Airam Gray first saw Harry Johnson when she was six. Her mother had just left her father after 15 long years, and though Airam didn't understand the words adults whispered but she understood the heaviness in her mother's eyes.
She clung to her arm as they drove toward a new country and a new city, leaving behind everything familiar.
The old white Toyota rattled as it rolled through the beautiful estates of Lincoln. Airam pressed her face to the window, her eyes lighting up.
"Mama, are we going to live here? It's really beautiful," she asked with a hopeful smile.
Her mother squeezed her tiny hand. "No, baby. Only the rich can afford to live here."
"Oh… okay. Mama, are we not rich?"She asked, genuinely confused.
"We have enough to survive, baby," her mother said with a small, tired smile.
Her three older siblings sat quietly as they understood what Airam didn't yet know, that their life was changing.
As the car crawled past the tall buildings with their shining glass windows, Airam spotted a boy standing beside the road, hands tucked into his pockets, Harry Johnson.
His school uniform looked crisp and expensive, his hair neat. He looked like the type of boy who belonged in a place like Lincoln Estates. Airam wondered if this was what a rich kid looked like.
When they reached the slums of Lincoln City, the brightness in her mother's eyes dimmed. Her grandfather's house was already crowded with aunts, uncles, and cousins. At the doorway, Airam overheard her mother's trembling whisper:
"Papa, can we stay here until I find a new place? I promise my children, and I won't be a bother."
Airam didn't understand everything, but she understood enough. Right there, standing beside her mother's skirt, she decided one day she would build her the biggest house ever.
They settled into their small corner of the house and made it home.
~~~~~~~~~~
20 years later
"Hurry up! You're going to be late for school!" Airam called out as she darted around the house, tying shoelaces, fixing hair, zipping backpacks. Three nieces and four nephews filled every corner with noise.
"You should get ready yourself. You'll be late for work, Airam," her sister Jane said, leaning against the doorway mother of her three nieces.
"It's fine. I'm almost done," Airam replied, stuffing the last lunchbox into a bag.
Laila entered the kitchen with a sigh. "You know you don't have to keep doing this. You take care of everyone and everything in this house. The whole responsibility isn't yours, Airam. You should start living for yourself."
Airam chuckled. "There you go again. 'Get married, have your own family,' and all that nonsense. Don't you ever get tired?"
Their brother Karim got married and is long gone. The two older sisters had dropped out of school when money ran out, gotten pregnant, and ended up with husbands who depended more on the family than on themselves.
They wanted better for Airam. They wanted her to have the life they missed.
"Airam..." Jane began, but the children burst in.
"Aunty! Aunty!" they chorused, circling her like happy little bees.
Airam hugged every single one, kissing their cheeks as if it were the best part of her morning. "Go, eat your breakfast. Your lunch boxes are ready."
"Airam, the light and water bills need to be paid," Aunt Maggi said as she walked in. Jane and Laila stiffened, their faces tightening.
"No problem, Aunty. I'll take care of it today," Airam responded with her usual smile.
"Airam, her children..." Jane said through clenched teeth once their aunt left.
"It's fine," Airam said softly, patting her shoulder before grabbing a tray of food.
She walked into her mother's room. "Mama, you need to take your blood pressure medication. And I brought your breakfast."
"Leave it there. Sit," her mother said, patting the bed.
Airam instantly grew worried. "Are you okay? Do you feel pain anywhere? Your shoulders? I'll get you that ointment today after work."
"I'm fine," her mother said gently. "Airam, listen… You need to start focusing on yourself, go out, have fun, and find someone. Start your own family. I want you to be happy."
"I am happy, Mama," Airam insisted. "Taking care of the family like you did after Grandpa passed away, 19 years ago, well God bless his soul, makes me happy." She did the cross sign.
"Besides, you already have ten grandchildren. And I have ten children." She laughed lightly.
"Baby…" her mother whispered.
"Mama, not today," Airam murmured, placing money in her hand. "Keep this, okay? Just in case."
Her mother pushed it back. "Use it so you don't starve at work."
"Mama, who said I starve?" Airam tried to joke, but her mother only gave her that look, the one that said she knew the truth.
"Come here," her mother said. "Kneel. Let me pray for you."
Airam knelt beside the bed, eyes closed as her mother's warm hand rested on her head.
"Amen," they both whispered.
Airam dressed quickly for work, wearing a blue velvet blouse tucked into white pants, her soft hair falling around her neck. She kissed her mother goodbye. As always, her mother insisted they pray together at the door before she let her go.
"Bye, mama," Airam whispered. "Bless you, my child," her mother replied as she watched her rush out of the house.
Airam Gray is an architect who graduated top of her class. She had received an offer from the biggest architectural firm in the country after her service year. But she turned it down because the distance from home was too far. She couldn't leave when her family needed her. So she chose a smaller firm closer to home.
~~~~~~~~
"My thesis was rejected again," Harry hissed, the frustration tightening his jaw as he swung the bat. The ball shot across the field and smacked against the fence with a hard clang.
Joe snorted. "What did you expect? How can you research something you know absolutely nothing about? The whole idea is stupid. Getting your PhD is stupid."
Harry froze, the insult hitting deeper than the cold morning wind. For a moment, he didn't speak, just stared at the ground as his cousin's words echoed louder than the ball's collision with the fence.
Joe folded his arms. "What are you thinking, Harry? Just admit you failed and let it go."
Harry finally lifted his head, the corner of his mouth curving into a slow, dangerous smirk. "I never accept defeat," he said, eyes sharpening with determination.
~~~~~~~~
Airam dragged herself out of the building the moment the office clock hit closing time. Her feet ached, her shoulders felt tight, and her mind buzzed with deadlines she'd already survived for the day. She checked her watch again, exhaled, and hurried toward the bus stop.
But going home was never just going home.
She stopped first to pay the electricity and water bills, because the online app wasn't working. Airam stood in the long queue with her eyes half-closed.
Then she crossed the street to pick up the ointment her mother needed, and because she could already hear the voices of seven excited children, she bought ice cream for all of them.
At the supermarket entrance, Mayo's voice echoed in her mind. Aunty Airam, I want a bike… Daddy said we can't afford it.
Her eyes landed on a small blue bicycle displayed by the window. She checked the price. Then she checked her account balance.
Her chest tightened.
But she bought it anyway.
When she walked through the front door with the bike, chaos exploded in the house.
"AUNTY AIRAM!" Mayo screamed, abandoning his shoes as he ran to her. He wrapped his tiny arms around her waist, shaking with excitement. The other kids cheered, some jumping, some dragging the bike toward the backyard before she even said yes.
Seeing them that happy made every sacrifice feel worth it. Still, after the laughter and noise faded, exhaustion crawled back into her bones. She needed at least a slice of silence.
Her grandfather's old rooftop study had become her heaven. It used to be her brother's game room before he got married and left, and over time, Airam had quietly claimed it.
The dusty books, the wooden desk, and the dim lamp felt like the only corner of the world that belonged to her.
She climbed the stairs, turned the knob, and pushed the door open without thinking.
And froze.
A tall, shirtless man stood in the center of the room wearing only a pair of shorts. His skin glistened with sweat, muscles defined, abs sharp as if carved by hand.
He ran his fingers through his hair and turned toward her, his eyes widening slightly, taking her in with equal surprise… and interest.
"Hello there," he said, voice low and warm.
Airam's mind snapped back into reality and straight into panic.
"THIEF! THIEF!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.