Anne My heart pounded against my chest in excitement as I walked towards Vincent’s room once again, now with high hopes. But deep down I knew that if I wasn’t granted this opportunity, I would have sorted it out myself, maybe in a less practical way, where I’d be escorted out of the hospital by the security. All the same, I knew I wouldn’t leave the hospital without at least having his hand in mine. I couldn’t sleep a wink last night. I was nervous, anxious, and filled with every feeling that’ll keep a 23-year-old pregnant woman awake throughout the night. Dr. Arya told me 7 o’clock, but I was already there by 6:45 am. I was too eager. I’d already brushed my teeth and taken my bath. I took my sister’s makeup stuff and brightened my face. I felt I looked malnourished and horrible with my pale skin and protruding bones, but that’d have to do. I couldn’t possibly grow more skin in a few minutes. I dumped my hospital gown and took one of my sister’s knee length white gowns and slipped
Anne “Who allowed you in here?” Rebecca whispered angrily. She didn’t want to shout because of her son, but I could see her anger alright. She even had tears in her eyes that showed the deepness of her anger and hatred towards me. Scared I clung to Vincent for dear life, silently hoping he’d open his eyes and tell his mom to stop. But I did promise I would fight for us, right? I wasn’t going back on that promise. “No one,” I responded in a shaky voice, trying not to get anybody else in trouble. “What do you mean, no one?” she asked in disbelief, turning to look at the guards who were already inside the room, fidgeting in their suits. I opened my mouth to say that I sneaked in but then I heard, “I let her in,” from the door. When I looked behind the raging woman, I saw Dr. Arya wriggle her way through the two bulky men and enter the room. “What?” Rebecca whispered, transferring her angry darts towards Dr. Arya. “I made her let me in,” I threw in, trying to take the heat off of h
Anne “It’s me, dear, your mother,” Rebecca said in alarm. “I know,” he responded in the same dry, croaky voice. He then shifted his gaze to me in reference. Rebecca looked at me and back at her son in shock. I could hear her mind wheeling. I saw her look at Dr. Arya expectantly, who was still as shocked as we all were. Soon enough, other doctors and nurses started trooping in. “Please step back, Mrs. Sawyer,” Dr. Arya told Rebecca, who obliged and made way for the doctors. I too took some steps back, with no single idea of how to process or act on the recent development. “Just his family members are allowed in here now,” one of the nurses said. Just then, I felt two pairs of hands grab my forearms. I turned my head and saw the two guards. “Please step out now,” Jack said kindly. I shook my head in vigorous rebuttal. “Ma’am… ma’am… please step out,” the nurse urged, coming to stand in front of me. “Please… he would want me here,” I pleaded in tears, trying to peel my arm from
Andrew “What did you do?!” This was one of those times my dad allowed his emotions bare. He was downright furious with my mum. We just found out that mum had ordered the security to send Anne and her family out of the hospital, then banned them from entering the premises. “I did what I had to do. I can’t let a mere child send both my sons to the hospital! I gave birth to them… she didn’t. Why does she have to make them fight for lives she never created?!” “You are way out of line, woman. This is my hospital, and they were under my care! You had no rights!” Dad boomed. “I do! I f**king do! When it comes to my babies, I would raise hell to protect them!” she yelled into his face with eyes wide and dangerous. This was happening in dad’s office, hours after we saw Vincent and were told of his current state. “Maybe you’ve forgotten, but he’s my son as well. He deserves to know about the woman he is in love with,” dad countered. “Over my dead body! You hear me, over my dead body! My
Andrew My mum was at it again. After several talks with the doctors concerning Vincent’s state of health, their diagnosis was that if he constantly sees or hears things that’ll trigger his brain to remember Anne, it was uncertain the impact it’ll have on him. There was a 50 percent chance it wouldn’t affect him negatively. The other 50 might be fatal, leading to him losing touch with reality or going completely brain dead. Whichever the case, they were certain reminding him of Anne would take a toll on his brain and health. Mum wasn’t going to test it. The whole situation only buttressed her hatred for Anne. “I want my son out of the country for a while,” she announced when she came home to personally select some changing clothes for Vincent. Dad and I just finished breakfast when she came and revealed her intentions. After some moments of silence, dad sighed deeply whilst looking down at his empty plates. After some more moments of silence, with mum still standing, waiting for a
Anne Of all times to get faults, the taxi chose today. I slipped out of the back seat, threw cash to the driver, and sped off on foot. As I dashed on the sidewalk of the busy road, I could hear Pamela’s voice in my head, yelling my name. I remember my heart sinking into my stomach at the urgency in her voice. I’d thought something might have happened to Makayla or Joan, but when she told me, the news was grave all the same. Earlier that day, I woke up to a gnawing pain in my belly, which got worse as the day progressed. I informed mum, and she took me to our gynecologist immediately. I didn’t charge my phone the previous day, after Joan played games with it, running down my battery, so my phone died on our way to the hospital. I got tired of running real quick, screeched to a stop, and bent over with my hands on my upper knees to catch my breath. My breathing came in gasps and pants as if my lungs were about to explode. The blistering sun scorched my skin, making me sweat profusel
Anne “Anne!” “Anne!” I heard Pamela and Andrew yell my name as they maneuvered through the crowd and made their way toward me. I just left the counter and was making my way out amidst pitiful stares, gasps, and whispers, when I heard their familiar voices. I dragged my dejected self towards them, trying really hard to hold back the tears that choked me. Pam got to me first and wrapped her arms around me. “I’m so sorry, Anne,” she sobbed. “I couldn’t get hold of you again. Your mum said she couldn’t find you!… Anne, he has left!” Pam cried. I couldn’t speak. I only held on to her and allowed the tears to fall freely from my eyes. Andrew got to us and stood there with a sad expression on his face. “I’m sorry, Anne,” he apologized, taking a step toward me. I shook my head vigorously, which was a way of informing him it wasn’t his fault. It was all mine. If only I’d charged my phone, we would have probably been in another reality. “Anne!” We all turned to see my mum rushing tow
Anne I made Andrew swear to secrecy. After loads of argument, he grudgingly agreed not to tell anyone. “I don’t want anyone accepting me because of my pregnancy, or having anyone take my baby away from me,” I’d told him during our arguments. For a whole year, Andrew became the father to my child and husband I never had. He felt it was his responsibility to care for me and my child until I decided to tell everyone. At first, I thought it was a great burden to him and had tried to dissuade him from coming over more often than not, but he vehemently refused. He didn’t need to tell me why. I simply saw how he was with my baby. As soon as he arrives, with loads of baby stuff that’ll last us a whole year, he’d only greet everyone, go over to the sink and wash his hands, then spend the whole-time carrying Lucia. The joy and contentment in his face held no bounds. He would sit on a rocking chair, hold Lucia against his chest, and tell her childhood stories of Vincent and himself. Sometim