Always You

Cyra Anderson

Life recently has been a survival game for cyra. A single mother, living alone with a 6 weeks old, is not as easy as it seems. The nights grow longer, sleep grows shorter and independence is barely there anymore.

       You live freely, then suddenly one day your life is being controlled by a tiny human, who can't even hold their own head up. Though truth be told, Cyra barely remembers what living freely even felt like.

    The morning started in chaos. Cyra slipped into the shower while Lily slept soundly in her crib after a long feeding session. Breakfast was thrown together in minutes, an outfit picked at the last second, and a quick touch of makeup—though looks hardly mattered anymore.

      Cyra glanced at the clock. “God, it’s running too fast,” she muttered in frustration.

She hurried around the house, packing a few essentials for Lily at the daycare. The baby always came first. Then she began gathering the documents she needed, collecting them from practically every corner of the house as she finished preparing her resume for the job.

     Yes, a job. At just six weeks postpartum, with a premature baby.

     Life could be cruel like that.

“Okay, everything’s done,” Cyra said, finally sighing in relief.

She headed toward the bedroom to get Lily ready when, as if on cue, her phone rang. Ashley. The one and only person who had been there with Cyra through all of this.

“I’m outside, Anderson,” Ashley practically barked over the line. “How long?”

“Just need to change Lily’s clothes and diaper,” Cyra said, walking toward the crib.

“You’ve got five minutes,” Ashley replied. “Hurry up, mama.”

Cyra chuckled as the call ended.

She leaned over the crib and smiled softly.

“Hi, baby,” she whispered to Lily, as if the little girl might answer.

          Lily stirred at the sound of her voice, her tiny nose scrunching before she let out a small, sleepy whine. Her arms stretched above her head in an awkward little motion, fingers curling and uncurling like she was testing the world again after a nap.

“Yeah, yeah… I know,” Cyra murmured gently, sliding her hands under the baby and lifting her carefully from the crib. Lily’s body melted against her chest, warm and fragile, her head instinctively tucking beneath Cyra’s chin.

For a moment, the chaos of the morning paused.

Cyra swayed slightly, one hand supporting Lily’s head while the other rubbed slow circles on her back. Six weeks, and she still couldn’t believe this tiny person belonged to her.

“Alright,” she whispered, pressing a quick kiss to Lily’s soft hair. “Let’s get you ready before Aunt Ashley starts honking outside.”

As if the universe had heard her, a car horn blared from outside the apartment.

Cyra snorted softly.

“Yep. That’s her.”

She laid Lily gently on the changing table and quickly opened the diaper bag she had packed earlier. A fresh diaper, tiny pink onesie, wipes—everything ready. Lily squirmed and kicked her small legs in protest while Cyra worked quickly.

“I know, I know,” Cyra said, laughing under her breath. “You hate this part.”

Another horn honked outside.

“Okay! We’re coming!” Cyra called out instinctively, even though Ashley definitely couldn’t hear her from the street.

Within minutes Lily was dressed and bundled in a soft blanket. Cyra scooped her back into her arms, grabbed the diaper bag with her free hand, and took one last quick look around the apartment.

Documents. Check.

Phone. Check.

Resume. Check.

Baby. Definitely check.

“Alright, Lily,” she said quietly, adjusting the blanket around the baby as she headed toward the door. “Let’s go change our lives today.”

Outside, Ashley’s engine was still running. And judging by the impatient tapping of the horn…

She wasn’t planning on waiting much longer.

AUTHOR'S NOTE : It's my first story. Hope you like it. Im vdy open to any suggestions or improvements, so feel free to comment.