THE COLOUR OF LOVE (Wattpadprize14)Completed

Chapter 20 - Anonymous

Cherrie woke before dawn. Feeling restless, she climbed out of bed and walked towards the window.  She did a double take when she passed the mirror.  Her eyes were red, swollen and puffy.  Was that really her image she saw reflected in the mirror? She tried hard to think what she had done or dreamt during the night to cause this reaction.  As she stared at herself in the mirror, she saw the reflection of the dawn sunrise and marvelled at the colours.  She turned round and walked towards the window, opening it to let in the fresh, morning breeze.

The sky, tinged with pinks, oranges and purples heralded a brand new, beautiful day. As Cherrie gazed upon the stunning skyline, the colours brought back a memory; a memory of a happy dream, a pleasant moment she’d shared with Cole.

‘Oh gosh. Did I really dream about Cole last night? Was it really a dream? It felt so real.’

Cherrie shook her head, trying to recall the details of her dream. Suddenly, everything came flooding back to her and she had to grab onto the window ledge to steady herself.

“I have Sarah’s heart!” she exclaimed out loud. “Oh my God. I have the heart of a woman who committed suicide!” The thought made her go weak at the knees, and she crumpled to the floor.

When her mother came into the room, she found Cherrie still sitting on the floor by the window with her knees drawn tightly up against her chest.

“Cherrie, darling. Whatever’s the matter?”

She looked up at her. “Mum, I believe the heart I have beating inside me belongs to a woman who committed suicide,” she said, with tears in her eyes.

“Why, in heaven’s name do you think that?”

“I saw it in my dream; well it was more a vision than a dream,” she lied.

Her mother sat down beside her. “Cherrie, I can see this is really troubling you. Let’s take a ride to the hospital and you can speak to them personally. Perhaps they’ll be more helpful in person, more forthcoming with the information you so desperately appear to need.”

“Thanks, Mum. I really appreciate your help. And yes, I do desperately need to know.”

“Well, not till you’ve had breakfast. Then I’ll drive you to the hospital.”

Cherrie gave her mother a hug. “You’re a gem, Mum. Thank you.”

“Let’s not tell your dad till we know the facts. Okay, my dear troubled daughter?”

“Okay, Mum.”

After showering and dressing quickly, she went downstairs for breakfast.  She felt strangely elated. ‘Was this the key to all her insomnia, to all her stress?  If she found out who her donor was, would it finally put all her demons to rest?’ The thought raced around in her head. ‘What would become of Cole? Would he disappear from her dreams too?’

Cherrie felt incredibly nervous as they sat in the waiting room at the hospital. Her mother had very kindly persuaded a young nurse to find someone who might be able to help them.  It took the nurse ages to return with information that did not seem very promising.  The hospital Administrator would be along to see them shortly.  After another half hour wait, a short, stocky, balding man approached them. With his glasses perched on the end of his nose, he introduced himself to them and asked them to follow him into his office.

Her mother spoke first, complimenting him on the wonderful job he was doing running the hospital and how thrilled they had been in the success of her daughter’s operations and aftercare.  She fluttered her long eyelashes at him and gave him such a warm and friendly ‘pleased as punch’ grin.  The Administrator immediately softened his demeanour and thanked her.  He was very happy that his staff had successfully contributed to Cherrie’s wellbeing.

Once the pleasantries were out of the way, he asked how he could help them.  Cherrie explained in as little detail as possible about her dreams, hoping she had said enough that he would see the importance of her needing to know who her heart donor was.  He listened in silence and nodded every now and then, occasionally glancing at her mother for verification of the details.

After Cherrie had outlined her dreams and asked as politely and desperately as she could, the identity of her donor, the Administrator sat quietly for a moment. He stood up and went to a filing cabinet behind him.  After punching in the security code on the side of the cabinet, he opened the drawer and pulled out a flat folder.

Cherrie waited with baited breath as he leafed through the papers and eventually pulled one out. After what seemed like an eternity, he eventually looked up with an apologetic expression on his face. The downward turn of his smile felt like a kick in Cherrie’s stomach.  She knew what the answer was before he even opened his mouth.

Unfortunately, the family had requested to remain anonymous.  There was nothing more he could do for them. He apologized and seemed genuinely upset that he could not help.

Cherrie and her mother left the office feeling totally defeated.

As they walked past the Intensive Care Unit, Cherrie could not help notice the hustle and bustle of nurses and doctors around a patient’s bed.  He appeared to be attached to a couple of machines and a young woman cried uncontrollably nearby. Cherrie felt her pain and silently prayed that the person she was crying over would recover.

Her mother linked arms with her and said, “Cherrie, Love. Let’s go and treat ourselves to a deluxe hot chocolate.”

“Okay Mum,” she said, holding back the tears.  She was so disappointed.

Cherrie suddenly stopped in her tracks. Someone had said the name Cole.  Was she imagining things? Could it really be him?  She stopped and listened again.

“What’s wrong Cherrie?” her mother asked.

“I’m not sure, Mum. Just a moment.”

Cherrie stood silently and listened for awhile, and then she heard it again.

“Cole, please don’t die. Please.”

Cherrie froze and suddenly felt faint.  The hospital corridor swam in front of her.  Her mother’s face became blurred and then everything went black.

Her mother caught her as she blacked out and fell forwards.  A passing nurse quickly came to their aid and helped to get Cherrie onto a bed.