The stillness was shattered by her coughing. When it eventually stopped, spots of greenish phlegm plastered her callused palms. Anna walked in groggily and passed her a warm glass of water. She stroked her mother’s back for a bit before Claire urged her daughter to head back to bed.
She stared out of the window as the first rays of the morning peeked from the horizon. Up above, the crescent shaped moon still lingered stubbornly, unwilling to slumber. Claire pushed opened the double glass panes and a sudden chilly breeze caressed her face. It freshened her instantly. The street in front of her home is barren except for the attendance of the neighbourhood mongrels who had parked themselves lazily at the front gates of a vacated terrace. Perched on the window sill next door, two pigeons were having an early argument. When they noticed Claire staring, they flapped their wings furiously and disappeared from sight.
After a series of agonizing chemotherapy sessions, her doctor seemed positive that she’s well on her way to a full recovery but he warned that a relapse is always on the cards. Before discharging Claire, he reminded her to cherish her second chance at life.
Everyone had advised her to take things slow but Claire had so much she wanted to do and she wanted to do them all now. The phobia of her illness returning continued to haunt her. Still feeling weak from the treatments, she was certain she wouldn’t survive another battle with the cancer.
She spent very little time doing nothing during her three months of medical leave. She wakes up at dawn and walks herself to the playground nearby where she would join the elderly folks to practice tai chi, (a graceful martial art focussing on internal force of the mind and body). Soon after, she would busy herself in the kitchen preparing a scrumptious breakfast for Anna. Gone were the days where her daughter started her day with stale bread or dry biscuits. Nowadays, Anna filled her belly with poached eggs on crispy toast, fluffy pancakes drizzled with honey, chinese porridge with pickled cabbages just to name a few. Once Anna’s off to college, Claire would religiously surf the cooking channels to pick up new recipes. In the afternoons, after a deserving nap, she would do some light reading or occasionally go for tea with Mrs. Chan to catch up on the latest gossips. For the better part of the evening, she will cook up a storm, experimenting on the various formulas derived by the kitchen scientists and enjoying every minute of it. Then, mother and daughter would take pleasure eating and chatting about the silly nothings of the day. Sometimes Gabriel would join them as well when invited and Claire is beginning to get used to him being part of her daughter’s life now.
.....
It was a dream like no other. This one felt uncomfortably real and the sheer intensity of it seeped into her soul. Claire was trapped in total darkness. The sense of being lost suffocated her. When she lifted it to her face, she couldn’t even see her own palms. She shouted frantically for Anna. There was no response, not even the echo from her own voice. She dared not move, not knowing what lies in front or behind or beneath. Claire flung her arms around, hoping to grasp on something … anything. Panic surged and though she saw nothing, she felt the shadows hiding behind the darkness mocking her. Is this what death is she asked herself. Claire broke down and dropped on her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. She choked on her own breath and gasped for air. The thought of this dreaded feeling never ending depressed here immensely and she wept even harder. And then she heard it. It was very faint she was certain to have missed it if she wasn’t shrouded with absolute quietness. She strained to listen and there it was again, it seemed like a dog’s howl and it reverberated her skin. It’s as if it was trying to draw Claire towards it. She was trying to pinpoint the direction it was coming from and then heard a bark so loud it drummed her ears painfully. Claire jolted awake with her heart beating rapidly and felt that her blouse was soaked with sweat. Outside, rain was pouring. She was startled as lightning flashed across the window followed by the deafening boom of thunder.
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