Mmmmmm
1585 Words
Pascaline lay on the small, thin mattress, staring at the wooden ceiling above her.
The room was quiet.
Too quiet.
The faint smell of dampness clung to the walls, and the early dawn breeze slipped through the cracks, brushing against her skin.
She pulled the worn cloth tightly over herself and closed her eyes.
Finally, for once, her world was calm. In this small room, she didn’t have to defend herself. She didn’t have to listen to Erica’s accusations or endure cold glares. She didn’t have to feel like a burden.
Here, there was silence.
For the first time in a long while, she allowed herself to breathe.
But then…
A scream ripped through the calmness like a blade.
Pascaline’s eyes snapped open.
At first, she wasn’t sure she heard correctly. The scream was piercing, frantic, soaked with terror. A mother’s fear. A scream that made the walls tremble.
Then it came again.
“Daniel! Oh God, Daniel, please!”
Pascaline sat up immediately.
Her heart hammered against her ribs.
More shouts followed …loud, panicked, disorganized. Furniture scraped against the floor in the other room. Something crashed. A cup shattered.
Pascaline froze, torn between fear and instinct.
Every time she stepped outside this room, Erica reminded her that she wasn’t wanted here. That she was a problem. A curse. A reason for misfortune.
But that scream…
That was not the scream of anger.
That was the scream of a mother watching her child die.
Without thinking further, Pascaline rushed toward the door.
Outside, chaos swallowed everything.
Erica was on her knees in the yard, hair disheveled, face wet with tears, holding her son …Daniel…in her arms.
Daniel wasn’t breathing.
His face was turning purplish, his eyes wide in panic. His small hands clawed desperately at his throat as he struggled to inhale.
Erica cried hysterically.
“Breathe! Daniel, breathe! Please!”
She shook him gently, then desperately, pressing and rubbing his back. Nothing worked.
David ..,her husband …stood beside her, trembling, completely powerless.
He looked like a man whose world was collapsing in front of him.
“Do something!” Erica screamed at him. “Do something, David!”
David ran toward the road without a word.
Barefoot.
Panicked.
He sprinted so fast that his shirt flew behind him like torn wings.
Pascaline stood frozen.
She had seen bad things before, but nothing like this. Not a child. Not something this helpless.
Neighbors began gathering, whispering, murmuring, watching.
No one stepped forward to help.
Not even one.
Erica continued screaming.
“My baby! Please, don’t die! Don’t die on me!”
David returned, pulling someone along. A native doctor …draped in beads and raffia, holding a calabash filled with cowries and herbs.
He knelt beside Daniel and began chanting.
Fast.
Loud.
Confident.
He shook rattles over the boy’s head and blew smoke from a burning herb into the air. The neighbors gasped. Some nodded as if this was the only salvation.
Pascaline watched in horror.
Daniel’s body weakened further.
His eyes rolled.
His fingers slackened.
Still, the native doctor continued chanting. Tapping Daniel’s back. Pressing his chest. Doing everything except the one thing that mattered.
Daniel was dying.
Erica’s voice broke.
“What is wrong with my son?! Do something!”
The native doctor stopped suddenly.
Silence fell.
He looked at Erica and shook his head slowly.
“This child… is dying.”
Erica’s scream tore through the air.
“No! No, no, no ….do not say that! You are the native doctor! You have to save him!”
The doctor avoided her eyes.
“I do not know what is blocking him,” he muttered. “It is beyond me.”
Erica’s knees buckled beneath her weight.
She began sobbing violently.
“My baby… please… don’t leave me…”
Daniel’s face changed from purple to a frightening shade of blue.
He wasn’t coughing anymore.
He wasn’t fighting anymore.
He was going limp.
Pascaline felt her stomach drop.
Her heart began beating wildly, almost painfully.
She had to move.
She had to help.
She stepped closer.
“What’s going on?” she asked, voice shaky.
Every head snapped toward her.
Erica’s face contorted into pure hostility and rage.
“You!” she spat. “Stay away from him!”
Pascaline blinked. “Erica, your son…”
“Don’t touch him!” Erica screamed, voice filling with venom. “Ever since you came into this house, nothing has gone right! You brought misfortune with you!”
Pascaline stood her ground.
“Erica, your son is dying, and all you’re doing is blaming me.”
David’s voice cracked as he spoke.
“He’s choking on something.”
That was all Pascaline needed to know.
She rushed forward, reaching for Daniel.
Erica tried to pull him away.
“DON’T TOUCH MY SON!”
Pascaline’s voice erupted, firm and commanding.
“MOVE!”
Everyone froze.
Pascaline lifted Daniel quickly and positioned herself behind him.
She wrapped her arms around his small body, hands locked just above his stomach.
Then …with controlled force …she pushed inward and upward.
Once.
Daniel gagged but nothing came out.
Twice.
Daniel’s body jerked. A small gasp escaped him.
Third thrust…
A tiny black object shot out of Daniel’s mouth and hit the ground.
A memory card.
Everyone gasped in shock.
Daniel gasped for air …choking, coughing, crying …but breathing.
Breathing.
Erica screamed again, but this time, it was confusion.
“Did you kill him?! What have you done?!”
Pascaline ignored her.
She held Daniel upright, keeping him steady as he inhaled and exhaled, body trembling.
Then Daniel opened his eyes.
Weak, teary, but alive.
David knelt beside them, tears streaming down his face.
“Daniel… baby… can you hear me?”
Daniel blinked.
His bottom lip quivered.
Then, without hesitation,
He reached out his small arms…
and hugged Pascaline.
He hugged her tightly.
He clung to her as if she were safety itself.
Pascaline froze, overwhelmed.
David whispered, voice breaking,
“Thank you. Thank you for saving my son.”
Erica stood completely still.
Silent.
Humiliated.
Destroying her own pride would have been easier than what she just witnessed …her son choosing Pascaline, the girl she despised.
The native doctor quietly picked up his charms and beads.
Without speaking.
Without meeting anyone’s eyes.
He disappeared down the road, embarrassment clinging to him like dust.
The neighbors slowly dispersed.
The yard grew quiet.
Daniel was alive.
Hours later, evening settled.
The sky turned orange, fading into hazy purple before settling into night.
Pascaline returned to her small room.
She sat on the floor, humming softly …a tune she used to hum to silence pain. The words of Erica’s accusations still floated in her mind, even after saving Daniel’s life.
“You’re bad luck.”
“You brought misfortune.”
“You are the reason everything is collapsing.”
Pascaline tried to push the memories aside.
She folded her cloth neatly and placed it on the side of the mattress.
A soft shadow moved across the wall.
Pascaline slowly turned.
Erica stood at the door.
Her head was bowed.
Her hands were shaking.
Pascaline froze.
She braced herself for more accusations.
More blame.
More hatred.
But Erica didn’t shout this time.
Her voice came out as a whisper.
“I’m sorry.”
Pascaline frowned slightly.
She wasn’t sure she heard right.
Erica lifted her head slowly. Tears filled her eyes …not angry tears this time. Tears of shame. Tears of guilt.
“I’m sorry, Pascaline.”
Her voice trembled.
“I judged you. I attacked you. I treated you like you were a curse to my home.”
Pascaline didn’t speak. Her throat tightened.
Erica stepped further inside.
“When you came here, I didn’t want you. I saw you as a threat… like someone who would destroy my family.”
She swallowed hard.
“But today, I realized something.”
Her voice cracked.
“You didn’t destroy anything. You saved everything.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
“You saved my son when I didn’t deserve your help. When I accused you. When I shouted at you.”
Pascaline’s eyes softened.
Erica wiped her face.
“I am ashamed. I don’t even know how to look at you. I don’t know how to say this properly. But thank you. Thank you for saving Daniel.”
For the first time ever, Pascaline saw Erica as something more than just a woman filled with anger.
She saw a mother.
A scared mother.
A mother who nearly lost everything she loved.
Pascaline stepped closer, voice soft.
“You don’t need to thank me. Anyone would have done it.”
Erica shook her head immediately.
“No. Not anyone. No one moved. Not even the people outside. Everyone stood and watched while my son was dying. But you…”
She looked Pascaline in the eyes.
“You acted.”
Silence held them gently.
Not sharp, not heavy.
Soft.
Healing.
Pascaline whispered, “I never expected a day like this.”
Erica nodded, tears still falling.
“From today, I see you differently. Not as a problem. Not as a misfortune.”
She inhaled shakily.
“But as a blessing.”
Pascaline’s heart swelled.
She gave a small smile …just enough to show relief, just enough to show gratitude.
Erica wiped her tears and turned toward the door.
She paused.
“Sleep well, Pascaline.”
Pascaline whispered back.
“You too, Erica.”
And for the first time since Pascaline stepped into that house…
Peace finally entered the room.
- Writer
