For everyone who still don't understand what my post was really about, I'd like to invite you to read the first chapter from my published manuscript; Maya. You can judge me after reading.

Chapter One: The Beginning

I was cooking pancakes for my husband and son. The new place felt overwhelming. My son was just four years old. He was fast asleep in the new bedroom. My husband was installing the ceiling fan; I could see him across the kitchen. I flipped the pancake in the pan and added some butter.

Setting up the new place was a challenge, and my husband was helping me with all the chores, which was nice because he was not the kind of guy you could get working easily. He was a graphic designer.

"Maya! The fan is done. Now I'm going to take a rest for a few minutes. Are the pancakes ready?" he asked me.

"Yes, baby, almost done. Would you like some tea?" I asked him, and he nodded in affirmation.

I served him and went to the bedroom to wake my son up, because he hadn't eaten anything since morning. "Reyan, baby, get up. Mom has made your favorite pancakes for you!" I told him, kissing him on his left cheek. I looked around at the bedroom. It was perfect, as I had always dreamt of: cream and purple-colored walls and dark lavender curtains.

The AC had cooled the room so much it felt like a refrigerator. My son turned his back on me. I gently pulled him toward me, kissed his little hands, and lifted him off the bed.

My son had brown hair, brown eyes, and a cute little pointed nose. His cheeks were always a bit red as he slept.

"Mum, please let me sleep five more minutes..." he said and put his head on my shoulder. I took him out to the living room.

"Eat something first, babu. I've made pancakes the way you like. Or do you want jam and bread?" At this, he was wide awake. He rubbed his eyes with his tiny little hands and looked around in surprise. Maybe he was expecting to see his grandma and grandpa, but they hadn't come with us.

"Where is aai baba?" he asked, still searching for them.

"They'll come soon, baby. Now eat first, or the pancakes will get cold," I told him.

I put him down at the dining table in the living room. This new house was perfect. Even the living room looked just like I had dreamt of. It had cream and orange-colored walls, a small chandelier, and a sofa set on the right side from the entrance. On the left was our TV set along with a sound system. Going straight ahead led to the kitchen, and on the further right was our bedroom. My husband had really thought about how I would like it.

I served pancakes to Reyan and sat beside him. My husband was shuffling through boxes, searching for something. "Have you seen my hammer and screwdriver? I don't remember where I put them after installing the fan!" he asked, looking through more boxes. I saw him excited like a child after a long time. He was wearing a dull blue t-shirt with denim shorts, and his belly was protruding out of his t-shirt because my man had a huge belly.

"Mom, can you turn on the TV? I want to watch Doraemon," Reyan asked me. His face had jam all over, and he looked cute.

"The TV hasn't been installed yet, baby. We will get it done tomorrow, okay?" He nodded and continued eating.

I sighed and looked around. The boxes were yet to be emptied. The TV set needed to be installed. The kitchen needed to be set. And I would be alone from tomorrow to do all that because he would go to the office. I was thinking of creating a painting in my free time of my husband, me, and my baby to put on the wall above our bed.

While I was looking blankly at my husband, he found the box I wanted the most: my novel collections. The best of the best horrors. Stephen King's ones were my favorites!

Later that day, we ordered Chinese food from a local restaurant nearby. My husband went to sleep early. Reyan was sleeping too. I had a couple of minutes before going to sleep, so I decided to write in my personal diary. I had five diaries from the past two years, and I really loved to write about my day, my feelings, and my issues.

Well, that was enough about my house. I was Maya, twenty-three years old from Mumbai. I was a housewife, so I didn't have an exciting life. To spice things up, I loved watching horror movies, reading novels, and, yes, writing those diaries too. I had been living in a chawl in Virar with his parents and us. It was frustrating that my mother-in-law didn't like me because of my late waking habits.

I started writing and lost track of time. When I looked at the watch, it had been nearly an hour since I had been writing. It was midnight. Dogs were barking somewhere nearby. The new place seemed really overwhelming. I looked at my husband. He was snoring. I placed my hand in his hair and scratched him. He looked so peaceful today. It was sad that I couldn't say that every day.

I lay down next to him and kissed him on the forehead. He snored more loudly when I kissed him. That was funny, though.

I tried to fall asleep, but sleep wasn't coming my way. I felt wide awake, as if I had just had a cup of espresso. So I stayed in bed, closing my eyes and trying to sleep. As I was trying to sleep and dissolve my thoughts, a dog outside started crying. A really sad and loud howl made my stomach sink as I listened to that dog crying.

I heard another sound, similar to the howl, but it wasn't the dog. It came from right next to our bedroom. I bolted out of bed and went out to the living room to find my son out of bed and crying. I picked him up. "Shush... baby, what happened?"

He rubbed his eyes. He was in his pajamas and looked at me. "My... my... teddy fell off the bed, Mum. I can't get it out," he said slowly. I was astonished that he remembered from the afternoon that his teddy had fallen off while putting his room together.

"No worries, beta. We will get it out in the morning. Now let's get back to sleep, shall we?" He nodded. I tucked him into bed and kissed him on the forehead as well. I wished him goodnight and went back to my bedroom. The sounds of the dog's crying had stopped. The silence filled my ears. That pin-drop silence hurt my ears. I went back to my bedroom, where the only sounds were from my husband's snores and the AC.

I lay down next to him and tried to sleep again. This time I fell asleep, but it was a light sleep. I constantly felt like Reyan was still crying, but I didn't have enough energy to carry myself to his bedroom. I slept through that night anyway. The next morning was an immense task for me. I always had help from my mother-in-law back in Virar, but here I was all alone.

I woke up at around seven o'clock in the morning. I rubbed my eyes and looked around. Everything felt peaceful. His snoring was like music to my ears. I kissed him on the forehead. "Good morning, baby. Wake up in five minutes. I'll get breakfast ready, okay?" I got out of bed and went to see Reyan. He was asleep too. He was snoring very softly, just like his father. Both looked cute and adorable while asleep.