(100-word story submitted on Artoons Writers Room.

Prompt: A story that starts and ends on a commute)

The misty backwater odour amalgamated with sweat and rotting fish in my cacophonic compartment. My rattled brain merged with the Mumbai CST-local, as it chugged along unmindful of the lesser mortals aboard.

I stared at the squirming toddler seated opposite with his harried mother. Those grey-green orbs held me captive, reminding me of my baby born out of wedlock 2-years ago. Being a minor, I had to give him up.

His every move tugged at my heartstrings. Unwillingly and unsteadily as I stood to alight, I saw it.

The unmistakable birthmark on his left foot… just like his dead father’s.