"Mother" by Ronojoy Hem ('19)

I could feel the sharp wind tearing away at my exposed skin as I trod lightly, along a path decorated with dead leaves and unfamiliar stains. The dreadful silence of the night would be occasionally broken by the howls of some annoying mutt. I kept hearing this faint knocking sound as if wood was hitting the concrete. I stopped and before I could turn my head, the sound ceased. I didn’t think too much about it, the thoughts of my ten-year-old daughter staying awake, waiting for me to come home made me take quicker strides. It’s not easy being a single mom while juggling between school and work. I barely have time with my daughter so I always look forward to tucking her in. I was too lost in my thoughts to notice that I had lead myself to an overwhelmingly foul odor. My nose directed me to the source­­– a dark alley to my right from where I then saw a menacing figure emerge. A burly old man wearing a shabby coat stood still with drool trickling down his chin. I stared in disgust at the yellow-stained teeth behind his sardonic smile. My eyes then fixed upon the large branch in his gargantuan hand…. I woke feeling a pulsing throbbing pain in my head. I could only make out a tiny figure holding my plastered fingers and weeping, “Mommy! Mommy!” They told me I was two months pregnant.