She sat in the dark, carrying the calloused body of her son. Tears fell, as she prayed furiously, for God not to take her son. She caressed his head as she held him close to her, as she felt his last breath escape his feeble body. She could hear jingling keys, followed by the laughter of girls,
"Honey, are you sure your wife doesn't mind us spending time with you?" one of the females said.
"Ha! This is my house; she has to listen to me." The male responded.
As she heard the footsteps get closer and closer, she became angry. Her husband's noticeably strawberry blonde hair roughly slicked back with multiple layers of gel began to loosen from a day's sweat, the shape of his deceitful eyes stood out from his otherwise, hazel eyes, which revealed a sense of gentleness that was never there. He stood at the entrance of the living room where she was.
"Why is it so dark?" he said as he flicked the light on; he saw her sitting there, her silver hair, which was once shiny, had become dull from worry. Her purple irises once carried a sparkle, but no longer stood out amongst the red veins in her eyes. With a face full of tears, she held on dearly to the lifeless body of their child. Her porcelain skin was no longer radiant, carrying heavy bags, from continuous sleepless nights.
"Sonya? Why are you sitting in the dark?" he said abruptly.
Sonya sat there in silence, in total disbelief "What is going on? My husband, the one who made a vow to be with me in love and pain, before God, actively brought a woman home. Not one, but two?" she thought, as if she was face to face with the truth.
The girl on his left broke the silence as she shouted, "Ah! What is she carrying?" she said jumping behind him, "Honey, I'm so scared." She continued in an overly sweet tone.
Sonya just stared at her husband, with emotionless eyes as he pulled his arm from one girl to console the other, patting her head with such gentleness. Sonya's presence became obsolete, she bit her bottom lip unless it started to bleed.
"Daniel? What's going on?" she said as she interrupted the intimate moment that they shared.
Daniel looked at Sonya with a hateful glare, as if she was an eyesore interrupting him. He then shifted his eyes down, looking at what was in her hands, "What is that? So, disgusting." He said with no remorse.
Sonya's eyes which had been lowered looked directly in his eyes. Daniel was aware of the condition of their son, but time and time again, he showed that he didn't care. Sonya was a person who hated confrontation and would often put up with Daniel's lifestyle of bringing women in and out of their house, but tonight was different and she could not do it anymore.
"Daniel! You know the situation with King's health." She said, "...So why?" she whispered. "Why must you do this to me time and time again? Why tonight of all nights?!" she continued in an outburst of anger.
Daniel released himself from the grasp of the two women holding onto his arms and leaned into hug Sonya. Her heart began to calm, "He does care", she thought hopefully.
But that was short-lived, "Sonya? Did you really think I loved you? So, what if that bastard child dies? He should die, otherwise, how am I going to get rid of you? When will you understand without your family, you are worthless to me." He whispered into her ear.
"Honey, why are you so close to this woman? Is she prettier than me?" one of the girls said tugging on the back of his shirt.
Daniel took a step back, laughing maniacally. Daniel made a fool of Sonya. She stood there in shock,
"So hateful. How could I marry such a hateful and self-centered person?" She thought.
She was so calm it was almost scary. Sonya didn't say anything more, carrying nothing more than the clothes on her back and the lifeless body of her baby in her arms, she left. Daniel and the two girls stood in the corridor laughing hysterically. Sonya did not look back; it was a house, but for her, it was no longer a home.
Sonya gave her all to this relationship, and it took everything to maintain it.
She left the house, "What am I going to do now?" She said as she lifted her head to the sky.
It was a stormy night, but with nowhere to go, she was at the end of her ropes and could see any hope of overcoming this. Sonya started walking aimlessly, with no destination in sight, she just walked. She was too ashamed to go back to her family after she had cut them off for love.
"Love? So much for that." she chuckled softly as she glanced down at King's lifeless body.
A car drove up next to her as she was just standing in the rain, "Sonya?! What are you doing out here? You're barefooted! Get in! Get in!" a familiar voice shouted,
breaking her focus. It was Sam, her childhood friend, her green eyes sparkled like the purest emerald stone, her hair so black, that it looked blue loosely pulled up into a messy bun, perfectly positioned on her head with a few locks gracefully pulled behind her left ear,
"Sonya?" She called one last time before she rapidly unbuckled her seat belt and got out of the car.
She ran to Sonya's side trying to shield her from the heavy rain with her left hand, but Sonya did not say anything. Sam opened the door to the back seat, pushing Sonya towards the door. Sonya got in the car without much thought. Sam closed the door before running back into the driver's seat,
"Why were you out in this storm? Where is Dan? Why isn't he with you?" Sam asked while passing a dry towel that was sitting in the passenger seat.
Sonya released one of her hands that carried King to grab the towel,
"Do not mention it; I will never forgive that hateful bastard!" she retorted.
Sam did not ask anymore, as she drove off from the spot she had parked, "How is King? Have you found any specialist who could tell you anything about his case?" she asked, unaware of the current situation.
"King... King couldn't overcome his situation." Sonya said softly.
Sam fell silent and glanced at Sonya through the rearview mirror, she noticed the figure of a child in Sonya's arms,
"Is that... King?" Sam asked.
Sonya shook her head, barely holding back her tears, she asked, "Can you take me to Sapphire River? I want to be able to send King off in peace."
Sam could not say anything, anything she could say would have hurt Sonya more. Sam made a sharp U-turn. Sapphire Lake had great meaning to Sonya. It was the place she would often visit with her Great Aunt when she was alive, it was the only place she could hear the miraculous stories about Jesus and how he came to be, and why he came to be. It was also the place where she spread the ashes of her great-aunt. Sapphire Lake is also an inheritance she received from her grandfather, after his death, and the only thing that Daniel didn't have ownership of.
Sonya and Sam sat in silence for the entire ride to the lake. It took 15 mins from where they were to reach the lake. The area surrounding the lake was about 50,000 sq ft, but the lake itself covered about 100,000 sq ft. leaving the entire property at about 150,000 sq ft in total.
The land was mostly empty apart from a large Gazebo connected to a Glass tea house, named "Cinderella's Glass Hope" which took up 2,000 sq ft approximately 90 meters from the lake. The glass teahouse appears as if it is made up entirely of diamond-infused Polycarbonate one-way glass. From the outside, it is impossible to see the inside, but from the inside, you can see everything outside. It was originally a greenhouse, that Sonya's grandfather gift to her grandmother, as she developed a hobby in agriculture.
It had three floors, the first two floors are made up entirely of glass, with the first floor being used for agriculture purposes, and the second floor being a resting area, decorated with a variety of different roses. The Third floor is made up of the purest Tanzanite crystals. The third floor was added on for Sonya's 18th Birthday.
Sam got out of the driver's seat, to light a cigarette. Crossing her right arm over her left, tapping her bare medium-length nails on her left forearm. Sonya, stepped out of the car soon after, looking in Sam's direction,
"I thought you said you quit?" she said, covering King's body in the moist towel.
"Are you not upset? King is gone, but where is Daniel? Because I don't see him. This whole thing is stressing me out!" Sam said in an infuriating tone.
Sonya sighed in response, "How can I not be upset? What's done is done, and no one will come to save me even if I cried or yelled at the sky. Why would I make someone stay when they don't want to stay? Plus, worrying about it does me no justice when the other party could care less." She said as she shrugged her shoulders in a composed manner.
Sam looked at Sonya in a dissatisfied manner, before sighing heavily. She tossed away the remaining cigarette, following Sonya as she walked towards the lake.
The lake was extremely radiant. The Crystal blue water carried a green hue that allowed it to appear as if it was glowing. The heavy rain had become light droplets, softly bouncing off the water, as if the river was housing water sprites. Under the soft moonlight, you could see the water reflecting every aspect of the moon that night. The light ripples of the water produced by the breeze gave an illusion that the water had a mind of its own. In the middle of the lake stood an ivory statue of Mother Mary, holding baby Jesus.
Sonya sat in the grass near the edge of the lake, she looked at the body of her baby boy, "I'm not sure why this has happened to you, but mommy is so sorry that you must suffer. I am truly grateful that God gave me such a blessing as you..." Sonya choked up, as tears began to silently run down her face, "... If we can meet again, please allow me another chance to be your mother again, okay?" She continued, as she pushed herself to smile through the tears.
Sam leaned down to hug Sonya from behind, to console her. Sonya smiled at Sam, "I'm fine." She said as she got up, placing King's small body to set afloat down the river.
Sam stood up from Sonya, as her phone rang. "Hello?" Sam answered as she walked towards the Gazebo.
On the other side of the phone was the voice of a man, "Sam? Do you remember what you asked me to investigate?" the person said.
Sonya stood up walking towards Sam, with her head low. "Yes? Did you find anything?" She responded in a state of suspense,
"Well yes, but it is not something that should be discussed over the phone." Sam fixed her eyes on Sonya, before answering, "Meet me at Sapphire Lake in 45 mins." She said before hanging up.
Sam walked toward Sonya, hesitating to tell her because had just lost her son, but the situation involved her, but Sam found the conversation unavoidable. "Sonya let's go inside. I have something to tell you. Do you want to hear it? Before you answer, you must prepare yourself for anything, okay?" She said as she stood in front of her.
Sonya looked at Sam, with her dark sunken eyes, clothed in dry tears, carrying a state of confusion, she asked "What is it about?"
Sam paused for a moment, before saying, "Let's go inside. I'll make you some tea to calm your nerves, and we can talk over tea." Sam led Sonya into the tea house.
Sonya headed to the second floor. The stairs leading to the second floor were made up of Hammered glass. With each step, the stairs would light up. Sonya smiled, as she was reminded of her childhood. Her grandmother would hum a different tune with each step. A small round glass table was surrounded by blue roses, which were colored artificially through various chemical methods. Sam followed closely behind her,
"I'll go make tea." She said as she passed by Sonya.
For a moment, Sonya forgot the pain that was in her heart. She leaned over the ledge of the second floor, looking at the different flowers. The red, blue, white, and pink roses were lined up uniformly. Looking down it resembled an image of a large bunny. A light breeze flew past her, sending the silver locks of her hair softly over her shoulders. Closing her eyes, she felt a sense of relief.
"Nona, Nona?" the younger Sonya called excitedly, "All of these flowers are so pretty!" she continued, as she spun around in circles.
"Not as pretty as My Soni" Her grandmother responded, as she peacefully transported the flowers from the pot, into the soil in the ground.
She hummed a gentle melody before Sonya interrupted her, "Nona, can we make a cute bunny with the flowers?" said asked,
"Are you going to help me? Why not? Let's make a bunny as cute as Grandma's Soni." Her grandmother replied.
Sonya looked at the flowers on the first floor remembering the significance of the memories in this place. "I wish I could have brought King here. Would he have loved it as much as I did as a kid?" Sonya thought, bringing herself back to reality.
Sam came out of the kitchen with a glass tray, on the tray was a fresh pot of tea, and 3 empty cups made of Borosilicate glass. Sam walked over to the table and placed the tray down. She removed 2 cups from the tray, filling them partially with fresh tea.
"It brings back memories, doesn't it?" she said walking to where Sonya was with a smile,
"Nona enjoyed her teatime the most. She often had to break up our fights, and it was a coincidence our fights broke out during teatime." Sam and Sonya chuckled simultaneously.
Sonya turned around and took a seat at the table, "So, what was the thing that you wanted to talk about?" Sonya asked, before Sam's light-hearted grin disappeared, as she walked over to the table to sit across from Sonya.
"Do you remember, when I said I would ask my use my connections to see if I can get any information regarding King's condition?" Sonya grabbed the teacup and saucer from the tray.
Placing the saucer in front of her, she brought the teacup to her mouth to take a sip, "It's a little too late for that. King is gone." She said as she rested her back on the chair,
crossing her arms, "What about it?" she continued, as she stared at the pale green hue that accompanied the deep mustard color of the tea.
Sam hesitated for a moment, "It's possible that King's situation, wasn't an illness, but Infant Poisoning..." she said as she continued, "I have a friend from Russia, who studied medicine here. His focus was pediatrics. I gave him the list of signs and symptoms that King was experiencing, and he revealed that she had experienced a similar case. The case was the same thing, as King." Sonya tried to remain calm upon hearing these words, but her anxiety was shown on her face as her eyebrows began to twitch, displaying her immense anger at Sam's every word.
Sonya slammed the teacup on the table, causing the cup to break, spilling tea all over the table, "So, you are saying that someone intentionally poisoned... my son?!" She said in an irritated tone.
Sam tried to calm Sonya down, "We can't be sure if King was poisoned or not, but if it is like, he said. The time it takes for the poison to reveal itself, was 6 months, and the amount of time it takes to kill the person infected with it. It indicates that whoever poisoned King did it while you were pregnant with him." She said in a desperate tone, as she continued, "Soon, my friend will be here, and you can ask him as many questions as you need."
Sonya composed herself. She was furious, but the truth had yet to be determined, "One more thing, I asked him if he could use his father's influence to retrieve your past medical files. Please don't be upset." Sam said, and she placed both of her palms together, lowering her head.
Sonya released a heavy sigh, "I'm not upset. I know you are doing this for my own good. Next time, just tell me. You know, I hate being in the dark, about things involving me." she said as she took a deep breath.
Sam sighed in relief, "Let me go get another cup. Soris will be here soon." She said as she pushed her chair back to get up from the table.
She walked into the kitchen, and Sonya asked, "Who is Soris?"
Sam came back from the kitchen carrying a new teacup, placing it on the table near Sonya, "Soris, is my friend from college." She said as a slight smile appeared on her face.
Sonya placed both of her elbows on the edge of the table, before clasping her hands together. As she leaned forward, placing the weight of her head on her hands, she looked at Sam with a mischievous smile, "I see."
Sam became bashful, after seeing the expression, "wh... what do you see?" she said defensively, stumbling over her words as she crossed her arms, turning her back towards Sonya.
"I didn't say anything." Sonya retorted. Sam took a seat at the table, picked up the teapot, and poured tea into Sonya's cup.
Sonya and Sam were immersed in their conversation. "So now that you've decided to leave, what do you plan on doing?" Sam asked.
Before Sonya could answer, Sam's phone rang, looking down at the name on the caller ID, it was Soris. Sonya and Sam looked at each other, before Sam accepted the call, "Are you here?" she said firmly.
The topic of King, which Sonya had pushed to the back of her mind, started to resurface again. She took a deep breath, trying to compose her chaotic emotions once again. "Come to the glass building near the lake. That's where I am." Sam said as she hung up the phone.
It only took a matter of minutes for Soris to reach the building; the jingle of the door played, as he entered. Sonya and Sam got up from the table; Sam headed down to the first floor, while Sonya stayed on the second floor, looking over the ledge. Sam met Soris at the door, briefly explaining the situation. Though Sonya could not hear what was being said, the conversation was confirmed, as both Sam and Soris looked up in the direction of Sonya.
Sam led the Soris to Sonya. As Soris climbed each step, the reality of the situation became more realistic to Sonya,
"Did I want to know the underlying cause of King's sickness? After all, knowing would not bring him back... My baby boy is gone, and he's never coming back..." She thought as both of her hands gripped the smooth glass railing of the second-floor balcony.
She closed her eyes tightly, as her heart began to waiver, "No, I want to know! I must know! If someone truly caused the death of my baby, he must pay. A life for a life!" she thought firmly, as her eyes shot open, blinking away any tears that formed in her eyes.
She turned around walking towards the table; with a callous heart, she sat down preparing for what she would hear. Sam led Soris to the table where Sonya was sitting. Sonya looked at Soris, as he placed a small medical box on the table. His deep brown eyes seemed to sparkle like the innocence of a child, and his sandy brown hair, softly laid on his face, barely touching his eyebrows. The deep olive skin tone, and his stoic expression, gracefully adorned his face, and seemed unmovable.
He reached out his hand, "Hello Sonya, Samantha has told me a lot about you. I hope our Sami hasn't caused you too much trouble?" he said as he looked in the direction of Sam, adorning a mischievous grin, that revealed a perfect set of ivory white teeth.
"Oh? Our Sami?" Sonya said with a devilish grin, as she reached to shake his hand.
Sam's face became flushed as she took the teapot from the table, clearing her throat, "Let me go, brew a fresh pot of tea." She stated abruptly, as she ran into the kitchen.
Sonya giggled as she sat back in the chair crossing her arms. Soris and Sonya sat in silence for a bit, as they were strangers.
Soris broke the silence, as he stated, "Sam has filled me in on the reason for my visit and of course the situation regarding you. While Sam did not go much into details, I'm sure she has her reasons, so I will not pry."
He reached for the medical box in front of him, "But based on the information she did give me, I do want to get some of your blood as a sample for a more concrete understanding of the case, before we talk any further." He continued, as he took out 3 vials, the tops on each vial were different.
Sam entered back into the room, carrying a fresh pot of green tea, that sparkled like the purest emerald stone, through the translucent pot. She placed a teacup in front of Soris, as well as herself, before filling each person's cup a third of the way up.
Soris took out a pair of clear sterilizing powderless gloves to put on, "Arm, please?" he said as he gestured for Sonya to hold out her arm.
Before drawing her blood, Soris noticed a small callous spot molding deep into the skin of Sonya's forearm. He firmly pressed on to the callous area and noticed how it was visibly progressing at a slow pace. He looked up at Sonya, then looked in the direction of Sam, who then looked at each other. Soris continued to search for a visible vein.
He then grasped the sterilized needle, which was sealed in plastic, "It'll be a light pinch, please try not to move." he said as he inserted the needle into her forearm.
Soris finished drawing Sonya's blood into the 3 separate vials. As he glanced at the vials, intently for a few moments, he neatly placed the vials in separate compartments before closing the medicine case.
"Now, let's talk." He said as he removed the glove from both his hands, "It's just as I expected." He continued,
He removed the case from the table and sat it on the floor near his left foot.
Sam stared at Soris, "What do you mean? Is it poison like you said?" She said and she straightened her posture. "I hate to say it... but it is indeed just like the previous case. The case l has too many similarities, and I can't say for sure until I run some tests on the blood samples, but on your arm..." he said as he gestured to Sonya to hold out her arm again,
"This small area of the callous-like layer of skin on your arm is the same as the one I saw back in Russia. The only difference is that the patient's entire body was covered, and with no way of recovering, the young girl died in a matter of days..." he said in a worrisome tone, "At the time of the autopsy, it was discovered that she had injected a poison. On top of that, it was a poison that was never heard of, so there was, and still is no way to combat it." he continued as he softly shook his head.
Sonya stared at her arm intently, "I've never noticed that..." She said in a soft voice, filled with anxiety.
Sam injected, "Okay, but why are you drawing Sonya's blood, but not asking for the blood of her son.", trying her best not to arouse the disoriented emotions, in Sonya's heart.
Soris took a deep breath before continuing, "... It makes no difference if I take the blood of her son because once he is born, he can't be saved." He said in an assertive tone,
Sonya could not hold her emotions any longer, she shot up from her seat in rage, pulling her hand from Sam's grasp, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN, CAN'T BE SAVED?!" she shouted in an outburst of anger.
Soris, stood firm in his understanding of the situation, but unlike Sam, he was no good at sugar-coating his words,
"It... Because for the poison to fully affect the child, it would have to have been injected in the mother carrying the child..." he said as he hung his head, avoiding making eye contact with Sonya.
Sonya's knees buckled; falling, she landed back in the chair, at the shocking revelation. He continued, "The poison would have to have been injected at the early stages of pregnancy, allowing the poison to grow with the organs of the child, but the mother will not remain uninfected. Though she would have to see her child off first. But because the baby receives nutrients from the mother, the same can be applied vice versa, therefore, at most, the mother would live for, most another year or two." he said hesitantly, unable to bring himself to look Sonya in the eyes.
Though Soris had no obligation to console Sonya, he did not like the weight of telling someone bad news. Sam looked in Soris direction, gesturing for him to get up and go, as she turned to Sonya, who was in an unstable state.
"Maybe, I shouldn't have asked Soris to come here." She thought as she tried to console Sonya.
Soris placed both of his hands on the table, removing himself from the chair, "I'm going to go. I will let Sam bring you the results of the test, which I should have in 2 days." he said, grabbing the case from the ground, as he removed himself from the table.
Sam poured some tea into the cup in front of Sonya, as she brought it up for her to take a sip, "Drink this and calm down." She said in a state of slight panic.
Sonya lifted her hand, pushing away the cup Sam was passing her, "I'm okay. I think you should head home. I want to be alone right now..." she said in a dispirited tone.
Sam looked at Sonya with a pained expression, as she put the cup down, not putting up a fight, "But..." though Sam wanted to comfort her, she couldn't even begin what she was feeling.
Sam had only seen Sonya, close herself off like this once before, "Sonya, please... You don't have to carry this burden yourself." She said as she pleaded for Sonya not to push her away.
Sonya ignored Sam's plea; she got up from the table and headed up to the third floor. Sam sat there in silence long after, Sonya had disappeared into the elevator.
"Why won't Sonya ever rely on me?" She whispered and she rested her head on the table.
"Will it be like that year all over again..." She thought as her phone rang.
It was Soris, "Samantha?" he said after she answered the call, "I'm still outside, I was going through Sonya's medical records. I found something amiss, you might want to see this." He said in a suspenseful tone.