Cupcake Bites

Cups of Affection: 1

"Well, Mr. Roberts, I'm pretty busy tomorrow. So can we reschedule the meeting on the 12th?" Jhanvi said, talking to one of her affiliates, to which the latter agreed.

She disconnected the call and went back to seat, relaxing, and summarizing her plans for the next day.

She had many plans regarding meeting her mother, Miss Nasha Campbell at her house the next day, which is Mother's Day. It had been four years since she last met. She met her four years ago at the inaugural of her matchmaking service. And after so long, Jhanvi longed to meet her.

While she was fantasizing about the outcome, her mobile was ringing. She took it and saw the Caller ID: Miss Lora. It was Nasha's caretaker. With a smile, she picked up the call. But the smile faltered quickly as she heard the news of Nasha fainting for the sixth time.

"She fainted at her house. I tried waking her up, but she didn't wake up. So I admitted her to the nearby hospital," said Lora.

Jhanvi packed everything, drove her car, and fled to the hospital. While one part of her was praying to God for Nasha, another part was mentally playing those memories she shared with her. Struggling between these two, tears glided through her cheeks.

As she reached the hospital, she saw three worried familiar faces waiting for her.

One: Lora.
Two: Her elder sister Zeenat.
Three: Her younger brother Lucas.

She ran towards Lucas and hugged him tight, crying aloud, while Zeenat came from behind and patted her gently.

Jhanvi, who broke the hug later, said, "What happened to Ma, Zee?" in between sobs.

"I didn't know, J. Lora called us and told us about Ammi," Zeenat replied, with a lone tear escaping.

"Where is she?" Jhanvi asked back, while Lucas showed her the ward. She ran towards the room and checked at Nasha through the see-through, where she was lying unconscious like a drunkard. Her room seemed way too bright, but even that didn't wake her up.

Jhanvi, who witnessed all these, leant on the door and cried aloud like a kindergartener, while Lucas and Zeenat tried to console her.

All the three hearts screamed one thing in unison.

Can't God save their mother?

***

Lucas, Zeenat, and Lora were waiting for Nasha to regain consciousness, as the doctor said that she would regain it sooner. Reports said that she fainted due to hyperventilation and she needed to be cured.

On the other hand, inside the ward, Nasha slowly tried to open her eyes and get rid of the blurriness. After blinking off and on, she was able to see the world clearly. The first thing she saw was a nurse, who came towards her, smiling and said, "Miss Campbell. Are you alright?"

"Yes, dear," she stammered back.

"Oh, okay! You take a rest, ma'am. I'll be back," the nurse said and exited the ward.

Nasha looked around the ward, which was bland white with strokes of light blue. The scent of the cleaning liquid made her stomach somersault and feel nauseous. The room was oddly bright, because of the over-bright sun and the LED lights in her ward. Her hazel eyes later fell on a cleanly folded paper, which was placed on the chest drawer next to her bed. She took it with a sort of difficulty and opened it inquisitively.

***

Ma.

I still remember the day we met. My homophobic parents kicked me out of their house, as I was a transgender. I had no food and shelter for the next six days. Seventh day, as I was standing outside an old house for shelter against the rain, I saw you there. You had a piece of bread, and you saw me hungry. You came to me and gave the sole piece, which I ate with a lot of hunger and gratitude. You understood the melancholy behind me and took me to your home. I entered your world and met Zeenat, who is a Pakistani lesbian, and Lucas, a pansexual boy from Mexico. You gave me a new identity and changed my name from Jay to Jhanvi. Your tales of struggles as a Nigerian sex worker was what inspired us to rise up and shine like a sun. You never married and took great care of us as a single mom. You strived more for us, and we could never repay your kindness even after this world dies and dinosaurs are reborn. We were always grateful for that. In spite of your flaws, you shine as the best mother to us. I wonder if even my own mother could take this good care of me. Thank you so much for that, Ma! Even when I reach the top of the world, I would always thank you for that. I always wanted to give this letter but got no great chance. And I finally got one.

Happy Mother's Day!

Jhanvi...

Nasha's eyes were moist with happy tears as she read the letter written by Jhanvi. She felt both proud and happy of her kids, and that was a pleasant surprise unimaginable.

Soon, she heard someone knock on the door, and she asked them to come inside. As the door opened, she saw her three kids come with a trolley from the hospital, screaming, "HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY, MOM!"

Nasha grinned widely at her children coming towards her and sitting next to her. They gave a group hug and exchanged pleasantries with each other, being merry with the reunion.

"Jhanvi, what would you have done if I've not fainted?" Nasha finally asked her, who was giving the cups of coffee and sat down with hers.

Coming close to Nasha, she clinked her cup with hers and said, "We would have clinked the cups like this at my home."

***

Word Count: 974 words