Chapter 9

"Mother, are you okay?" asked the boy  with a slight tremor in his voice. It was clear that he was nervous as it took him an effort to speak up at all. The boy stood before her, his hand gripping tightly onto her shoulder as though he were trying to hold onto something solid in the middle of this raging storm.

"Yes, son, I'm fine,"  replied his mother, her face still covered by a dark red scarf that reached just over the top of her head. She turned her head so that they could both see the back of her neck and gave out a shaky smile. "Are you?"

He nodded, and then she did too.

Her eyes narrowed and she let out another shaky laugh.

She had never been one for laughing or expressing herself in such a weak manner, especially not around her child but after everything that has happened since yesterday morning, she needed this right now. The boy didn't say anything else. He only pulled her forward into a hug.

It had taken them two hours to reach this