Shaina left the kitchen after ensuring that all the windows and doors were locked for the night. She checked her children and mother-in-law, finding Hilda still up, sitting on the bed with the lampshade on.
“Ma, I thought you were already asleep. Aren’t you tired from the hospital?” She approached the old woman quietly, to not disturb her sleeping children. They lay side by side next to the old woman.
“Ah, don’t mind me, Shaina. I’m hooked on this book,” she answered, showing Shaina the Filipino pocketbook.
“Ah, that’s why you’re wearing your eyeglasses,” she observed, noting the round-rimmed glasses Hilda wore.
“This is how I pass the time at the hospital.” Hilda informed her, smiling at her.
“Oh. Whose book is it? Did you buy it?” she inquired. She seldom noticed her mother-in-law r
