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852words2026-01-26 11:21

My best friend Patricia was five months pregnant when her younger brother, Kevin, had kidney failure and needed a transplant.
Against the advice of her doctors and family, Patricia was dead set on terminating her pregnancy to donate a kidney to save Kevin.
I tried everything to reason with her, wearing my voice out until I finally convinced her not to terminate.

Later, Kevin passed away in the hospital due to complications.
Patricia blamed his death on me and poisoned me with Paraquat in my water glass, killing me.
When I opened my eyes again, I found myself reborn back to the day Patricia was determined to terminate her pregnancy to save her brother.
["Vanessa, how could my husband and mother-in-law be so heartless! He's my only brother! I have to do this, but they're blocking me at every turn. I don't even want to go home right now."] Patricia mumbled angrily through a mouthful of pungent blue cheese, her favorite.
Hearing the familiar voice, I slowly snapped back to reality, meeting Patricia's disdainful expression.
I realized I had indeed been reborn, back to the moment Patricia, furious that her husband Mark and his mother were preventing her from terminating the pregnancy to save Kevin, had come over to my apartment.

Just like last time, Patricia had stormed in, plopped down on my couch, and started ranting.
["If I don’t do this, my parents will never forgive me. I’ve always been the one who holds everything together. If I fail now… what use am I to them?"]
["Who will be there for me if my marriage falls apart? He’s my anchor. I need him.?"]
["Mark and his mom keep going on about the babies… They’re not even here yet! Their family is their whole world, but what about mine? Don’t my feelings count?”

“I can have other children! But I can’t get another brother! If he’s gone because I did nothing, how could I ever live with myself?"]
["I can always have more kids, but if my brother dies, how can they possibly replace him?"]
She ranted on, all while shoveling my expensive imported blue cheese into her mouth. My heart ached—for the waste, but infinitely more for the twin babies growing inside her.
She and Mark had struggled for five years to conceive. The countless IVF cycles, the hormonal rollercoasters, the heartbreak—it was a journey I’d witnessed firsthand.
Now, finally pregnant and in the clear after a risky first trimester, she was ready to throw it all away.
It wasn't like there were no other options. Her parents were in decent health. Her two sisters could have been tested.
But Patricia acted like she was under a spell, convinced she was the family savior, that they couldn't manage without her, taking every burden onto her shoulders.
When her brother needed a down payment for his car, she’d secretly taken out a loan..
When his fiancée wanted a lavish wedding, Zoe had drained her savings to contribute.
But herself?
The t-shirt she was wearing was one she'd snagged from my closet two years ago.
I'd advised her countless times to be kinder to herself, but she never listened.
In the end, my well-meaning advice cost me my life.
This time around, I wouldn't try to stop her.
If she wanted to be Kevin's crutch so badly, then fine! Let her!
["Vanessa, I'm talking to you!"] Patricia nudged me with her foot.
I turned to her and nodded.
["You’re right. The guilt would be unbearable if anything happened to him. Your family relies on you so heavily. You’re the only one who can fix this.."]
["Exactly..."] Patricia suddenly paused, looking at me with disbelief. ["Vanessa, that’s not what you said last week. You told me I was being reckless. That I’d regret it.."]
["You were trying to talk me out of it, saying I shouldn't end the pregnancy after trying so hard to conceive."]
Yes, this drama had been going on for nearly two weeks.
The first time Patricia mentioned it, I had been adamantly opposed to her terminating the pregnancy to donate a kidney.
I suggested her two younger sisters could get tested to see if they were a match, or her parents could try.
Failing that, Kevin could get conservative treatment until after her babies were born – with modern medicine, he could likely wait those four months. Then she could reconsider donation.
But what had Patricia said then?
She said, ["Vanessa, how could you suggest my sisters get tested? What if one is a match? My parents would force them to donate!"]
["My middle sister just had a baby; how could she raise a child if she donated a kidney?"]
["My youngest sister is finally in a good relationship. This would scare any man away!"]
["My parents are definitely out of the question. They're too old; they couldn't handle that kind of surgery."]
After running through everyone, she concluded that she was the only suitable donor in the entire family.
Since she was so convinced, why should I argue? Of course I would let her have her way this time.