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Nine thirty.
She mornings the night as she takes a drag from her smoke and a sip from her cup of coffee. She has little time to spare before she's back to the daily grind and face some of her dreaded goals for the day.
"My teeth hurts". Her senior parent stutters. She regards her for a moment then continues to puff a little more away from the older one, as if saving her from the cancer chamber she was.
"I'll check for dentists. But I can't assure you someone will accommodate seniors. It's an apocalypse out there."
The parent sighs audibly and grunts. As she looked back behind her, she hears her parent's seemingly heavy footsteps echo away until she hears a door close.
She was alone again.
She browses through her phone and scrolls over for some personal news from friends.
"Condolences to..."
"I can't believe you're gone..."
"We will surely miss you..."
So much sorrow. So much suffering. So much... DEATH.
She locks her phone and takes a last puff of smoke before throwing it to the trash bin. Her heart sank from all the news she just read and made her re-evaluate the last couple of months they have been living in seclusion. Was all that sacrifice in vain? Was her efforts of keeping everyone she loves safe futile? It seemed fine before, but with so many deaths being close to home it just seemed to no longer make any sense. She wanted to throw her cup of coffee in frustration but realized that it would make too much noise that might wake her neighbors up. No one needs that kind of attention at this point. She sighs and puts the cup in the sink instead, leaving her even more frustrated as she has no room to throw a fit.
Nine forty five.
A shrill of laughter echoes in the lobby of the second floor. She looks up, hoping to have a peek of the source. Nothing visually comes to view, but the laughter grows louder and then starts to burst into tiny giggles.
"Mommy! Mommy!" The little one cried.
"Yes, honey?"
"Hello. Upstairs, mommy."
"Okay, plumpkin."
She cleans the sink, walks in and closes the kitchen door behind her. She only had 15 minutes left to spare before going to work but she figures this is enough. Hurriedly, she goes to the flight of stairs and finds her toddler in the arms of her dad waiting at the top of the staircase for her.
"Mommy!" she says pointing.
Her heart melts. She still could not believe this little human being could make her feel so much love and happiness. All doubts, helplessness, and frustrations take a backseat as she allows this warmth to envelope her.
Here, right at this very moment, at the top of 10 steps of stairs, she allows hope to shine through.
