REIKA

SEVEN

ALMOST FOUR AND A HALF YERAS LATER

The annoying sound of a vintage alarm-clock tone penetrated my brain. As soon as I heard it, I jumped up and reached for my phone. With one eye closed, I desperately tapped on my phone until the stupid thing shut up. I tossed it back on my nightstand and covered myself with the thick comforter once more.

Having glass walls wasn't as majestic as I thought it would be. There was no way to stop the fucking sunshine from filling my home. All I wanted was peace and quiet before the little monster woke from his slumber.

I tried to shield the light away and hugged my pillow tightly before I heard it. Small sticky feet running my way at full speed. I heard the door squeak open, and I braced myself for the attack.

"Mammy! Mammy! Mammy!" The creeping creature crawled with difficulty in my bed and pulled my comforter away. The light blinded me, so I kept my eyes closed, but he had already seen my grimace.

"Mammy!" He crawled over my body and bounced on me. The bed shook, but I kept my eyes "close", pretending I was still sleeping.

"Mammy! Mammy!" He straddled my body with those short cute legs of his and kept bouncing as if he was riding a horse. This was what he did every morning. He was as persistent as I was, so he kept calling me. He never stopped until he got what he wanted. A mummy risen from her sarcophagus. I pretended I was snoring.

"Mammy! Mammy!" He shook my shoulders with his little hands as hard as he could. "Mammy, up!"

I wanted to say, 'go away, Mammy's dead now' but I just laughed internally. I pressed my lips together and snorted harder. My son pinched my cheek. "Mammy, UP!" He screamed. "Up!" Arjun placed his humid, cold little hands on my cheeks and pressed my face. "Get up!" He squeezed my cheeks as hard as he could.

"Mammy, up!" His sweet voice sounded annoyed. "Grandpa and King, Mom!" He announced, and I felt like facepalming myself. I completely forgot. Dad promised Arjun they would spend time in the woods together. He would take care of him since Mom and I had that meeting.

Oh, fuck! The meeting!

I jumped out of bed and ran towards the closet. How could I forget that meeting? I have worked so hard these past years to convince those idiots that I was capable of following through with the demands of the office, and here I was. Made a mess and with only forty minutes left before the meeting started.

Fuck!

I rushed out with my underwear in my hands and stood on a toy. Fastest fucking way to see the stars. I held my foot and cursed underneath my teeth. Arjun was a sponge! He would repeat anything that came out of my mouth.

"Mommy, are you OK?" Arjun saw me jumping on one foot and got closer. He had my phone in his hand.

"Mammy is just... fine!" I was sarcastic. He still didn't get sarcasm well. Arjun was almost four, but I swore this child was slow. "What do you have there? Who's that?" I pointed at the phone and he passed it to me. I looked at it and saw my dad's picture on the screen. "Reika?" I heard Dad's voice and immediately placed the phone in my ear.

"Dad? Did Arji call you?"

"No, I called you and he answered. You slept in, didn't you?"

Shit!

"I might have, I'll be on my way in no time. I just need to give Arji a shower, cook breakfast for him, get him dressed, take a shower and then... jump off a window. Dad, I'm screwed. I don't know what to do," I overdramatically complained and Dad laughed.