today. Maya was a good child and her mother had nothing to worry about, she made it so easy for her mother by being self-disciplined and maintaining good grades.
As she looked at her daughter who was graduating from high school today she felt as if her heart would burst with pride as she gently wiped tears from her eyes. And she raised a prayer of gratitude to God thanking him for his mercies in their lives.
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The present-day
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"Mum, won't you get dressed, we are almost late," Maya said to her mum. They had a wedding to attend today, her uncle from her mom's side was getting married.
Maya didn't know much about her father and her father's relatives and when she asked her mother she gave some explanations she didn't understand and since then she had not bothered to ask her again. Especially as she observed how strained her mum was talking about it.
"You know it's an hour drive to Greenville, we should leave home before 10:00 a.m." she continued as she made herself a healthy breakfast of brown toast, avocado and boiled eggs with freshly pressed orange juice. Her mother declined when she offered her some, she just drank coffee with heavy cream.
"I have already showered, once I bring out the muffins from the oven I would get dressed, they might get burnt if I leave them unattended to."
The oven timer popped minutes later announcing that the muffin was ready, she took a clean rag from the cupboard rail, opened her oven and brought the perfectly baked muffins out. This was the last batch of the 7 she made. She was taking it with her to the wedding.
They were both ready to leave in 30 minutes, time. She wrapped the muffins carefully in beautifully designed packs. 6 pieces in a pack and a total of 12 packs.
Satisfied with the result she beamed happily at herself, things had fallen into pleasant places for her over the years.
Her business was booming and her daughter was already in college. The mortgage was paid on time and she had zero debt.
With help from Maya, they both carefully moved the muffins into their van and left for the wedding.
They got there before most guests started arriving, before noon the wedding had kicked off, the groom and bride looked radiant in their attire.
The groom wore a white Tuxedo and the bride was dressed in a simple flowing white satin lace with cream shoes. They both looked breathtaking.
The wedding party started after they took their vows. The father-daughter dance was still ongoing when Mrs. Hudson saw her, she couldn't believe her eyes, she had changed and looked worn and lean. She felt anger and pity for her, but she suppressed the pity and allowed the anger to gain more ground.
She moved far away from her point of view, she didn't want to see her because it brought back memories better off buried.
Maya was with her cousins; they had not seen each other for months now, the guests were mingling with other guests, so she decided to take some fresh air outside, mostly to avoid confronting her.
She sat on the empty bench with her elbows on her knees, visibly shaken and upset from seeing her.
"Hello, aunt " she froze, she knew that voice from the pit hell.
************************************Kabir's Graduation Party.************************************The s
Maya had completely forgotten she had planned another date with Ethan. She had been so engrossed with work and school.She was in her final year and didn't want to lose focus and end up losing her scholarship.
Ethan called Maya early the next day. Due to his bad habit of smashing his phone whenever he was angry, he always bought an extra phone."Hello, Maya," Ethan said immediately his call went through.
Clara was excited about her engagement with Kabir and flaunted her ring for all to see.It didn't matter to her that she had masterminded the whole thing or whether Kabir was happy or not.
Kabir was not happy with his father, he had always interfered with his life and now he has dabbled into the most important stage in his life. Marriage was a big deal and his father had gone ahead to announce his engagement with Clara. Of all the ladies it had to be Clara and he did this without consulting him or at least given him time to adjust to the idea.He al
Salman watched his wife walk past him as he ate his breakfast of sausages and brown toast with sunny-side-up eggs. He noticed something strange about her, she had an air of confidence in her. The way she walked with her head held high, he also noticed other things, she looked slimmer and her skin shone under the sun.As he thought about her he also noticed other things,
"I'm so excited that in two weeks' time we will officially become man and wife," Clara said to Kabir when she called him. The caterer had wanted to know his favorite cake flavor and color, Kabir had simply asked her to do whatever she wanted with the whole wedding plan."Try and show more interest in our wedding, remember it's for both of us, not just me," Clara said to
********************Veronica left her son and walked down the stairs towards the garden, she wanted to think about what's happening in her home. Had she allowed her husband to have the ultimate hand in decision making both in her marriage and her kids live. Have things gone too bad and awry over time? The last straw was her son, she was done tolerating the mental abuse.
Kabir went straight to the airport from Maya's home, the flight to Florida was smooth without hassles and he arrived in Florida before it was too dark to make out where he was. He logged into a hotel close to the airport as this was his first time here and he didn't know his way around town. He had not eaten the whole day so he went to the hotel restaurant for a quick dinner of mashed potatoes, gravy and steak, before retiring to his room. He didn't come with any luggage either, his plan was to get whatever he needed at the mall, especially some change of clothes.
*******Maya********
Maya was awake early on Saturday morning. This was the day Kabir would be coming over to teach Mark how to ride his new bike. Mark had been excited about it and so was she, though she didn't know whether her excitement was seeing her son learn to ride or if it's because she will get to see Kabir again.She brewed coffee for herself and her mother then made pancakes and scrambled eggs for her son. Maya still lived with her mother, it was more convenient for both of them and they needed each other now more than ever before.Mark was also as excited as his mother, he was going to learn how to ride a bicycle today."Mum has uncle Kabir come yet., '' Mark said as he entered the kitchen and walked towards his mum, his face puffy from sleeping."Not yet honey." She bent over and gave him a light kiss on the cheeks before putting him on his highchair. "Eat your food okay, and be a good boy." She placed his meals in front of him and watched him eat. Her heart swelled with love for him.It was p
****************Kabir felt lost, the woman he had come to love with all his heart had left him forever. Theirs wasn't a perfect love story but somehow they found love and peace in their imperfection. The night has become cold and lonely and the warmth of her body against his is gone. It was almost a month since Clara died but the vacuum she left in his life and heart was indescribable.Going home after work had become torture for him that he spends most part of the day at the hospital and whenever he comes home he is too tired and goes straight to bed. He worked extra hours and took shifts as he would rather be anywhere but home. Home reminded him so much of Clara, and her memory was everywhere.Everything Kabir did became mechanical, he didn't put any feeling into what he did and operated like a robot from his waking up till the day was over.He was on his desk one morning and going through some files on the desk when a small piece of paper fell off from a file he just opened, he pi
"What do you mean by, you are dying Clara," Kabir asked, trying to control his temper. She looked at her husband trying to gauge her words."I have stage 4 cancer and the chance of survival is very slim Kabir." She replied her voice inaudible from her emotions."Okay, assuming that what you just told me is true. Then tell me, how long have you known about this?""When we came back from France, I went for the test before we traveled as I had cramps and bloody stool. ""And you are just telling me now, ma chérie," Kabir said his voice mixed with pain and anger"I didn't want you to be worried until I was sure of what was happening to me.""You have hurt me again Clara, my heart bleeds from this pain you have inflicted on me for the second time."Clara's nose was already red and swollen from the tears her eyes glassy from the tears that filled it and spilled down her cheeks, she stared at Ethan in confusion.Kabir watched her stare at him looking uncertain and thinking of how she had hur
Clara walked into the doctor's office like a zombie, she didn't know how she was able to drag her heavy cold feet towards his office. She was scared beyond words and when she sat down facing him, the first word that escaped her mount was "I'm going to die, doctor, ain't I.""Don't say that you don't know your diagnosis yet, allow me to explain to you what is happening to your body and also the treatment you need to get better.""I'm sorry doctor, what is wrong with me." The doctor opened her file in front of him and read through, Clara tried to watch his facial expression to know if she could read it and probably guess if it's good or bad news. But the doctor's face was unreadable."From your test result Clara and your symptoms, you have Stomach cancer."Clara froze and was left speechless but the doctor continued.There are usually no symptoms of stomach cancer early on until later, and since you have started developing serious symptoms already I have to run some more tests on you to
"I want us to go for a mini-vacation to any location of your choice," Kabir said to his wife after they had made love and laid down cuddling."Are you serious right now.""Yes, I want to make up for our honeymoon that was cut short and I also have some free time.""That would be great. Do you have a particular place in mind for the vacation.""Hmmm….I want you to make your choice. This vacation is especially for you." He said smiling down at her."I would go anywhere with you Kabir, it doesn't matter the place as long as you are there."Kabir looked at his young wife, she had stopped dying her hair blond at his insistence, her hair was originally red and it suited her more, she looked her age now and had also started eating healthier and more food. She looked happier than he had ever seen her and so did he. "Let's go to the city of love," Kabir suggested."Then you have to learn how to say I LOVE YOU in French. So you can tell me that every morning while we are there.""I can start no
Maya found herself being so emotional lately, she cried at unnecessary things and her mother had told her it was just the pregnancy hormones, she assured her it would stop after delivery.Even at work, she had gone to the school restroom to cry whenever the emotions hit her up on several occasions.Her baby bump had grown bigger and round that everyone knew she was pregnant, she couldn't hide it anymore. They didn't ask about the father but you would notice their stares and whispers, they judged her without knowing the truth.Maya remained positive in all this and tried as much as possible not to allow people's opinions about her matter too much. She did not owe anyone an explanation, her only concern was her child. She didn't know the gender yet, as she had asked her doctor not to reveal it to her. She wanted to know the gender only after birth.************Hospital*************Maya walked down the hospital corridor, tugging at the hem of her maternity top and thinking that her mo
The day started with a heavy downpour, you could hear the splattering of the rain on the rooftop. As a child, Maya had always loved it when it rained because she was sure of an offering of cookies and some hot cocoa by her mum. Life had been simpler those days, she had little or nothing to worry about. Growing up had not been all that rosy with an absent father and the little resources available to them, but somehow they survived it all especially her mothers' power to provide her with what she needed to have a better future.Now it was her turn to ensure she provides her own baby with what it needs, getting pregnant at her age with no husband was not the future she had envisioned for herself but life happened. She had choices to make but she believed that she took the best decision and would live by it.Her baby bump was already showing but only when she took off her clothes, her outfit to work or church was still able to conceal it but it was a matter of time before people started no