Never Too Late

Watching the rain, Maya was zoning out in her room. A sudden lightening strike helped her to get back in her senses. She was in awe. "How do those vapour giants do that?", she said to herself. "It's not that hard", said a voice. She turned, expecting her mother to be in the room, to say that. But there wasn't anybody. "It must be an illusion", she said.

It was lunchtime. Maya ran down the stairs just to scream for food. As if her shouting wasn't enough, her stomach made a huge growl. "Wow, Maya! That was surely louder than the wall clock's buzz!", her mom who sat in the living room, laughed, making her embarrassed. "No, it was not!", Maya said, frowning. "Alright, alright, get the plates on the dining table, I will serve you.", her mother said, smiling. "Ok", she said while running towards the kitchen. She took 2 plates from the rack and wiped them with a cloth. She turned around to leave the kitchen but she heard a big thud and a woman's loud scream. She found the voice somewhat similar. An anonymous and strange feeling filled her heart. She knew that this noise came from the window in the kitchen. She ran towards the window and peeped out of it just to see her mother on the road totally soaked in the rain and blood coming out from her forehead. "Mom? But wasn't she in the living room just now?"Maya uttered with widened eyes. She was screaming because of unbearable pain. "Maya! Please save me!", she screamed as Maya was dumbstruck and unable to move. "MAYA!", she shouted again, helping Maya to come back to her senses. "MOM!", she sreamed. "I am coming, don't be afraid!", she said. She ran out of the kitchen at a rapid speed just to see her mom walking towards her. She stopped abruptly, surprised to see Maya running towards her. "What happened, honey? Why did you scream so loudly?", she asked, checking on Maya if she was hurt. "Y-you are h-here? Then w-who was that?", Maya said, pointing towards the kitchen. "Who?", mom asked, confused. "I s-saw you on the road, h-hurt.", Maya said with tears in her eyes. "Me? But I've been in the living room whole time.", her mom said, concerned about her, "Are you alright, sweetie?", she asked again to confirm. "Yeah, I-I am alright", Maya said, still not registering the whole situation, "Let's eat, mom." she said, not sparing a glance to her mom. "Yeah, ok", her mom said.

While eating, Maya was thinking about the whole situation. The agonized voice of her mother which gave her chills, her mother's panicked face, the injury on her forehead which seemed very deep. Everything was very terrifying. She was very confused about why she saw this scenario. 'Was it a hint about something? Or was it just my imagination? But, how did it seem so real?', she thought to herself. "Can you pass the salt, sweetie?", her mom said without looking at her. When Maya didn't respond, her mom glanced at her.

"Maya?", she called her again causing Maya to look at her. "Y-yes, mom?", said Maya. "What are you thinking about? When I told you to pass me the salt, you didn't respond.", asked her mom. "O-oh, sorry, I was spacing out.", she said while passing the salt to her mother.

She went to her her room after lunch and threw herself on the bed. Her mom came in with a pile of clotges in her hands."Weren't you thinking of joining the spiritual practice course? I got a call from them yesterday, to ask if you still want to join or not. I told them to call again tonight to let them know our decision.", she said. "I don't know, it is already too late to join the course, I guess. Because they were expecting us to join the course before 10th July. So...", Maya replied. "It's never too late, sweetie.....", her mom said smiling.