It was near to twilight, one hour for the day light to completely eat away the darkness of a long night. Ishtar was already awake with a backpack on her back and her new born baby in hand.
Ready to leave, she clutched a black leather suitcase.
Her eyes travelled across the bedroom, and memories of laughter and orgasm voices of herself in one of the best days she made love to her husband Bob Lee, echoed through her head amidst looking at their bed.
Sadness was written allover her face though.
Her husband was taken, in another woman's hands now.
Ishtar's mind crushed, thinking, with images of Bob Lee and Nadia sweating skin to skin under the sheets. Memories of the moment she caught them in a tight embrace in Nadia Browne's apartment resurfaced too.
These flush images in her head were hectic.
In despare she gave up, turned, walked out of her matrimonial bedroom and pulled the door infront of her to close.
Her marriage was at the moment incapable of being corrected, despite the desparate tears she shaded and fight she put on infront of her husband inorder to keep the marriage.
From a distance, as she was heading to the staircases to slop down, Ishtar gazed at her Mother-in-law's bedroom door and stopped walking.
Drifting from inside her head, was the voice of her mother-in-law, soft and fragile, as though she was speaking directly to her with love and loss. "Ishtar, please don't go. Stay just a little longer _ I am going to miss you."
This illusion plea pulled her like a ghost she couldn't resist, drawing her upto infront of her Mother-in-law's bedroom door.
Ishtar raised her knuckles up, but her hand paused as it was about to knock on the door. Thinking through, she gave up and put the hand back, to caress her new born baby.
"Take care mother," within her head she said, turned and continued to walk downstairs, out of the house.
In each step she took towards the gate when she stepped outside, sorrow wrapped around her like a fried egg in a chapati. The weight of memories created almost in the whole of her life time also stood heavily on her shoulders, pulling her back like a magnet.
But, life had slapped her ruthlessly in the face that she had to accept fate.
What she was leaving behind unwillingly was the only home she knew since childhood.
Besides her mother who was spending life in the home for the disabled, her mother-in-law together with her husband Bob Lee, were the only friends and family she had in her entire life.
But now she had to leave to be on her own.
Ishtar hesitated, glancing back one last time with an aching heart.
"Goodbye," she whispered, and a tear traced her cheek sorrowfully as she turned away.
A taxicab readily waited for her outside of the mansion gate, in which she sat with her two bags and new born baby, and departed with a weight on her heart.
At the home of the disabled, Ishtar arrived to meet her biological mother first.
As she was stepping out of the cab, her baby started crying allover a sudden. "Ssh, allow mommy to find us a comfortable place to sit, then she can breastfeed you," in caressing words, she gave the baby whom she thought was hungry, an assurance to feed.
As soon as her mother was brought to her in a wheelchair, Ishtar's tears began to roll out. She placed the baby on her mom's laps, fell in her chest and cried her sorrow out on her shoulder, holding her tightly with fondness, in a hug.
Spiritually, mother could feel her daughter's sorrow. On her face, even though she was a victim to severe head trauma, sadness made a statement.
"I'm leaving the city mom," leaning out of her chest, as she whipped dripping tears off her cheeks, she informed her.
The baby started crying again and this time louder than before.
"Excuse me," Ishtar picked the baby up, and right on the side was an empty seat on which she relaxed and put the breast her the baby's mouth to feed.
Her sad mother smiled. Ishtar smiled back at her.
As she was still breastfeeding her baby, "Hey! Do you remember me?" Abruptly, a young lady, who happened to be so excited to see her sat right her side. "Gosh, you look awful!" And blurted.
The lady was almost in the same age bracket as her.
"Excuse me, Do I know you?!" Ishtar got a bit confused. She didn't seem to know her from anywhere.
"It's me 'Pixie' at the jewelry store, remember! You made us a memory that will forever ring a bell in our heads." Pixie was so much excited in her words.
"Oh, the same customer care smile," Ishtar recalled, "that welcomed us in a jewelry store!"
"Of course..." Pixie gladly replied.
"Am so sorry that I didn't recognize you in the first place," humbly, Ishtar apologized.
"Not a big deal," Pixie didn't mind. "You guys your proposal was a movie to watch _ a very handsome guy kneels to put a ring on your finger and you turn him down; you try to walk away but you stay; then you pinched yourself to wake-up from a dream which actually turns out to be a reality...! Come-on, you and your guy made a historcal statement in our shop that day."
"Really!" Ishtar seemed slightly amused by Pixie's narrative.
"Wow," Pixie added, "you can't believe since that day, many couples have been coming to our jewelry store for rings and proposing right there!"
"Are you for real?!" Ishtar got more suprised.
"Of course _ infact my parents decided to use the footage of your marriage proposal as our jewelry advert and this has attracted so many customers since that day," said, Pixie.
"That's great!"
"Thanks to you and your guy."
Jokingly Ishtar asked, "don't you think I and my husband need a big commission?"
"Trust me, my parents will be glad to give you that," Pixie gladly replied.
"Just kidding." Ishtar smiled.
"Wow, look at your baby! Is so cute," With a finger, Pixie caressed the baby's cheek.
"Thanks," Ishtar was pleased to hear that.
"Can you believe that I don't even know your name?" Pixie really needed to befriend Ishtar.
"Call me Ishtar: by the way this is my mother. Am here to pay her a visit," delightedly, she introduced her disabled mother.
"Hello mom," Pixie sent a smile at the grown-up woman, but she couldn't respond to her and it was understandable.
"Are you here for anyone?" Ishtar asked.
"Am actually here for everyone," Pixie replied, "Both my grandparents went through trauma and ended up in a home. They were given to much attention that, after they passed away, my parents decided to start up a home for the disabled and this is it."
"That was an awesome responsibility," said Ishtar.
"Yes it was. And every Sunday, very early in the morning I show up here to look into the weekly report, check on our patients' condition, just for better service delivery," told Ishtar, Pixie.
"Wow." This touched Ishtar's heart.
"Ishtar, am so pleased to meet you. If you can convince your husband to come for dinner at our home, my mom and dad will be so happy to welcome you," Pixie couldn't wait to invite Ishtar.
All over a sudden, Ishtar became cold and her smile slowly fainted away.
Pixie noticed.