People & Society
“Maya,” she said, and her voice broke before she could finish.
Maya walked past her and fumbled with the keys.
The door opened.
The apartment was silent.
Too silent.
Her eyes were filled with tears, but her voice was cold.
“Did you think bottles could raise a newborn?”
Maya covered both of her ears with her hands.
“Don’t say it…”
What did you think he would do, Maya?” Mrs. Linda asked, her voice breaking. “That he would take care of himself? That he would call you when he was hungry? That he would open the door and ask for help?”
Maya began sobbing even harder.
“I thought he would sleep. I thought I would come back before…”
She stopped.
Because there was no ending to that sentence that could save her.
The neighbors gathered in the hallway. No one spoke. They were the same people who had heard the baby crying through the walls. The same people who had said, “Someone should check on him.”
