Adversity Knocks

Damaged Goods

Trying to remember what happened to her before she magically appeared in the dark void made Eliza delirious.

Leaving murmurs in the background, Eliza tried to break free from the straightjacket she found herself in.

Unlike Joleyne, Eliza had come to realize that death had become of her. She figured she was put in the attire for psychological reasons; that must be beyond the grave.

After she stayed steady, she started having convulsions of her previous life.

I was walking around the neighborhood with my son. He somehow went to retrieve his ball that bounced on the street when the traffic light was about to turn green. Then a loud sound banged through my ears - BEEP - just like a car horn. I stood still as I blacked out as Eliot called my name.

Mommy! Mommy!

Then, something hit me like a boomerang effect, where I didn't expect to die just right there with a crying toddler.

Phish!

And just like that I blacked out.

Felt my soul taken away from me as I laid on the ground.

Then the sirens in the background took me away.

----

It took her hours to wriggle herself out of the attire, but was able to figure it out like the greatest magician who ever lived: Harry Houdini.

First, she used her teeth to undo the buckles on the straps. Then, Eliza was able to free her arms so she could use them to open the buckles at the back.

It worked!

Beaming with joy she applauded for a job well done.

Yet, the gleam in her eye disappeared after realizing that it also meant her family mourned after her; a mother to her two babies and a loving wife to her husband ... all gone. A pang of guilt remained with her as she didn't even have time to say goodbye.

She blamed the growing aneurysm in her brain, and how the paramedics, doctors and nurses couldn't save her life . She was seen by a doctor for her yearly health exams, but the diagnosis was never detected, even though Eliza complained of headaches, dizziness, and double vision.

It was possible that the sickness was hereditary, but Eliza's parents never told her about it.

- - - -

When her soul was still alive, Eliza would watch old reruns of the illusionist with her husband, Desmond, who loved watching Houdini as well. A nerd at heart, Desmond was fascinated with magic as well. In fact, sharing that hobby brought them together as a couple, despite the fact that Eliza was disabled. It was her caring personality that he cherished, not her physical looks.

Always concerned of how others thought about her, Eliza knew people would talk behind her back. Negative feedback would bring her down. That stopped her from finding Mr. Right as most of the men she previously dated would mention something hurtful about her disability. Having cancer as a child wasn't her fault, yet many people made it seem so.

Eliza had a youthful appearance and her personality was enigmatic – a bit mysterious and difficult to interpret, but it added a layer of intrigue to her beauty. She was someone that was difficult to forget, evoking deep emotional responses.

Yet, Eliza couldn't see that as she always had low self-esteem. But the day she met the handsome Desmond MacQuoid changed her world.

Introduced by a mutual friend, Eliza was a bit hesitant meeting the handsome man behind the glasses. Yet, her best friend, Lacy, was adamant on getting the two introverts together.

Lacy didn't like the fact that Eliza was still single, alone, and was mad when her friend was snubbed by the rich people they'd meet at parties. Thus, Lacy wouldn't take no for an answer when Eliza refused.  Yet, she advised her friend to look beyond her handicaps.

Desmond's short brown locks made her blush on the spot. Yet, she wasn't fixated on the belief that true love exists.

The two lovebirds met in a coffee shop, where Desmod stepped down to face Eliza in her wheelchair and smiled at her. Trying not to look long at him, she gushed and tried to wheel herself out of the cafe. But at the sound of his deep voice, Eliza was hooked like glue. There was something mystical about him that overcame her and soon that day led to several dates, monthly hookups and soon, marriage.

After a year, their son Elliot was born and soon followed baby Dorian. As a mother, Eliza was ecstatic and soon forgot about her past. That is until her afterlife as an angel came upon her.

With no wings, she felt more like a disabled zombie who didn't quite make it to Heaven.

--><--

Feeling that the top of her head was blasted off, Eliza compared herself to the headless horseman she read to her son. Trying to remember the title, made her dizzy, but for some reason the story of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving was murmured to her.

Who said that?

No answer came through, but like Joleyne's situation, someone was indeed watching them.