Home Is Where Mia Is

It's 8:40 PM and for Cara, it feels like a never-ending day. Her pale face, half-lit by the coursing street lights, is marred with exhaustion. She has her eyes glued to the busy street ahead and the deafening silence in her car, is barely a match for the vacuum in her heart.

Cara needed to go home, hug Mia and just crawl over to her side of the bed while Dion's warm hands worked their magic on her feet. That would make it all go away! Her palms tightened around the wheels and she let out a deep breath. Her insides felt like a loose sweater thread, coming undone with each careless tug.

The phone vibrates at intervals, as it has for the past couple of days and the voicemails stack up, like a series of unsolicited reality checks. The usual "Call me if you need anything", "Take a break", and "Should I come over?", have now become white noise to Cara.

Cara pulls into the parking lot and steadily gathers her belongings, before finally stepping out of the car. This too shall pass - she mumbles, again and again.

Making her way to the door, she peeks through the glass panel, to make sure Mia isn't sleeping in the hall. If she wakes up because of the doorbell, it would mean an hour of swaddling, before she sleeps again. But Mia was right there; playing and giggling in her daddy's arms. Cara's lips curve into a slight smile. On a bad day, nothing else but home matters, right?! The very next moment, Cara rushes into the house with her chest thumping cold and mind running wild.

It has been a week since Dion passed away.