MCPEW 036 SAFE NOW

The bright sunlight spilling through the open venetian blinds caressed my cheekbones with their warmth. Slowly, my eyes fluttered open. The first thing that came to my view was a form watching over me. At first, I couldn't make out if it was a man or a woman. My eyes were blurry and unsteady, but after some time, my vision adjusted against the light.

It was a woman. I realized when my vision cleared. My eyes landed on her soft, serene features. Her arms rested on the side of the bed as she sat on a chair.

Her exquisite eyelashes draped under her eyes as it fluttered close. Then it opened, then closed again. After watching her for sometime I realized she was fighting the urge to fall asleep. The dark shadow under her eyes evidently shows her inability to sleep for days, perhaps even weeks.

I opened my mouth to ask for a glass of water, but no words emerged from my lips. For the second time, I tried to let the words out, but what stumbled out of my lips was a groan. It was soft, but the tiny sound was enough to let the woman on the bed to awaken.

Seeing that I was awake, she jolted out of her sleepiness and abruptly rose from where she was seated. "I will call the doctor to notify you are awake," she said and skittered to the door.

When she was gone, I eased my body from the bed, but the sudden surge of pain hit me and I stumbled back. Tears spilled from the corner of my eyes at the burning pain in my chest. The pain was unbearable. 

I closed my eyes and waited for the pain to subside before opening them again.

Shortly, the woman returned to the room. She was accompanied by a middle-aged man in a Doctor's uniform and a nurse in her mid-thirties.

The nurse adjusted the bed until I was in a half sitting position. She checked my vitals and scribbled them on her note before stepping aside to let the doctor examine me while she observed.

The doctor examined me. He asked if I could feel my hands and feet. I nodded my head and moved them just to show him.

"Can you tell me your name?" He asked softly. 

My name. I repeated in my head. My eyes popped open in a sudden realization.

I couldn't recall a thing, not even my name!

Panic hit me too hard. I shook my head repeatedly. My terrified eyes bore at him.

The doctor saw the emotions in my face and read them well. He laid a soft hand on my shoulder to make me calm down. "It's okay." He said assuringly. "After the trauma in your head, you will most likely won't recall a thing. It's only normal, so don't be alarmed." He added, giving me a smile. 

Still panicking, my eyes searched the room as though it would give me the answer I was looking for. My gaze caught the woman's eyes. Her face remained calm and soft as she watched me. Her presence calmed me down.

"What's important now is that your life is out of danger and the baby in your womb is safe." 

The Doctor turned to the woman who was with me when I woke up and instructed her what medicine I should take now that I am out of coma. The Doctor handed her the prescriptions before walking out of the room with the nurse tailing behind him.

The doctor was gone, but I was still reeling from shock and disbelief at the news that I was pregnant.

Am I married? Was my husband looking for me? There were so many questions running through my thoughts and it kills me knowing I couldn't answer any of them.

"Are you hungry?" She asked as she eyed my frail form with worry. 

I shook my head.

"Do you need anything?" 

My lips mouthed the word water. She immediately grabbed a glass on the table and filled it with the water from the jar before handing them to me. I took it from her hand, but it nearly slipped out of my trembling fingers. I'm so weak, I couldn't even hold a glass properly. A deep sigh emerged from my lips as I allowed the woman to hold the glass while I drank the contents.

The cold water drifting to my dry throat felt like heaven. I was so thirsty. When I finally let go, the glass was empty.

"T-thank you." I managed to tell her in a hoarse whisper.

The woman smiled at me. "I am Elizah." She introduced herself to me. "It was my parents who found you." She told me.

"W-what happened." I asked her, wanting to know the details of how I wound up in the hospital.

Elizah took my icy hands and wrapped them with her own, providing me with the warmth and support I needed. "My father was a fisherman. He was out in the lake when he found you floating on the water."

I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat.

"You're very fortunate to survive that night. You nearly drowned. But it was not the drowning which almost claimed your life, but it was the fatal wound on your chest and shoulder."

Elizah was teary-eyed as she narrated the events. 

"Mom felt for your pulse while waiting for the ambulance to arrive. But your pulse was so weak and almost nonexistent and she thought you're dead. Thank God! You survived." Tears glittered at the corner of her eyes.

Looking at her, I felt like crying, but I stopped the urge to burst into tears. Crying will only make the throbbing in my chest more painful.

"Did anyone look for me?" I asked in a hopeful tone. 

Elizah shook her head. Dismay shot through me painfully.

Perhaps I have no friends, no family, and no husband to look for me. The thought made my chest feel tight and heavy. 

"There was a man who was looking for his missing ex-wife." Elizah said and for a moment, hope sprung in my chest.

"D-did he find her?" I breathlessly asked.

"He did." Elizah nodded her head. The last sign of hope inside me shriveled like a withered plant. "She was found dead and floating in the lake." She added with a sigh.

I could only thank the heavens that I was not the woman who was found dead floating in the lake.

Elizah let go of my hand and rose from her chair. She pulled a string and the venetian blinds closed.

"Rest for now. I have to leave for a moment to purchase your prescriptions."

I nodded and turned to the Venetian blinds. The door gently closed behind me.

When she was gone, my hand went to caress at the swell in my stomach. It was covered by an oversize hospital gown. Sudden protectiveness swelled inside me. I caressed my tummy. 

The most important thing for now is I am safe and so, my baby.

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