Sisters

16.

MAXIMILLIAN

I sit in a chair and look at the hospital bed on which lies one of the bravest and strongest women I know, and I know quite a few of them. The great Dr. Nicole Bennett is now just a little scared of her little girl who might be lost in her worst nightmares. Her body now seemed so small and unprotected to me, and only that face so pale and sad. Still beautiful, regular facial features, neither too mild nor too strict without a shred of makeup. This way while I was looking at her I would never have given her thirty years, because she looked at least five years younger.

It hurt me that she had to survive all this today, and it hurt me that there was nothing I could do to protect her. And I was there next to her, helpless and angry at myself and the whole world.

Watching her today, I remembered everything I had learned about her past. When I first met her, I couldn’t resist the force with which she attracted me and tied me to myself, so I decided to check her out. I was interested in who that girl was and found out through my detective without much trouble. In less than 24 hours, I had her entire biography in my hands, from birth to the present day.

Reading her life, I realized what it was like to become and what kind of pain and suffering was behind that cold face.

I admired fifteen-year-old Nicole almost as much as I admired the girl lying in front of me. An exemplary student from the beginning to the end of school. A very polite and cheerful girl until the death of her parents.

I also watched a copy of a police report on that fateful night when she and Stephanie lost their parents. Today Nicole survived it all again. I knew that the second I looked her in the eye. I knew very well the fear in people's eyes when I saw it. In her eyes today, I saw something much bigger and scarier than just fear. I saw all the pain she was feeling and would give anything I could to at least take some of that pain on myself. If I could, maybe she wouldn't be lying so unconscious in front of me now.

In the report from the scene of the accident, only Nicole was conscious after the car crash. Her physical injuries were small, almost insignificant, but the psychological traumas that followed as a result of everything she saw and felt that day were immeasurable. Nicole never sought psychological help and refused to talk to psychologists. With everyone except one psychiatrist, who didn't have much to say about that conversation with her, she probably had, but she kept quiet about it. I tried to find that woman, but she lost the battle against breast cancer a couple of years ago and died. No one but Nicole and that woman could tell me what condition she was in after the accident.

But there was no need for anyone to say anything, it was all seen in her actions further. Her fighting spirit for Stephanie was something that is not seen every day. She refused the custody of as many as five families who wanted to adopt them, and with the help of her old grandmother, she took care of herself and little Stephanie. Throughout high school, Nicole worked non-stop, even several different jobs during the holidays. After that, she and Stephanie move to another city because of Nicole's college, and Stephanie also enrolls in high school there.

Nicole didn't live in a dormitory like all other students but in a smaller apartment with her sister. By then their grandmother already died so they are left alone, but that does not change their situation. Nicole continues to work for a few years with stronger and stronger intensity. They live a calm and peaceful life, and I see it very successful considering what these young girls without parents are today.

What is still very interesting about Nicole is the fact that nothing is known about her love life. I have a list of all the places she has worked, for how long and for what money, and the list is quite long. Every part of her life, all the grades and absolutely everything about her, but not a single piece of information about her sympathies or loves. Not even a single name, except William Limberg who just appeared out of nowhere determined to screw up my life.