My babysitter has been complaining for the last few weeks. “The auto-lock on the door has become faulty. Please fix it. It’s a risk for your child.”

The door opens on its own, she said. I kept asking her to check and recheck if she had tightly shut the door. The other day, she said she remembered bolting the door with the key, yet it opened. I kept hedging. It may be the wind forcing the door open, or maybe the woman’s age is catching up.

Today, I have a day off. The worst part of being a working mom is being unable to spend enough time with my only son. At the same time, not getting sufficient rest because of my hectic schedule and demanding job. Yet, life goes on.

Since I was home, my babysitter got this opportunity to call it a day earlier than usual. Even I wanted some quality time with my three-year-old. It works for me.

After lunch, she left for the day. I shut the door and picked up my son for a quick afternoon nap.

Singing a lullaby and patting him to sleep, I don’t recall when I dozed off. I was startled awake by a giggling sound. I sat up straight on my bed, it was late afternoon in the month of May, and I still felt chilly. I couldn’t interpret for a couple of minutes where I was. My hair was standing erect on my hands and legs. I rubbed them hard to generate some heat, yet it was freezing.

I looked around, realising that my son was not on the bed beside me. I heard the chuckles again. Rubbing my body to feel the warmth, I wrapped myself with a shawl and walked out of the bedroom. My son was playing there, giggling and making noises. It was a cute scene; this is what I have been missing while at work. I watched him pretend to play with his kitchen set, making snacks and pouring a cup of tea for himself. How I adored him!

I was still standing there when I saw his face drop. He said. “Bye.”

I walked up to him smiling and asked, “Who are you saying bye to? A friend?”

“No, Mommy, that’s not my friend.” He turned around and looked at the door, which suddenly pushed open. “Bye, Nani, come again tomorrow.” He looked at me curiously. “Mommy, say bye to Nani. She is waving at you.” He pointed towards the door.

Shivers ran down my spine. My mother passed away a month ago. The doctors declared her dead that dreaded day around 4 in the evening. I looked at the wall clock, and it struck four gongs.