Instant Replay
You're Not Afraid To Die
That night, paranoid that one of her mothers would walk in, Rythima waited until one AM to eat her two mints. She got up and got dressed in a pair of light colored skinny jeans and a blue Superman t-shirt before shoving the box of mints in her pocket and placing the two in her hand onto her tongue.
They dissolved in the heat of Rythima's mouth, and she was out almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.
When Rythima woke up, it was the middle of the day, and she was hothothot. Cars were driving by at record speeds, and she was shaded from the heat by a large tree overhanging the porch of the relatively large house she was lying in front of.
Rythima stood up, disoriented, on trembling legs. She rifled through her pocket for a moment for the box of mints and flipped it over to reveal the ad from the note. Rythima examined the ad for a minute before setting it down and turning away.
As she walked down the street, Rythima worried about where to stay for the next two days. That is, until she remembered what the note had told her: she was invisible to everyone around her.
Rythima watched as the doorman of a hotel held the door for a well-dressed man with a briefcase, and she hurried to walk through the door with him. She followed him to the reception desk, where he checked in, and then she followed him into an elevator.
To confirm what the note had said, not a damn person in the elevator acknowledged her. When the man exited the elevator, Rythima followed. She followed him to his room, and then slipped through the door right as he closed it.
It was nearly two hours later before the man left again. He'd taken a shower, watched some TV, and then left. She assumed he must have had a business meeting of some sort, based on his crisp suit and briefcase.
Rythima lay on the couch and drifted to sleep.
Rythima slept all the way until the next morning. The man either had already left or had never returned in the first place, but there was another box at her feet. Rythima hesitated to open it, thinking that it might not be meant for her, but then she saw her name on the tag and immediately ripped it open, finding a note and a bottle of pills.
Rythima-
Me again. You might find this transitional period to be rather dull or even physically painful. Take three pills, and you'll sleep through it. They can also give you an insight into the life of the woman who you gave that ad to.
-Charlotte
Rythima stared apprehensively at the orange bottle in her hand. Hesitantly, she popped the cap and poured three red and white tabs into the palm of her hand. After taking a deep breath—possibly her last—Rythima dry swallowed all of the three pills, one right after the other. Within seconds, Rythima was drifting off.
Navya Ganesh boarded a plane in Solapur on October 31st, 1986. She'd tried and tried to find a sperm donor in India, but nobody had been willing to donate to a single woman in such a traditional country. The ad on her front porch eleven days before had been a godsend, and Navya had just enough money to pick up and move to the United States.
In a frenzy of excitement, Navya had managed to pack up in just under two weeks.
After staying in a hotel in the heart of Baltimore for a week, Navya finally secured a house in the suburbs of Baltimore on November 8th. She had an appointment set with her sperm donor on November 10th, and by November 17th, it was confirmed that Navya was pregnant with the child she'd wanted for so long.
Navya had always known that life was crazy, but she never would have guessed that she'd end up marrying her sperm donor just six months later.
James Abdullah was a successful lawyer living on the outskirts of Baltimore, and he had much more in common with Navya than most people would assume. They both came from out of the country: James from Lebanon and Navya from India, and they shared a common adoration of American baseball and corn nuts (but not the weird flavored kinds, just the original).
They were, by all means, the perfect couple, despite the unconventional story of how they got together. They were happy as could be, and it seemed that they couldn't get any happier. That is, until their daughter came into the world, bright-eyed and bloody, on August 14th, 1987.
It was the middle of the night, and Navya woke up to a sharp pain in her abdomen and a wet bed. She nudged her sleeping husband and told him that their baby was coming. He rushed her to the car and drove her to the hospital.
The doctors let the contractions go for a while before administering an epidural, and Navya poured all of her energy into her twelve hours of labor to bring her daughter into the world. It was well worth it when she was laid in Navya's arms, just a tiny ball of baby fat and small fists. Navya was nearly brought to tears as she looked at her baby, who was everything she'd dreamed of and more.
"Look at her, James," Navya cooed, her eyes lidded in exhaustion. "She's so beautiful."
"Almost as beautiful as you, my love," he said, kissing his wife's forehead.
She smiled up at him, taking him all in. She couldn't believe how lucky she'd gotten after spending ten years believing that no one could ever possibly love her. Now, Navya had a perfect baby girl and a husband whom she adored with all of her heart.
When Navya looked up, she noticed the nurse standing by her bed.
"What's her name?" the nurse asked quietly.
"Beeja," said Navya. "Beeja Adeline Abdullah."
They dissolved in the heat of Rythima's mouth, and she was out almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.
When Rythima woke up, it was the middle of the day, and she was hothothot. Cars were driving by at record speeds, and she was shaded from the heat by a large tree overhanging the porch of the relatively large house she was lying in front of.
Rythima stood up, disoriented, on trembling legs. She rifled through her pocket for a moment for the box of mints and flipped it over to reveal the ad from the note. Rythima examined the ad for a minute before setting it down and turning away.
As she walked down the street, Rythima worried about where to stay for the next two days. That is, until she remembered what the note had told her: she was invisible to everyone around her.
Rythima watched as the doorman of a hotel held the door for a well-dressed man with a briefcase, and she hurried to walk through the door with him. She followed him to the reception desk, where he checked in, and then she followed him into an elevator.
To confirm what the note had said, not a damn person in the elevator acknowledged her. When the man exited the elevator, Rythima followed. She followed him to his room, and then slipped through the door right as he closed it.
It was nearly two hours later before the man left again. He'd taken a shower, watched some TV, and then left. She assumed he must have had a business meeting of some sort, based on his crisp suit and briefcase.
Rythima lay on the couch and drifted to sleep.
Rythima slept all the way until the next morning. The man either had already left or had never returned in the first place, but there was another box at her feet. Rythima hesitated to open it, thinking that it might not be meant for her, but then she saw her name on the tag and immediately ripped it open, finding a note and a bottle of pills.
Rythima-
Me again. You might find this transitional period to be rather dull or even physically painful. Take three pills, and you'll sleep through it. They can also give you an insight into the life of the woman who you gave that ad to.
-Charlotte
Rythima stared apprehensively at the orange bottle in her hand. Hesitantly, she popped the cap and poured three red and white tabs into the palm of her hand. After taking a deep breath—possibly her last—Rythima dry swallowed all of the three pills, one right after the other. Within seconds, Rythima was drifting off.
Navya Ganesh boarded a plane in Solapur on October 31st, 1986. She'd tried and tried to find a sperm donor in India, but nobody had been willing to donate to a single woman in such a traditional country. The ad on her front porch eleven days before had been a godsend, and Navya had just enough money to pick up and move to the United States.
In a frenzy of excitement, Navya had managed to pack up in just under two weeks.
After staying in a hotel in the heart of Baltimore for a week, Navya finally secured a house in the suburbs of Baltimore on November 8th. She had an appointment set with her sperm donor on November 10th, and by November 17th, it was confirmed that Navya was pregnant with the child she'd wanted for so long.
Navya had always known that life was crazy, but she never would have guessed that she'd end up marrying her sperm donor just six months later.
James Abdullah was a successful lawyer living on the outskirts of Baltimore, and he had much more in common with Navya than most people would assume. They both came from out of the country: James from Lebanon and Navya from India, and they shared a common adoration of American baseball and corn nuts (but not the weird flavored kinds, just the original).
They were, by all means, the perfect couple, despite the unconventional story of how they got together. They were happy as could be, and it seemed that they couldn't get any happier. That is, until their daughter came into the world, bright-eyed and bloody, on August 14th, 1987.
It was the middle of the night, and Navya woke up to a sharp pain in her abdomen and a wet bed. She nudged her sleeping husband and told him that their baby was coming. He rushed her to the car and drove her to the hospital.
The doctors let the contractions go for a while before administering an epidural, and Navya poured all of her energy into her twelve hours of labor to bring her daughter into the world. It was well worth it when she was laid in Navya's arms, just a tiny ball of baby fat and small fists. Navya was nearly brought to tears as she looked at her baby, who was everything she'd dreamed of and more.
"Look at her, James," Navya cooed, her eyes lidded in exhaustion. "She's so beautiful."
"Almost as beautiful as you, my love," he said, kissing his wife's forehead.
She smiled up at him, taking him all in. She couldn't believe how lucky she'd gotten after spending ten years believing that no one could ever possibly love her. Now, Navya had a perfect baby girl and a husband whom she adored with all of her heart.
When Navya looked up, she noticed the nurse standing by her bed.
"What's her name?" the nurse asked quietly.
"Beeja," said Navya. "Beeja Adeline Abdullah."