The convenient marriage

Chapter 3. The life she gained

Feeling the sunrays hitting her eyes uncomfortably, she tried to cover her face with her hands to block the bright light, not yet daring to open her eyes.

But as she attempted to summon some strength in her arms, to raise them up, she found it difficult to do, even her fingers did not budge, in fact it was impossible to move at all. Why was the simple act of raising her own arm's weight, so strenuous to her?

Wait ... if she could feel the sun uncomfortable to her eyes, and certainly also sense the sheets under her arms, even though she did not move her hands in the slightest, did it mean she avoided death for one more day? It was a horrifying realization.

She felt like crying knowing that, what was the point of living. Would she spend another day counting its seconds, while staring at the ceiling?

A small whimper escaped her lips at the thought, she was scared of dying, but she was even more terrified of living.

'Ehhh ... Mrs. Aria?' She heard an unfamiliar voice calling. Which was strange as the nurses who used to do the routine care for her did so mechanically, never talking to her for the last one or two years. Not that she could condemn them, because she also did not actively try to talk to them. Losing all her mobility, other than the ability to move her hands a bit, she felt like a burden, with depression and passiveness taking over her mind.

But now, with even her hands losing their mobility, she finally lost all her independence, trapped in a sick body. It was the final straw, she had become powerless. As the cruel reality hit her deep inside her very heart, her eyes began to moist as trembling took ever, before breaking into an unstoppable sob.

'What is it? Why did you press the emergency button?' Asked another voice alarmed, also not a voice she could recognize.

'Doctor, Mrs. Aria, she is crying!' Said the nurse anxious.

'W-what?' The doctor exclaimed, before quickly coming to her bedside.

'Mrs. Aria, can you hear me?' Asked the doctor, who had already approached her bed.

Hearing the second voice, surprised her even more, this was not her doctor. A nurse would change, but the shifts of doctors never changed for more than five years. She always had the same ones.

Finally stopping her cry, she slowly opened her tear filled eyes and looked up.

Mrs. Aria, can you see me? Please answer.' The doctor said and at the same time was already verifying her pupils, trying to check if it was only a spasm, and not an actual willing act.

Having the air tub blocking her mouth she could not actually speak, so she only briefly nodded.

Once the doctor had her direct confirmation, a set of rushed checkups kept her busy for more than five to six hours. Which was strange to her, as she was considered to be in her final moments previously, and only morphine had been administered to her veins to subdue her pain, in the last period of time. There were no other treatments done, as her disease had no other solutions possible.

But now it was different, the army of doctors that came in and out of her hospital room treated her with unusual care, and kept asking every step of the way how she was, trying to make her feel as comfortable as possible.

The strangest thing, more so than their meticulous care and the fact that she did not recognize any of their faces or the environment she was currently in, was the huge protruding belly that kept poking her from within, from time to time.

Could she possibly have gained other complications other than the ones she already had? But that still did not explain their care towards her and the unfamiliar environment.