The young woman holding the child did not give any response, and even, without stopping her footsteps, walked through the desolate, snow-covered streets, her footsteps left a trail of imprints in the freshly fallen snow. Despite the bitter cold and her evident distress, she did not give any response to the world around her. Her determination to move forward was unwavering, and she continued relentlessly .
Behind her, a figure emerged from the frosty mist - a woman of nearly seventy years named Ferrena. Her weathered face bore the marks of a lifetime of experiences, and she hesitated briefly as she observed the young woman ahead. Despite her advanced age, Ferrena's heart was filled with concern for the stranger and the fragile child she cradled.
"Ma'am,"
Ferrena called out, reaching out to grab the young woman's arm. She wanted to offer assistance, to ask if they needed help, but her eyes fixated on the baby in the woman's arms. Her voice trembled as she exclaimed, "Oh, this child!"
Her gaze bore into the young woman with a mix of anger and sadness.
"Can't you see, ma'am? This child is nearly frozen to death! How long has it been since you fed him?"
Melina looked indifferently at the 'nosy' old lady, and when she noticed the sign of the orphanage hanging on the dilapidated low-rise building next to her, her dead eyes fluctuated a bit, but in the end, she didn't say a word. Her silence only deepened the old lady's concern. Ferrena's gaze shifted to the worn sign of the orphanage hanging on a nearby dilapidated low-rise building. Melina's peculiar behavior left Ferrena perplexed. The young woman clung to her clothing, refusing to speak a word.
Ferrena finally sighed heavily, overcome with pity. "Wait here," she instructed, releasing her hold on Melina's arm. "I'll fetch some warm clothes and food for this poor little one."
However, Melina did not follow the old lady's instructions. As soon as her arm was free, she took a step forward and continued to walk forward.
"Hey, wait a minute!"
Ferrena called out in concern, her voice carrying a note of urgency. She struggled to follow Melina, but her aged legs and the thick layer of snow on the ground impeded her progress. She stumbled and staggered through the snow, doing her best to catch up with the determined young woman.
Melina continued to ignore Ferrena's pursuit and shouts. Her pace quickened, her footsteps leaving a trail of turmoil in the snow. She didn't understand why she was doing this, allowing despair to guide her like an empty vessel.
The chase persisted for about a hundred feet until Melina abruptly halted on an old arch bridge. The cold wind that hit her face like a knife made Melina regain some sober reason. She forgot about the old lady who had slipped on the snow because of a misstep and accidentally fell into the snow. Then she turned her eyes to the river under the arch bridge. The surface of the river was covered with a layer of ice and snow. As if sensing something bad was about to happen, the baby in her arms cried out with all his strength in his small body, hoping someone could save his life.
"Shut up," Melina muttered, her voice laced with bitterness. The baby's piercing cry intensified her despair and resentment. Her once-beautiful face, now marred by dust and snow, contorted into a mask of ferocity.
"You're just like me, a mistake in this world!"
With a sudden, shocking determination, she hoisted the baby high above her head, stepped over the low railing of the arch bridge in one swift movement, and plunged headlong towards the icy river below.
"Oh, no!"
Ferrena had already foreseen this scene. She struggled in the snow with her old arms and legs. She endured the severe pain in her waist. She took advantage of the young woman's reckless anger at her own child and crawled to the arch bridge almost by crawling.
"What are you doing!"
Seeing that both people were about to fall into the river, Ferrena threw herself up desperately. At the last moment, she knocked Melina and her child to the ground. After rolling a few times on the ground, the coat wrapped around the child loosened. Under the cold wind and snow, the baby's weak cry quickly became faint until it was barely audible.
"Get off me, old thing. This is my business. It has nothing to do with you!" Melina tried to kick off the old lady who was holding her bare feet.
"You are crazy."
Ferrena felt two sharp pains on her cheek as Melina's boots hit her face. She almost blacked out from the impact, but she clenched her teeth and held on to Melina's leg with all her strength. She was determined not to let go. But obviously she couldn't compete with a twenty-something woman who was consumed by rage and hatred. She only lasted for more than ten seconds before another kick landed on her shoulder blade, sending a wave of numbness through her body. She lost her grip on Melina's leg involuntarily.
Fortunately, their struggle had brought Ferrena closer to the baby in the snow. So she had an idea. While Melina was still struggling to get up from the snowdrift, Ferrena rolled over and threw herself on the crying baby, holding him tightly under her body.
But Melina seemed to have lost all reason and sanity. She let out a wolf-like roar, rushed to Ferrena's side, and grabbed her hair. She cursed and kicked her arm while trying to snatch the baby back from her. But even though she was battered and bruised, Ferrena lying in the snow did not waver at all. She was determined to protect the baby with her old and frail body. The stormy attack lasted for two minutes before it stopped. Melina gasped and stood up. She looked at the old lady who was trembling in front of her. Somehow, the hatred in her eyes had faded away.
This storm of violence raged on for two grueling minutes before finally subsiding. Gasping for breath, Melina stood up, her eyes devoid of the hatred that had consumed her moments ago.
"Why!?," Melina asked in a daze, her voice filled with numbness. "His father rejected him, his grandparents refused him, his birth was a mistake. We should both die together."
"It's you who should bear the weight of your actions, not this innocent child!" Ferrena retorted fiercely, her eyes locking onto Melina's.
"Hey," Melina sobbed, her face a portrait of misery as she offered a wretched smile. "You're right. I am a wretch. I deserve to die. He is innocent."
Ferrena was left stunned by Melina's sudden change of heart. Before she could react, Melina turned resolutely, took two deliberate steps to the other side of the arch bridge, stepped onto the railing, and leaped into the frigid air.
The moment was a blur, an abrupt and chilling tragedy. The sound of cracking ice and splashing water reached Ferrena's ears, and she realized with horror what had transpired.
"Oh, my God," she gasped, enduring the pain in her battered body. With one hand cradling the baby and the other supporting herself, she struggled to her feet. Rushing to the railing, her eyes fell upon a gaping hole in the ice, a gruesome testament to Melina's desperate plunge.
"Someone, please help her!"
Ferrena cried out desperately, her voice carried away by the relentless wind and swirling snow. Her anxious pleas barely traveled twenty feet before being swallowed by the unforgiving tempest. She knew it was a futile hope to expect a nearly seventy-year-old woman like her to leap into the icy river. Her heart pounded with desperation as she paced back and forth, shouting frantically for assistance, yet there was no response.
"Ma'am, you are a kind soul. I'm deeply sorry for my earlier actions. Please, take care of this child," Melina implored, her voice trembling with tears, moments before the frigid waters consumed her entirely.
"You are his mother. This is your responsibility. How could you expect an elderly lady, nearly toothless, to bear this burden!" Ferrena continued to cry out, determined to save Melina's life.
"Please, grandma, watch over him,"
Melina whispered just before the water enveloped her completely. In the midst of the biting cold, her voice remained resolute, "This child's name is... Bryan Watson."