Letters to Raya

Asha's life is one insecurely floating on the edges-the edge of sadness, of ill-health and hope. The emptiness left by her eldest daughter Raya, her soul mate, is a struggle she endures daily. Desperate for peace and to reconcile the void, she steals glimpses of her absent daughter in the eyes of her youngest, Maibelle. Together, the two create a life of distractions, enough for Asha to stay buoyant. She reluctantly accepts the challenges of living with Multiple Sclerosis, polluted memories and resentment; her love life and health now equal casualties. For sanity's sake, she clings on to routine, faith, friends and hope. Just as her life is feeling most stagnant, Asha's journey is taken in a new direction; even when faced with the unthinkable, she can begin to hope of a life, she only once dreamt of.

"Do you remember the gentle hum of planes, Raya? Since coming back to this tiny town quarantined from airports, I can't hear them anymore. Remember how we used to listen to the birds on cheerful spring mornings; how they excited and reminded us that summer wasn't far behind? Well, it's the same feeling; that familiar drone of a plane overhead. It always suggested a future adventure or, at least, the possibility of one. The low hum, hinted to you returning, although now, it reminds me of your absence, so, perhaps it's a good thing that I am out of the flight path."