Stephanie knew she was already late for work. Somehow they had missed the first bus and had to wait for twenty minutes before the next bus arrived. She would be reprimanded today at work by her boss but she had no choice, she had to make sure Kayla arrived at school safely before going to work.

It was heartbreaking enough that each time she dropped Kayla off at school she felt guilty, especially after kissing her daughter goodbye. Even though they would be apart for only some hours of the day, she was not able to ward off the feeling of guilt that gnawed at her. Stephanie sometimes wondered if other mothers felt the same.

“I love you, mum.” Kayla waved her tiny hands and went into her class. Within seconds she was engrossed in a conversation with her teacher.

“Enough of the worry, you are late already.” Stephanie chastised herself bringing herself back to the reality of the possibility of losing her job.

She dashed out of the school and luckily the bus ride to the other side of town