11 demands must be fulfilled

EIGHT YEARS BEFORE

"FIVE SIX SEVEN EIGHT!

TURN

DOWN

UP

AND….

SPLIT"

"Wohoooooo! Good job guys!" says Anne clapping her hands. She's a part-time fitness trainer. Suddenly her phone rings, 'it's me mommy' (the ringtone). Everyone around is envious of Anne to be soo good looking and young even though she is a mother of a one year old child. "Hello! What happened Kathy? You know I am at work…" "well Anne, Baby Gia is running a fever all of a sudden. I am rushing towards the First Hospital. Call me when you reach there." Not giving Anne a chance to speak, she says and ends the call. Anne panics for a second and recollects that this is the 3rd time in the past two months that Gia is running a fever. She instantly dismisses class and rushes to hospital without changing out of her black track pants and grey tee.

She sits in her Audi R8 and starts the car. Rushes to the hospital as fast as she could. She enters the hospital and spots Kathy in the waiting line. She goes to her and takes Gia in her arms. "Sorry baby mumma couldn't take care of you. I promise I won't leave you now. I'd be with you always." Gia is in her sleep. Feeling the warmth of her mother's chest she snuggles to sleep. "Kathy thanks a lot for taking care of her. You must rush home and complete your work. I remember the submission is today at 11 p.m. I am here to take care of Gia." Kathy nods in agreement and takes a last look at Anne and Gia and says, "take care of yourself as well. You can barge into my house anytime. Don't stress yourself out." With this Kathy leaves.

After waiting for another 20 minutes, the receptionist calls for Anne. Anne goes with baby Gia in the doctor's cabin. "Doctor this is the third time my child has got a fever please check and please tell me where I am wrong. I am a fitness instructor but I can't take care of my own child. How ignorant of me!" She is in tears.

Doctor Luna has known Anne for the past two years. She diagnosed that Anne's fetus is unstable and then she was with her in the journey of nine months. She saw Anne from being dependent on her husband for her daughter's sake to divorcing him and giving birth to Gia all alone. She knows that Anne would blame herself for everything related to Gia. She sighs and says "Anne, Relax. Take a deep breath. You aren't ignorant. You did your part well. It's just that Gia's immunity is a bit weak and she gets affected due to the cold. Argh! The weather these days…..!"

"Are you sure, doctor?" she asks and then bites her tongue. 'Anne she is a doctor. Not you!' "doctor please tell me what to do and how to take care of her more. I can't bear to see her in pain."

"Anne.. Relax. I have written down the meds. She'll be fine. But this time Anne did you keep the Air Conditioning on for a long time? Remember, babies aren't supposed to be under the AC."

"Okay doctor. I'll keep it in my mind. Thank you."

"Have a good day Anne. Relax. Everything is alright. Gia will wake up soon."

"Thank you Doctor." She smiles and leaves the cabin. She pays the bill at the cash counter and turns to leave.

As she walks she ponders over what Doctor Luna said.. 'AC? When did I turn it on? And then she realises something… 'Kathy must've turned it on.. Oh! How did I forget that.. She is always using the AC! I can't blame her.She doing a favour on me by taking care of Gia. No. I have to figure out something else. She thinks of her everyday routine, which is so unstable. She's running from one place to another. She wakes up at 4:30 in the morning. She takes Gia with her to Kathy's place and leaves Gia in Kathy's care. She works as a fitness instructor in the morning- her classes start at 5:00 a.m. and go on till 8:30. She rushes home to take a bath and get ready for work. She is a senior content writer at 'THE NINJA'. She works there for a 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. shift. After that she sets off to her own office. Yes! Anne has a company of her own. She started off as a small firm in her college days but with her hardwork and dedication 'THE WRITING SPACE' Anne's company entered the top 20 list of successful businesses in a short time. Kathy works in Anne's company as a senior Editor. 'The Writing Space' is a place for all Literature lovers. The company has hired professional critics, content writers, content editors, proof-readers and opens up an internship for college students every summer. Anne owns this Company and makes a seven digit profit after sharing the profit with her employees. She invests largely in the share market and earns money. Even after all this, she isn't satisfied. She wants to earn enough money for her daughter's education, future, hobbies, marriage, every demand Gia has, it must be fulfilled by her.'

I must stop the classes in the morning and take an all time work-from-home from 'The Ninja'. As for The Writing Space, her office is just one lane down her apartment. She can take Gia to her office and take care of her.'

She spots a medical shop and buys the medicines for Gia. She then takes a lift and reaches in the parking lot and walks towards her car. She makes Gia sit well on the passenger seat and secures her with safety belts. She walks towards the driver's seat and starts the car. She keeps the temperature in the car warm and drives towards her apartment. She lives in a two bedroom-hall-kitchen flat on the third floor. She puts in the password and enters the house.