Two days later…..
In the hospital...
Penelope stirred in her sleep, letting out soft moaning sounds as tears fell out of her closed eyes and Hannah came rushing to her bedside.
"Mama…." She repeated continuously in her sleep.
Hannah didn't wake her or comfort her. She only stared at the child who was moaning and crying in her unconscious state.
Truth be told, she didn't know what to do. She has never been in this situation before so she was confused.
Penelope suddenly stopped moaning and she jerked up from the bed. It seems like she had finally woken up.
She started crying all over again, making Hannah lean closer to her.
Hannah patted Penelope's hair without saying a word to her as she waited for Penelope to stop crying.
Eventually, she stopped crying and Hannah wiped her face with a kerchief. She stood up and left the room without saying a word, leaving the child inside alone.
Minutes later, Hannah came back inside with a lunch box. She walked to Penelope's bedside and opened the lunch box to start feeding her.
Penelope turned her head away when Hannah brought the spoon close to her lips.
Hannah sighed.
Penelope has been acting like this for the past two days and Hannah was getting tired of it.
"What is wrong Penelope, aren't you going to eat something?" She asked. "Or should I call in Raymond to feed you?"
"I don't want to eat anything, I'm not hungry". Penelope said to Hannah.
"Aunty, when are we going to look for mommy?" Penelope asked. "You promised that we were going to look for her right? So when are we going to look for her". Penelope asked.
"Listen to me Penelope, I will look for your mommy but right now, you need to eat something or you may fall ill again".
"No aunt, I won't eat till mommy comes back!" Penelope said.
Hannah ran her eyes all over Penelope's face for a second. She parted her lips as if to say something, but instead, she stood up and left the room.
"Did she refuse to eat again?" Raymond asked as soon as Hannah came out of the room. He had been standing outside of the room and listening to what they were saying.
"Yes, she doesn't want to eat anything. I think she is sad because she misses her mother". Hannah said.
"Don't worry, Hannah, I will try to talk to her". Raymond said and walked into the room.
"Good afternoon Penelope!" Raymond greeted with a big smile on his face. "How are you?" He inquired.
"Uncle Raymond, I think aunt Hannah is sad because I refused to eat". Penelope said.
"Don't worry about that Penelope, just stuck to the plan okay?" Raymond said.
"I don't know how long I will be able to do that uncle Raymond, aunt seemed very sad before she left the room. I think we should stop all this". Penelope said, hitting her lips.
"No Penelope, we have already come this far, we can't just put an end to our plan now". Raymond said. "Let's stick to the plan okay?"
"Okay uncle". Penelope replied with a sad look on her face.
"Now, you should eat your food so you won't fall ill again". Raymond said and started feeding her while Penelope looked sad.
Two days ago...
Raymond and Penelope sat in Penelope's ward, speaking in hushed tones.
"Really uncle, will she do that?" Penelope asked, smiling widely.
"Yes of course, if you do that, she will give you a very big present and you will also get to call her Mommy ". Raymond said. "All you have to do is to keep asking her for your mommy and act like you don't want to speak to her".
"Okay uncle, I will do just that". Penelope promised, making Raymond smile.
Raymond smoked as he walked out of the ward with the empty lunch box in his hand. He wanted Hannah to tell Penelope that she had adopted her, but Hannah wouldn't, so he had to make some plans of his own and he had to use Penelope's help.
"Sigh….. I wonder how long I will have to do this". He said.
"How is she?" Hannah asked. "Did you get her to eat?"
"Yes, I did. But while I was feeding her, she said…." Raymond paused and put on a sad look on his face, gaining Hannah's attention.
"What did she say?" Hannah asked. "Does she still feel pain in her back?"
Raymond shook his head.
"No Hannah". He said " She doesn't feel the pain anymore, she told me that she wanted her mommy, Hannah, but we know that can't happen don't we?" Raymond asked, peering into Hannah's eyes, trying to catch her slightest reaction.
"But what do I do?" Hannah asked, "I can't bring back her mother, and even if I can, I won't, so what do I do?"
Raymond shook his head mentally and tsked. Hannah didn't know if Hannah was confused or if she was hopeless.
"Why don't you just tell her that you have adopted her, That you are now her new mommy".
"I can't do that Raymond". Hannah said with her eyes down, as if disappointed in herself. "After what happened, she does want to see me anymore. She now hates me".
"She doesn't hate you, Hannah, she likes you very much". Raymond assured her.
"How can you be sure about that? She won't even let me feed her".
A sigh escaped Raymond's lips.
"Let's do this Hannah," Raymond started. "When you go to feed her dinner tonight, you can tell her that you have adopted her and that you are her new mommy. Okay?"
Hannah parted her lips as if to speak, but she didn't and only nodded to what Raymond said.
Raymond grinned widely when Hannah nodded.
'Wow! She agreed. Raymond sang in his head.
'I was right! This child is going to awaken the feelings she had buried down in her heart.