The Wasted Wife

It was raining heavily in the city of London which made traffic more congested than usual.

The thunderous sound of thunder breaks the silence in the middle of the night in one corner of London which is quite gloomy.

The lightning that came down flashed adding to the gloom of the night that had stepped into the early morning this morning.

However, this heavy rain did not stop the activities of London residents who partly live at night, looking for a bite of rice.

The heavy rain has not dampened the traders, especially the food stalls which are open 24 hours just to find hungry customers in the middle of the night.

Tap...tap...tap...

There was the sound of footsteps walking in the middle of the pouring rain that was pouring down the city.

Footsteps that sounded hasty in the middle of this very heavy rain. Puddles of water began to appear on the road which was originally dusty which more and more inundated the road.

It was already past midnight, but the streets of London still seemed lively, as if they never slept and were not in the least bit affected by the late night.

Tap...tap...tap...

The sound of footsteps mixed with the splash of puddles was still audible. The longer it sounded, the faster and louder the sound of these footsteps sounded, as if the owner of these steps was really in a hurry to go to his destination and did not want anyone to know his whereabouts.

The sound of footsteps speeding up but not running, shows that the owner of the steps is in a hurry to get to their destination.

But, who is early morning walking in the middle of a city street that is being hit by a fairly heavy rain?

Seen in the distance in the pouring rain, a young woman dressed in modest clothes carrying an umbrella while holding a child wrapped in a cloth, while the other hand holds a five-year-old girl.

It's strange to see this scene in the early morning.

It is this woman who creates steps that splash in the puddles of the streets of London. This woman seemed not to care about the dirty puddles that wet her feet.

Her feet continued to walk without stopping, even though the tiredness was very clear on this woman's pale face.

Maybe it's just her strong determination, because of her responsibility towards her two children that keeps this woman still going strong in the pouring rain and bone-chilling cold weather.

Even her clothes started to get wet because of the heavy rain accompanied by strong winds that blew the rainwater that fell from the sky towards her and her two children.

This woman seemed very worried about the state of herself and her children. The look of fear on his face was even more obvious on her face which was pale white and seemed to be under great pressure which she could not bear.

But certainly, this young woman looked very scared and rushed to hide from the pouring rain that had not stopped yet.

Her 5 year old daughter looked strong amidst the confusion of her mother who was looking for shelter for them.

This girl didn't cry at all, even though the weather was quite cold with this non-stop rain.

Every now and then the woman looked back frantically, and looked around as if frightened that someone was following her.

It was a strange incident considering that this woman brought two very young children, even the other child was still a baby in a cloth carrier. There's no way a sane woman would take her two children out in the pouring rain at night either. Something must have happened to this woman, moreover this woman looked anxious and very scared that she was being followed.

But this is a big city, no one cares if there is a woman holding a child who may not be even a year old and holding a five year old girl. Everything may happen and be the responsibility of each.

Even though each individual lives with their own ego, but in several corners of this big city, there are still some individuals who care about others.

*****

This woman stopped for a moment at a food stall that was open 24 hours. Hunger attacked her, but she had no money at all to buy simple side dishes.

This woman was desperate to enter this food stall, even just to just take shelter from the pouring rain.

"You... what's wrong with a child at night?" said an old man who was enjoying his coffee at this food stall.

"I'm lost sir... just came from the village looking for my brother's house!" said the young woman.

"Don't you have a cell phone with you ? You can call her brother!" said this old man again.

" My cellphone is dead, sir, it hasn't been charged yet !" said this woman giving reasons.

"What is your brother's cellphone number, let me help call him," said the old man who is a trailer truck driver offering help.

Before this woman could answer, a voice came from inside the food stall.

"Come on Miss, come in here! It's not good if you take babies and small children outside at night. This is a big city, it's dangerous!" ask the middle-aged woman who owns this food stall.

"Thank you, ma'am... may I ask for food for my child, ma'am? Later, when you meet my brother's house, I will pay for it!" asked this woman.

"You don't have to pay Miss... Eh, what does this little brother want to eat?" asked the owner of this food stall kindly.

"Mama said I can't accept food from strangers!" said this five year old girl.

"You're funny. If it's now... it's okay for the mother to ask for food for my little brother!" said the owner of this food stall with a smile.

"Can ya mom?" asked this girl again to her mother.

"Can honey... you eat what this mother gave you huh..." said this young woman.

"Miss ... why haven't you met her brother's house until this evening?" asked the owner of the food stall, who was surprised that this woman was out at night.

This young woman who looked deathly pale was silent and did not answer the food stall owner's question.

"I'll tell you what... you can sleep in the back for the night! It's a pity the children are being taken aimlessly in the middle of the night like this! Tomorrow I will help you find your brother's house!" the food stall owner bargained for this young woman to rest.

The owner of this food stall immediately provided a foam mattress that could be spread out on the floor for this young woman and her child to rest.

"Have you eaten?" asked the owner of this food stall to this young woman who was as white as sick.

There was no answer from this young lady. Maybe this woman is weak or she doesn't want to bother the owner of this food stall anymore.

The owner of this food stall then took food to give to this young woman.

"You eat first so the pain doesn't get worse! It's a pity your baby can't breastfeed if the mother is sick!" the diner owner said firmly to this young lady.

Without arguing, this young woman tries to eat in order to produce breast milk for her baby.

Her 5 year old daughter had fallen into a deep sleep after eating.

"I'm sorry child... I'm sorry mom for making both of you feel like this," this woman said to herself while wiping her tears with her clothes that were still soaking wet.

While eating, this young woman recalled her bitter experience which made her have to leave her parent in-laws' house in the middle of the night, and walk aimlessly in the middle of the heavy rain that was pouring down the city of London.