6
407words
James grew clingy,cuddling me at night,volunteering to apply oil.
Seven days left before my C-section.
Late at night,I felt a sharp pain in my stomach,fluid leaking.
From pregnancy classes,I knew my water had broken.
My body,strained by the tumor and pregnancy perhaps,decided to go into labor early.
I woke James,sweating from pain.
He scrambled,packing frantically.
His phone rang.Sophia's wails poured out.
"You don't love me!You don't!"
"Come now!The rooftop's cold—I want to see you one last time."
James's hands stopped in his movements of packing,speaking quickly.
"Don't do anything stupid!I'll be there in an hour."
"No!Now,or I jump!"
Wind howled through the call,amplifying Sophia's hysterics,pressing on James invisibly.
I lay in agony,sweating.
James gritted his teeth.
"Don't do it!I'm coming!"
He packed fast,kissed my sweaty forehead.
"Call the driver.I can't let Sophia do something stupid."
James left,leaving me alone with pain.
I shakily called the driver—he was taking his sick child to the hospital.
The housekeeper was on annual leave,out of town.
Enduring pain,I grabbed the bag,fluid dripping down my legs.
Late at night,no cabs was available.I called Dr.Wilson,staying calm,but my trembling voice betrayed my pain.
"Dr.Wilson,my water broke.No cab—can you come pick me up?"
He arrived fast,speeding,cursing.
"That fucking James Harper,abandoning you!What kind of man is that?"
The car screeched to a halt at the hospital.Medics,already brief by Dr Wilson,rushed me onto a stretcher.
"Quick,quick!"
The gurney sped forward,surgery doors closing behind me.
As the anesthesia mask covered my nose,I finally relaxed.
The baby was safe.
They say anesthesia blanks the mind,but I dreamed of my childhood.
From two to eight,I lived in an orphanage.
I feared the director.He would summon pretty girls to his office;they'd return numb.
He made us act pitiful to persuade more donations.
Under performers would get mo meal and end up locked in a dark room.
For six years,I spent half my time there—small and scrawny,I was no joy to look at,failing to secure funds.
At eight,my foster father visited.I begged him to take me away.
I couldn't live here anymore.The director was beginning to eye me;I feared his office.
"With so many pretty girls here,give me a reason why I should choose you."
He patted my scrawny head.
"Take me,and I'll owe you my life.I'll do anything."
"Remember that."
He freed me from hell,gave me a good education.
Until time came for me to pay him back.
