“Thank you, thank you, thank you..”

Kotoha was breathless. Her young, infant boy, strapped to her trembling torso with a satin satchel. Elastic, a baby wrap.

She stood breathlessly in the security of your home. Old friends, once dire, & hidden lovers.

You had helped her escape her child’s birth father. Inosuke, she said the baby’s name was.

Years ago, Kotoha & you had had an entangled affair. As women, it was frowned upon. & so you hid it.

Now that she has returned, she hopes to stay.