“I dreamed about Mimi… it was still meowing at me, then just as I was about to hold it, it disappeared.” Elisa cried, her pregnant body already sensitive, just the thought of Mimi made her cry uncontrollably, gasping for breath as tears streamed down her face, sounding muffled in her nostrils.
Her stomach heaved with hiccups, aching and Louis worried she would cry herself sick, so he handed her a glass of warm water to drink. She hiccuped while drinking, unable to stop, and Louis, feeling sorry for her, held her gently in his arms, patting her back silently comforting her.
Elisa’s tears kept flowing as she lay in Louis’ embrace, crying softly as she asked, “I always feel like Mimi is still by my side, but I can’t see her.” Like those years of her death, her spirit lingering, seeing everything around her and feeling the joys and sorrows, but invisible to others. Was Mimi still by her side, protecting her after death?
Elisa looked at her swollen belly, “If all things in the world really can be reincarnated, I hope Mimi can become my child.” Her belly moved slightly at that moment, a light arc like a hallucination, but Elisa felt it.
In the hot months of August and September, Louis accompanied Elisa for her prenatal check-up, this time with Mrs. White, perhaps worried about his son’s care for the pregnant woman. Elisa wore only a white dress, still feeling hot, panting heavily after a few steps.
The check-up went well, with the due date in mid-November. Carrying twins was more dangerous than one, with a high possibility of needing a cesarean section if complications arose. They may need to be prepared to stay in the hospital early for safety.
Elisa didn’t like hospitals, but if she had to prepare for it, she would consider it in November. She wanted to go to the bathroom, and Louis couldn’t accompany her, so Mrs. White followed her.
Mrs. White was so cautious, almost keeping her eyes on Elisa’s back, but even then, something went wrong. After Elisa finished using the bathroom, a young boy bumped into her head-on as she emerged.
Elisa fell backward, hitting her head on the ground, her stomach taking the blow, causing her intense pain and nearly fainting on the spot. Mrs. White, behind her, didn’t catch her but suffered a spine injury from Elisa’s fall.
Mrs. White, feeling helpless, knelt on the ground, holding her by the back of her head, watching the blood pool under her. “Help, someone help, call a doctor, a pregnant woman is having a miscarriage!” she yelled outside.
The boy was shocked to see Elisa on the ground and seemed not to realize he had knocked down an adult causing her to bleed. His guardian, present as well, quickly dragged the boy away, dismissing the incident as Elisa’s fault.
Mrs. White, with bloodshot eyes, waited, glaring at the woman. Startled, the woman looked at the pregnant woman on the ground, “Why are you staring? Walking around with a big belly, and acting like you’re dead after falling?”
Outside the bathroom, Louis overheard Mrs. White’s panicked voice, his body freezing as he rushed in. Chaos ensued, and despite being present, no one wanted to help in fear of getting involved in a messy situation, watching and gossiping instead of calling a doctor.
Unable to lift Elisa, Mrs. White knelt on the ground, her hands covered in Elisa’s blood, the redness glaring. Fortunately, being in a hospital, a passing nurse was alerted, and soon enough, help arrived in the form of a stretcher.
Louis slapped the woman’s face, her previously indifferent expression suddenly transformed into panic. Louis grabbed the boy from the corner, pinching his neck, the fury in his eyes showing, as if he genuinely wanted to choke him.
“Was it you who pushed her? Was it you who bumped into her?” Louis, like a wild animal, held the boy by the neck against the wall, his feet dangling, his fist clenched tightly on his thigh, making a squeaking sound.
The boy, frightened, cried loudly, his face turning pale and his neck red from lack of oxygen. He stammered, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to… I’m sorry.”
The woman, in a hurry, pleaded, “Let him go, my son is just a child who doesn’t know any better, it was an accident.”
Can a single word “child” absolve all blame? Can a child commit a crime without consequences? Can a child’s mistake be settled with just a few words? Things are never that simple. The woman sobbed, unable to fight back, kneeling and crying out in protest at the ground.