Short Story #83: Missing Mother

Kelly is a growing 2-year-old. At that age, she has already learnt how to crawl, walk and speak short sentences. And of course, that meant she can already call her parents 'mummy' and 'daddy'. 

Like any other child, Kelly loves to sleep. It is always hard convincing her to fall asleep - her grandmother could vouch for that. True, she loves sleeping but she absolutely dislikes it when people TELLS her to sleep. If she still wants to stay awake watching television, let her be. Why deprive her of fun? Blame the broadcasting channel for putting the Frozen reruns at the night slots. There is absolutely no way she is going to sleep when that movie is on. Well, maybe they could at least let her be awake till after Let It Go has been sung.

There are also days where she simply slept the whole day, where the only activities she did are the normal daily ones where she takes a shower and eats her meals. She really loves sleeping. Just like how it is hard to convince her to fall asleep, it is just as hard to wake her up. Despite having slept for more than the required eight hours, Kelly loves to simply roll around her cot and lay there till she feels like rising for the day. 

However, one day, she regrets not waking up early.

It was Friday. The last day before the much-awaited weekends. It was a normal day so her parents had to go for work in the morning as usual. They would not leave till they gave their two daughters a hug and a kiss. It was a routine so Kelly is very used to that. Even when she is not awake yet, her parents would gently wake her from her stupor to give her affections before leaving.

But not on that day.

Her mother was running late for work because she had overslept and her boss called her to leave her house earlier because there was reportedly a traffic jam on the expressway. So her mother quickly changed into her work uniform and promptly left the house without kissing and hugging her two daughters. A few hours later, Kelly woke up to the absence of her mother and she bawled her eyes out. 

Where did Mummy go? Why didn't Mummy kiss me or hug me as usual? Where is she? I miss Mummy!! 

All these thoughts screamed in her mind as she continuously cried for hours to no end. Her grandmother tried hard to calm her down but her loud sobs only grew incessant. Meanwhile, her elder sister Layla simply shook her head and looked proud for not crying even though she too was sad that Mummy did not shower her with kisses and hugs.