Room 303

Chapter 2

Rachel

"Mummy! Mummy! Wake up." Rachel opened her eyes to see the twinkling eyes of her beautiful daughter Kelly staring down at her.
"Oh hey darling."
"You promised to take me to the park to ride my scooter. It is getting late, and I was tired of waiting for you to wake up."

Her daughter was her life. She loved her more than anything in the world. "Alright my beautiful baby," she said to Kelly as she cupped her face with her hands and planted a kiss on her cheek. Kelly had brown hair and brown eyes just like Rachel. She didn't take her father's green eyes. Kevin and Rachel would sit and joke about the stronger genes being hers, and that the girl was a spitting image of her. He would joke about how he wished Kelly looked more like him so that he could tease Rachel about it all day long. Every time she looked at Kelly, she thanked God a million times for sending her such a sweet little angel.

She might have taken a quick nap after a long day at work. Papers were scattered all over the table. Her laptop was fired up and left on screen saver mode. She might have dosed off for some time. Somewhere over fifteen minutes because that was how long it took for her screen saver to appear. She got off the sofa and went to fetch her girl.

"Kelly have you seen daddy?" She asked.
"He just went out mummy. He said he won't be late."
"Did he say where he was going to?"
"No, he just got a phone call and left home."
"Did you know to whom he was talking?"
"No," she said as she was struggling with her helmet.
"Come here let me fix it for you."
Rachel knelt down next to her to help her out. Kelly looked at her with big beautiful brown eyes.
"There you go honey."
Looking at her four-year-old, gave her the greatest joy in the world.
"Come on, it is time to go."

The sun was shining brightly in the clear blue sky. Although it was sunny, the cold air was brushing through their hair from time to time. Kelly was cheerfully riding her pink scooter all over the place. Rachel sat down on the side bench holding her coffee in one hand and a book in the other. She loved reading. It made her feel happy. Kelly was riding her scooter happily racing other kids. She was well protected with her gears so that she doesn't get bruised or scratched. Rachel knew it was natural for kids to fall and hurt themselves, but she tried her best to minimise the odds as much as she could. She wouldn't want her heart to ache every time her baby girl cried out in pain. She had already been there. She had cried many times as she put Kelly to sleep and lied down next to her sick body.

Rachel decided to ring Kevin. She put down her book and fetched her phone from her bag. She dialled his number. Five rings and it went straight to voice mail. She tried again. The same thing happened. He must be busy with work, so it was best to leave him alone and try again later. She called her best friend Laura.

Three rings before she picked up.
"Hey Laura, how are you?"
"Hey Rachel what's up?"
"I am just calling to see if you could join me and Kelly at the park."
"Sorry Rachel. I am a bit busy with the house."
"It is okay. Maybe next time."
"Yes hopefully," she said hastily before closing the line.

Laura was her best friend from school. They had been friends since year nine when she was transferred to Rachel's school. She came from abroad with her parents who were both into business. She struggled at the beginning to cope with the fast-paced school, but then Rachel helped her through everything. They became best friends ever since. She placed the phone back in her purse and watched her daughter happily ride her scooter around. The view made her smile. It was something she never got bored of. She sipped on her hot coffee and opened her book to read a few pages of the story in hand. A story recommended by a friend. A story that was sure to make her cry every step of the way. She closed her eyes wanting to rest while still focusing on the sound of her daughter. Kelly was instructed not to ride far away from her. Although it was a private park and very well guarded and restricted for residents only, Rachel still felt the urge to be extra safe.