Love and Beasts

Chapter 41

When Claire returned back to the room, she was holding in her hand a bun with tomato, salad and ham. With this she also brought a steaming tea with lemon and sugar in it. "I couldn't find anything better to drink, and some sugar in would be good for you after fainting." "Thanks a lot, I'm really hungry." As she said it, she took the offered meal from the woman and took the food out of the bag. She then opened her mouth wide and took a big bite from it. It wasn't even 5 minutes and she was already done with devouring the food. She then drank the whole hot tea, despite the visible steam indicating that the beverage is hot. When she finished, she looked at the blonde woman who was staring at her amazed. "What, did I dirty myself or something?" Iza asked her, thinking that she was careless enough to eat sloppily. But the woman shook her head in denial. "You're so much younger than me and with no family, yet you eat and drink so fast like a mother of more than one child." "Ahh, it's a habit. Sorry if it disturbs you." "No, no. It's okay. It just reminds me of my mother, whom you resemble so much with this habit. Maybe it's because she had me as one of the triplets?" "Woah, you have two other siblings similar to you?" "We're not that much similar. My sister has ginger hair and green eyes, while my brother has blonde hair like me but green eyes like her." "Oh. So at least your mother had it easier with differentiating you. I honestly would be worried to have this many kids in one row." "Don't worry. I'm sure you would be fine. I'm surprised my boy hasn't cried yet, while being under some stranger's care."

As she said it, she took the baby in her arms and started feeding him, due to him starting to cry after a long nap. The other girl on the contrary turned her head in different direction, not wanting for the mother to feel pressured by her gaze and wondered about the woman's words. "Oh really? I'm not keen on babies too well, so it's hard for me to tell. Can I ask you a question now that Annika is gone?" The girl asked, making sure that the door is locked in case the smaller girl appeared in them. "Of course, it's not like you're unfamiliar with her current state." "Say, is Annika improving? And before you say anything, you need to know that I know about umbilical cord blood's traits." She said with a calm tone. Claire looked at her surprised, but then she smiled sadly. "I can see that you have a sharp eye and big amount of knowledge for an office worker in this field." She then inhaled and exhaled, calming down her nerves. "The chemotherapy doesn't allow her health to improve. We always planned to have one child since the pregnancy is tiring and raising a child takes a lot of time, money and devotion. But then we saw how our daughter's health was getting worse. She always wanted to have siblings and to play with them, so the timing was perfect. I've managed to convince my husband to have another child and now maybe our daughter will finally get better. If that won't work, then I don't know how will I be able to take in the fact, that she..."

As she started saying these words, she teared up for a moment and allowed herself to be hugged by Izabela. "Don't worry. I'm telling you that she will win with this unfair cancer and she will definitely be able to have normal life, like other girls her age do." Izabela then took Claire's hand in hers and looked at her with a serious face. "Although I don't do it much, I promise you that your daughter will get better and she will be able to help you out with your baby as its sister." She then hugged Claire, who was crying. But this time not out of sorrow but out of hope lit in her heart by the other woman's words. "Why do you say 'although I don't do it much'?" "Because I try not to make promises to people." She said with not so cheerful tone. Claire looked at her not believing her words and chuckled a bit. "Come on. Why not? It's not like you're always swearing on your life or something like this. Even to little kids?" "Even to them." Claire then looked at her with curiosity. "But... Why?" "When you promise something, regardless if it's something petty or serious, you always give your word for that. And to me it means a lot, because when you promise something, it means that you are bound by the given earlier word for it. When you promise something, it means that you openly state that what you said in the promise shall happen by your given word. I already made once a promise with someone, yet none of us kept each one's end of bargain."