Astrid is a widow who has a daughter and is struggling to pay the debt her husband left her. Their marriage was not a happy one ever since they began to distance themselves when the baby was born. As if paying for the debts weren't enough, she has t...
"Hey, time to wake up," I tell Zephyr as I shake her gently, "you have to go to school today."
I get a groan for a response until I opened the curtains to see those bright blue eyes open and she finally says, "fine."
As she gets ready I get a phone call, it is from the last person I wanted to hear from.
"Still paying but yet still spending."
"What's going on now? Did your cat choke on a rat again?"
"Don't think I didn't see you at the pet store and then come out with an animal."
She was watching us? What kind of a woman is she? Most importantly: why? Oh, that's right, her son. I doubt she is doing this for Zephyr. If she were, she would come to visit and maybe be nice, not necessarily to me but to Zephyr.
"Don't think the bills are just piling up. Besides all I can say that I am successfully getting them done, despite not having your help. We all know how wealthy you are."
"Don't discuss my financial matters, young lady. You are just spoiling that little girl and her future does not seem to be promising."
"Stop talking, you are about to cross the line. You never cared for Zephyr and you never even have anything nice to say. Stay out of our lives because you made your point clear long ago. You hate us and we are not big fans of yours either, so stay out of our lives. Continue with your rich life and enjoy your champagne of every Sunday night." With that, I hang up and Zephyr looks at me scared. "Sorry baby, before we go can you check on Stormfly and see if she is alright."
"Okay."
Stormfly is our beautiful ring-necked parakeet. I got her after Zephyr brought me her report card. With those grades and with enough money to buy it, I thought it was good for her to have this kind of present. It was something she always wanted, more than a cat or a puppy.
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Ingrid crossed the line, but today was pretty peculiar though. She has never shown concern for Zephyr and her behavior overall makes me want to keep her away from her. True we have struggled but we stuck together. I have been in contact with my friends back where I grew up in which is in a town called Henderson in Noth Carolina. After my mother died of cancer, her best friends took care of me and were there for me. When I met my husband, they were happy for me but concerned. They knew I wanted to start a new life somewhere else, but I didn't have clear that when you are married and make a move, your life will change completely. That was what they were worried about but I assured them I was ready. My life there is a long story and yes, I do tell Zephyr about it and I plan to show Zephyr at the right moment.
***
It was a long day at work. I work as a librarian and the best part of my job is that I bring Zephyr with me. I am allowed to pick her up from school and then bring her here. This could probably explain why she is so smart. I began to notice that instead of drawing stick figures, she draws numbers and even shapes that I can't even draw, for a six-year-old, that is impressive. One co-worker told me she saw her drawings and that is just talent. I even saw her read a chemistry book that was mistakenly put in the kid section and she was making confused faces. I tell her to give herself time to be able to understand these things but she tells me that there are things she understands but not entirely.
