After all the struggling, I was close to total exhaustion. The fluid was getting less, and the movements from the baby were dying down.
I guessed that the baby’s strength was slowly draining away as he could not breathe.
No, not like this. My baby! You can’t die like this! I have not seen what you look like, and I haven’t brought you to look at the world. I can’t let you go just like this!
I was tormented by the pain in my heart and my abdomen. Then, I saw something shiny in the dark warehouse. It was a mirror!
A glimmer of hope was ignited, and I moved my body with difficulty towards it.
It was only two steps away, but it seemed to take me an eternity to reach the mirror. I knocked on it with my head.
Crash! The mirror broke into a few pieces, and I felt a sharp pain on my forehead.
Without giving it much thought, I grabbed a piece of glass with my hands, which were tied together, and began to saw at the rope that tied my legs together.
The hemp rope was very thick, and I did not know how long I was cutting at it. There was a sharp pain in the palm of my hand, and I felt warm blood on my hands and legs, which felt sticky like batter.
However, this pain could not compare with the pain of feeling the baby dying slowly in my womb.
That pain was worse than death.
Boom! Suddenly, thunder struck across the sky, and the air was filled with moisture.
The pain in my abdomen continued, but the child’s strong movements gradually stopped. I suddenly froze, and the piece of glass in my hand fell.
I went limp and collapsed on the floor, which was covered with a thick sticky liquid. I could not tell if it was blood or amniotic fluid.
Suddenly, there was a heavy downpour. The thunder became louder and louder, and the lightning flashed brighter and brighter.
In the flashes of lightning, I seemed to see that child struggling to live as he tried again and again to crawl his way out.
Certainly, he cannot understand why his mother refused to let him out. He must be blaming his mother for keeping him in, even though he tried so hard.
I was wrong. It was really my fault. I should not have yearned for Ashton’s warmth, should not have trusted him to protect the child and me. I should not have challenged the authority and viciousness of Cameron and the Moore Family.
It was stupidity to take them too lightly. It was my fault. If not for me, this child would not die in such an inhumane way.
As time passed by, I began to think it was okay. I’m going to die with my baby. At least, my baby won’t be alone and afraid in the netherworld.
I’ll accompany him. He won’t be bullied. Here on earth, I could not protect him, but in the next world, I will.
Bang! The warehouse door was opened, and a strong light shone in.
In a daze, I saw a tall man walk in. I was so dizzy. When I tried to see him clearly, I did not have the strength to open my eyes.
Perhaps, this is the door to the next world. This door is opened.
In a daze, I felt as if I had stood up and under my feet was this thick red liquid which I knew was my blood.
Instinctively, I felt my abdomen with my hand and found that it was flat. In shock, I looked around for my child.
“Baby, Baby…” I called innumerable times. I seemed to see a small figure in a sphere of light.
He tottered toward me stumblingly, for he was so tiny and unsteady.
Overjoyed, I ran towards him and held him in my arms. Then I looked at the child carefully. He was so small, and there was a red mark on his head. He must have tried so hard to get out of my womb that he squeezed himself red.
His tiny nose and eyes looked so cute. He even knew how to smile, curving his lips like a little flower.
“Scarlett, Scarlett…” A low faraway voice came to my ears again and again.
I tried to find the source of the voice, but it was white everywhere, and I could not see anything.
When I looked at my child again, he was gone, and I was alone, lost in the midst of the thick, white fog.
“Scarlett, Scarlett…” The voice came to me again. I covered my ears, not wanting to hear it as I only wanted to look for my child.
However, that voice kept haunting me like a curse. Again and again, it came to my ears.
In desperation, I shouted with all my strength, “Baby, Baby…”
There was a sudden pain in my heart. I drew in a deep breath and forced open my eyes. What I saw was a familiar whiteness all around.
I was surrounded by a group of doctors wearing white coats and masks.
Someone heaved a sigh of relief and said, “She’s finally awake, and she’s alive.”
“Well, it’s best to take precautions and transfer her to the intensive care unit. Observe the situation. If she stabilizes one day later, she can be transferred to the normal ward.”
“Yes, sir!”
In a daze, I was taken to the ward. My throat hurt, I had difficulty breathing, and I could not speak.
