RAY LINE

SUSAN TELLS BOB...

While in the bathroom room observing her body in front of the mirror, Susan discovers her breast is enlarged, she picks the test strip to be sure that the two red lines are real, because, she still feels the doctor may be missing out on something. Susan is hoping that the reported test result may not be true, so she buys three test strips to confirm if the doctor is true. She tells herself, "I will not believe that I am pregnant until these three test strips confirm that I am.

Susan urinates into a transparent flask-like container and inserts the first litmus-like test strip. Suddenly, the two bold red lines appear on the test strip. She could not believe that the first strip, clears her doubts and provides the doctor's report right.

Susan pulls out the first test strip that confirms that she is pregnant, put it in the toilet and flush it off, so she could not see it again. However, she inserts the second test strip and it comes out the same as the previous test strip, even with a bolder red line.

Susan angrily pulls out the second test strip and flush it off into the toilet. She finally, inserts the third test strip, but this time around she is heartbroken because the three test strips confirm that she is pregnant. She holds the last test strip as she stands in front of the mirror, and she feels her reflection telling her, " You have to accept the reality of what has happened, else, you will end up hurting yourself. "

Susan enters the bathtub, as she seats in there, weeping, while she hears a sound of a car drives in, as the ignition goes off. She quickly, rush out of the bathtub and cover herself with a white towel. She walks straight into her room to dress up. Nevertheless, before she walks into her room, she peeps from the window to see who the person who just drove in and park in front of her apartment. She realizes it is Bob, though, she is not surprised but was stunned by how swift it takes Bob to get down after they spoke on phone.

Susan opens the door, as Bob walks in.

Bob while walking in, tries, to hug Susan, but she resists. Therefore, Bob walks straight and sit on the chair, while Susan, walks back into the room to dress up.

Bob realize, Susan did not come out of the room and it is over 10 minutes, so becomes curious. He wonders what Susan could be doing in the room for that long, as he calls out,

"Are you there? You have spent more than 10 minutes in the room. I hope all is well with you?"

There is no response from Susan, and as a result, Bob walks straight to the room and realize Susan sits in a position with her head down. He realises, Susan was sobbing, completely drenched in her tears.

Bob walks straight to Susan and squat right in front of her, hold her hands, as he asks again, "Hope, all are we?" and she responds by looking deep into his eyes, and breaks the news by saying, "Bob, I am pregnant ".

Bob abruptly gets up in shock, saying, " Pre...what? Did I hear you well? Please, Susan, what did I hear you say?" and Susan answers by saying, "I think you heard me. However, if you did not hear me initially, I said, "I am pregnant."

Bob holds his head, feeling very confused as if he is lost in a state of uncertainty,

Bob walks out of the room into the parlour and back into the room again. He tells Susan, "You have to abort the baby."

Susan roaringly says, "No! I cannot do that, because it is against my faith. I rather kill myself than killing a baby in me that is growing."

Bob becomes furious, venting anger like a wild beast ready to devour prey that is protected with a cage that keeps the prey to be inaccessible. He told them not to touch Susan, though, furious. He angrily bangs the door hard on Susan and walks out of the house.

This time around, Susan tells herself, "I do not think I deserve to go through this trauma. Therefore, taking my life will be the best option." She enters the bathroom with a twine, ties it on her neck, as she stands on a tall wooden stool. She ties the twine on her neck as she stands on the tall stool. A voice keeps directing her what to do.

The strange voice in Susan's head says, "You can now hang the twine on the anchor-like metal above the ceiling."

The moment she harkens to the voice an,d hangs the twine, the stool she is standing on falls down because her weight was in one direction.

Suddenly, she was strangulating, struggling and gasping for air, wishing she did not harken to that strange voice. As she struggles, she decides to pray a short prayer in her heart, saying, "Lord, send me a helper, I do not want to die like this."

Susan was in between life and death, as she hears the door opens, and Bob rushes in. Held her waist and pull her up to reduce the pressure of her weight from making the twine ao strangle her to death. He can untie the twine and save Susan. It is indeed a narrow escape.

Bob carries Susan, splashing water on her face until she regains consciousness.

"Susan, why did you want to kill yourself?", Bob says to Susan, as she groans in pain and could not mutter a word.

Susan now imagines, like in a flashback, the voice of her Dad reechoing in her ear, "You say what, Susan? Susan, what a shame! I disown you from being my daughter. Why should you bring on my high esteem family such a shame?"

Susan is so hurt and heartbroken, needing comfort. The thought of how to present what is happening to her parent breaks her down in tears. She finally decides to leave her apartment to go and tell her parent. She opens up and tells her friend Lucy, saying, "The world is crashing on me, Lucy, my greatest fear has fallen on me." However, Lucy already knowing how pregnancy feels encourages Susan to be strong and courageous, because she has had an experience but lost the baby in the course of delivery.

Susan leaves to see her parent, however, before she leaves the town, she goes to Lucy's house to spend some days for her to return to her right state of mind. This is because Susan is very traumatised.