3 Months
“Since there was no documents on her we named her Agata.” said the nurse to Megan, who was looking at the young girl at the intensive care room. “She is stable now. We couldn’t save the baby though. I suppose she knows about the baby?
“Any family?” asked Megan.
“Nothing so far.” replied the nurse.
“Does anybody know what happened?” Megan kept on asking.
“The police think that someone might have been involved in the “incident”. But if you ask me she did it herself.” replied the nurse and went back to doing her paper work.
“Thank you Susan.” said Megan and opened the door to Agata’s room.
Agata didn’t move the slightest when Megan walked in. She just kept on staring at the wall, motionless.
“Good morning.” said Megan while taking her coat off “I’ll look after you until you get better. I’ll just sit next to you and whenever you need anything or feel like talking, just let me know.” Megan spent the whole day with Agata just sitting on the chair next to her bed. And as promised she didn’t ask any questions. It wasn’t her style to be intrusive. (Megan was a therapist working for a charity that tried to help suicidal cases.)
It was already dark outside when Megan left the hospital (she never liked hospitals after dark) promising that she was going to be back in the morning.
She was deeply intrigued by this young woman and all the way home she was thinking about her. Instinctively she knew that something just didn’t add up. A young pregnant woman trying to commit suicide. Megan had seen many girls who wanted to get rid of their children. But Agata just didn’t fit the profile. As always in cases like this Megan needed to know what had really happened.
The next morning she left home early to check if the police knew anything about the mysterious Agata.
“Megan, how good to see.” said inspector Stewart, the senior police officer on duty when he saw Megan walking in.
“Good morning Stewart. How have you been?” asked Megan politely. It was quite a small town so people knew one another. (Is Stewart his first name? if so he would not be called Inspector Stewart in the line above)
“Busy as always, you know me.” he replied.
“Just don’t let your life slip away from you.” warned Megan who knew only too well that life can just vanish in front of your eyes. As had happened in her case.
“Talking like my wife.” he said and his thoughts wandered off for a second.
“Do you know anything about that young girl who was brought to Saint Francis yesterday?” asked Megan.
“I looked around and there are no reports on her being missing. The hotel owner said she was there for a week and seemed to be very normal and happy. She told him straight away she was pregnant and couldn’t wait for the baby to arrive. She also mentioned that she was single. To be honest with you I don’t believe she tried to kill herself.” said Stewart.
“That’s my feeling too. She doesn’t look the type.” agreed Megan.
“The hotel owner also said that she was scared of something and never left her room after dark.” he added.
“Not much, is it? Anyway, thank you Stewart. If you find out anything else, let me know please.” said Megan.
“Will do, will do. Have a good one.” replied Steward.
Megan kept going back to the hospital to see Agata, every day. And every day was the same: Megan was sitting by Agata’s bed and Agata was staring either at the wall or the ceiling. Her condition was stable and even doctors were surprised that she had recovered so quickly.
One morning when Megan arrived to see Agata, a letter was waiting for her nicely folded on her chair. She looked at Agata and opened it and started reading straight away.
Dear Megan,
Thank you so much for being next to me. No one has ever cared for me that much before.
Because you have been so kind to me I feel like I owe you an explanation.
It began a few years ago. I was young, naive and innocent. I met this man who seemed to be too perfect to be true. He was just fantastic, or at least I thought so.
When we started our great affair I didn’t know he was already married and had two kids. I found this out years later when it was way too late for me.
Within a very short period of time he managed to control my whole life: my choices, my career, my friends, my clothes and everything else that it was possible to control. Stupidly enough I let him. I didn’t know any better. Somewhere along the way he also made me believe that he was the only man who was capable of putting up with me. Apparently I was so unbearable that nobody would want to be with me or love me.
In no time at all I was isolated from everyone I loved and became obsessed with this man and his life. My life didn’t matter any longer. Everything I did revoloved around him.
I knew he had other women but I never confronted him about this. I was too scared that he would leave me.
I found out about his wife by accident, as it often happens. I met them in a restaurant having dinner (by accident he double booked the two of us). Of course his wife didn’t know about me and his other life with me. Besides, she was as terrified of losing him as I was. So we both agreed to the arrangement we had with him before we knew about each other. In fact we both would have agreed to anything he wanted. He was controlling in a toxic way.
Before I met him, I was strong, independent and a self-sufficient young woman, full of dreams and aspirations.
But somehow he managed to capture me in that little cage and break me completely. I was left with nothing. He sucked out every drop of me. You probably know that leaving people like him is never easy and in most cases not very successful.
When I found out I was pregnant, I needed to get away from him as fast as possible. I didn’t want my child to have anything to do with him. Besides he didn’t want me to have this child.
So I ran as far as I could possibly run from him. However he still managed to find me.
He tried to kill me because I left him and because I was pregnant. Another baby wasn’t in his plans and everything had to be according to his plans.
Of course he succeeded in killing me since he killed my precious one and I don’t exist without her any more.
Megan, I need you to help me. I have to get out of here and punish him. So he will suffer as much as I have been suffering all those years. Please.
Megan put the letter down and left the room. Agata kept observing her through the huge window.
At first Megan was talking to the nurse and within a few minutes a doctor joined them. It seemed like a terribly long and heated conversation.
Finally Megan came back, touched Agata’s hand, who for the first time turned to look at Megan.
“I’ll take you home.” Agata wanted to tell her that she didn’t have a home. She left home many years ago but no words were coming out of her mouth.
When the two of them left the hospital Megan took Agata straight to the police station. Within days her ex-partner was arrested and charged with murder and attempted murder. He had assumed Agata was gone for good and was already looking for her replacement. His wife was next to him throughout the trial in constant disbelief that her beloved husband was capable of such cruelty. The case was all over the media but by then Agata didn’t care about him anymore. He was sentenced to life in prison.
Megan took Agata to her house and looked after her poor broken heart.
On some level Megan knew that she was trying to fill the emptiness of her own life or maybe even substitute Agata for the child she never had.
Megan and Agata became very fond of each other and spent a lot of time together.
Agata never spoke again. It turned out that her ex had damaged her speech centre while trying to kill her.
Megan still doesn’t know Agata’s real name but she doesn’t mind. She is just glad to have someone she can love and care for.
The End
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