Up on the staircases, Pixie sighed with guilt.
"I entered the hospital. By the time I walked out, my reproduction tubes were cut. It was the coolest thing I had done in my life. That's how I felt. I thought I had saved myself from the most vulnerable and delicate period a woman will ever go through in life; the weird vomiting; the body shaming bump that could have my beautiful figure lost; worst of all the labor pains. I rejoiced my win those days. My sex life became a bliss with no worries of ever getting pregnant."
Pixie chuckled indifferently and added:
"Like a bird gliding high in the skies with its wings widely spread, that's how I felt _ free, after making some of the mistakes we young ladies do, thinking we know everything about life. Of course I proudly enjoyed every single bit of it: different guys, different dates; if you know what I mean!"
Of course, as Pixie narrated her regret, Ishtar listened attentively. Amidst her narration, she took small steps down the stairs, holding the little boy a hostage with the hair pin sharp point on his neck. Her parents gazed silently, already aware of their daughter's regretful story.
On a downcast face she added:
"But then, after a certain period of time, the choice I made willingly began haunting me. It became my worst nightmare when I realized that I need to have my own baby but I can't take back the hands of time. This was after my best friend gave birth to a cute baby girl. My parents, me being their own child, needed a grand child too, and so did the guy I loved so much who had prepared an engagement ring. But I was not in position to give us that. Hesitantly, ashamed and guilty, I had to sit them down and opened up."
She exhaled heavily in painful regret.
"I wish I could take back the hands of time."
And now, as there were only two staircases left for her to hit the floor on which everyone else was, she made a sudden arrogant yell at Ishtar.
"You don't deserve this child Ishtar! You were stuck, left with nothing except misery. There was no way you were going to afford taking care of this child in the condition you were in! When you met me that day at the home for the disabled, It was heavens answering your prayers and ours too. Me and my parents had made arrangements to adapt a male child... and you, you were a stray dog with no master to feed it yet its new born baby needed to be rescued by one kind family."
Concluding high in spirit, she added:
"It wasn't a coincidence....!"
Ishtar, still standing frozen, she frowned with disbelief eyes at Pixie. Then, Pixie's mother started to talk. On hearing her voice, Ishtar turned eyes at her.
"Think about it Ishtar. My family was only looking out for you, saving you a burden!"
This was yet another fumbling statement that the grown-up woman made straight in this already broken young lady's face. Ishtar felt more hatred for this family. Pixie's father, sounding compassionate, he raised his head high and uttered his opinion in support of his daughter and wife.
"Do not stand in the young boy's way Ishtar! We love Bimbo and he is meant to inherit all our family's fortune, this mansion; the vine yards and the jewelry shore including the home for the disabled where your mother is being taken care of."
Recklessly speaking, the rich grown-up man added:
"Just a matter of you pointing that gun you're holding on the left hand side of your head and pull the trigger. A bullet will penetrate your skull to give you a sudden death, then every thing goes back to normal. Trust me, you will not even feel any pain."
To Ishtar, this was some clumsy manupilation from a wicked man.
In their mind, she was still the innocent, low spirit young lady who always looked down on herself five years ago. Ishtar turned a fury eye on Pixie's father. And in a swift, she turned a pistol and shot a bullet direct in his forehead. With another immediate turn, she aimed at Pixie and shot a hand that was holding a hair pin on Bimbo's neck. The little boy stood so afraid and started crying, confused by chaos.
Ishtar said to him:
"Come to me sweetie. Let's go!"
But at this moment, he couldn't move a foot. He was drowned in confusion, watching the lady he called mother laying down on the stairs in pain with lots of blood coming out of her shoulder.
Ishtar, quickly she moved towards her son, but as she was about to reach him, with amateur skills, Pixie mother madly lunged in. Instinctively, Ishtar spun around. She created a gap and placed a bullet in between Pixie's mother's eyes too. Pixie, still laying down on the stairs sobbing, could only watch her mom and dad laying lifeless down on the floor.
"You killed my parents you wicked bitch!"
Ishtar stepped in furiously and pointed a gun in her face.
"Your family took my life away. You turned me into the wicked bitch you're looking at now."
With her voice trembling, sobbing in fear of loosing her life as her eyes teared, Pixie said:
"Am still your friend Ishtar."
In a calm voice, Ishtar replied:
"Oh, yes you're... That's why I am not going to unlive you."
But then, she added with brutal opinions:
"You can either call the police and tell them how you collided with your parents to steal a child and attempted to murder his mother. Or, bury the remains of your vicious parents and enjoy the inheritance, my son will not need it. Better still... you can use the bullet in this gun to kill yourself and go to hell. The choice is yours to make."
Ishtar turned away from her, walked and placed the gun gently down on the table while Pixie was watching in pain. Finally, after what felt like forever, everything reached a clearing. Ishtar turned to her son Bimbo. He was unharmed and healthy looking up at her with wide eyes. He was only three months when she last saw him.
"It's been five year."
The little boy whispered in a trembling voice:
"You're my Mommy?"
Ishtar replied, pulling him tightly into her arms:
"Always.... You're safe now."
Showing Pixie her back, she carried her son in her chest and walked out of the beautiful modern contemporary house.
But Ishtar still had a storm she had to create for her rivals ahead. However, with her son in her arms now, she was ready to kick it off with no compromise.