Midnight Mist

Chapter 3 - Grace

To Luna, Grace meant everything. Her world, her universe, her life. Grace was the reason she was still breathing alive up until then. Luna owed Grace life when she was about to die four years ago.

About five years ago, when she was staying in Germany to hide herself from the world she knew before, Luna was diagnosed with uterine cancer. The same cancer that caused the death of her own mother when she was fourteen years old. Her cancer was already at stadium 2 when the doctor found it out.

Luna was broken. She was dying. Alone. In a strange country where none of her relatives was there. Except for a best friend, a sister, that she found and became fond of since they met in Paris five years earlier, Gwen Suwannarat Lee.

In her lowest and dying moment, Gwen came with an idea and she was the one who persistently encouraged Luna to fight for her life. Gwen gave Luna to stay alive by deciding to bear Grace for Luna.

At first that sounded like an impossible idea when Gwen said Luna had to be alive.

"You have to fight. Your child will need you to stay and protect her." That's what Gwen said when Luna almost tried to kill herself and Gwen saved her.

"How come?" Luna was broken into tears that would make whoever saw her also broke into tears. "I will never be a mother, Gwen. The chance is zero." She sobbed again. "The medication that is possible for uterine cancer is just to remove my womb and chemotherapy. I would never have my own child."

That was true. That was what the doctor said to her. The only way of her medication was to do chemotherapy and remove her womb. Which means Luna would never have her own child anymore. Chemotherapy could cause infertility, and of course how could she be pregnant if her womb was removed?

Luna was broken and cursed her life. She once lost her unborn child before, and then she would never have another child. Then what’s the point of staying alive?

“No, Luna. We can! You can! I will help you. I will bear the child for you.”

Luna stopped her sobs and looked into Gwen’s eyes and shone optimistically.

Gwen cupped Luna’s face, and told her, “It’s not impossible. I’ll be the surrogate mother for your child. We can do it with your ovum, and find the donor, and I’ll bear the child. We can do it. Trust me.”

Luna was silent. She couldn’t process what Gwen said at once.

“Trust me. This cancer won’t be the end of your life. I’ll be by your side.” Gwen held and squeezed Luna’s hand, and nodded confidently to give Luna courage.

And even though she wasn’t really sure, the next day Luna and Gwen started to get ready for the whole process.

Gwen was very determined for it. She's the one who looked for the information needed for the IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) program, seeking the information and the right donor in the few bank donors that were available, and also pushed Luna for every consultation with the doctors and experts that she needed for the IVF program and also the medication for the cancer.

That was the most heavy two years in Luna’s life, more than every hardship she had been through. But at the same time it was miraculous as well. She hardly fought with the cancer she had at the same time getting more excited and hopeful as she saw her biological child grow in Gwen’s womb.

Grace, a beautiful baby girl, an angel, born right twenty three months after Luna got diagnosed with uterine cancer and thought she would die. Yet, she was still alive, getting better through intense medication, and then having a baby.

Luna owed Grace, and also Gwen, a life.

*

Grace was no longer a little baby. Then she was already a toddler. A very beautiful, lovely, and smart toddler that made Luna cry every single night while exhaling Grace’s pajamas that smelled like her since it was already almost more than two months she hadn't met and hugged her.