Page 2 of Time To Learn

“From now on, it's just you and me, Ailith Margaret.” I bring her hand to my mouth and kiss it. “I promise.”

“It's just you, me, and Nan Wenn,” she replies, and my smile is more genuine thistime.

“And me,” Trish pipes up, making the thickness in my throat return in full force. I blink rapidly, trying to stop the relieved sob from escaping mylips.

I’ve had a lot of practice in keeping my true emotions bottled up inside, though, and I manage to get myself under control.

Nodding slowly, I look back at Ailith.

“Yes. It's just the four of us from now on. Please try to sleep. We still have another two hours left before we'll be at Nan's.”

“Okay, Mummy.”

A couple of minutes later, I hear faint snoring falling from her mouth, and I breathe deeply again. A strange mixture of relief and fear overtakes me from the enormity of what I've escaped today.

Relief that we're finallyfree.

Fear of what'll happennow.

But I won't let the fear win thistime.

I refuse to be weak anymore.

The future is an unknown entity at the moment, but one thing I do know for certain—that I won't ever let fear rule my life ever again.

Ourlife.

“Mum,” I whisper into the darkness of the night. “We're coming homenow.”