Chapter 51 Impossible Choice
897 Words
"You're a match."
Those were the words that brought life into Elara. It felt unreal at first, though she heard it clearly. She blinked, still not believing what she heard.
"...what?"
The healer looked at her again, hiding his own excitement.
"You're compatible for the transplant, Elara."
By now, her heart had started pounding non stop in excitement.
Finally, she would be able to save her friend from the hands of that deadly sickness. She's a match, after everything. Her hope was alive again, a d she herself felt fulfilled. If there is something she won't think twice before doing, it us saving Selene, her sister from another mother. She also doesn't mind doing it to redeem herself from all her wrong doings.
"I...I can now help her through this..." She whispered, excitement all over her face. She didn't know when she burst into a sob, happy that hope was still alive. She was simply overwhelmed
"I can save her..." She told the healer again, but he was unnecessarily quiet.
He didn't smile, didn't celebrate with her. He was just standing there. Elara soon noticed his silence, and instantly knew something was wrong. And with that, her smile faded.
"...what is wrong, healer?" She asked, choosing her words carefully.
The healer inhaled loudly, then replied just when she was almost losing it.
"Elara..."
With the way he called her name, she knew that something wasn't well.
"There's a complication while we were doing the procedure."
She immediately sat upright, waiting for him to tell her everything. "What kind of complications are you talking about?"
He paused, then glanced at her stomach. "You're pregnant .."
The world immediately started turning. Her heart skipped, ad she hoped it won't be a problem.
"I know about that "
The healer continued. "From the look of things, you cannot donate bone marrow while carrying a pregnancy. It's not possible."
Everywhere became very quiet, too calm for her. No this can't be happening. She can't be a compatible donor only to be deprived of the opportunity to donate and save her friend's life.
"...what?"
"You're not medically allowed to donate," he replied gently.
"That would only end up putting both you and the baby at serious health risk."
"No..." She whispered to no one. The healer held her, trying his best to comfort her. "I'm really sorry about this."
"No," Elara kept saying, louder this time. She shook her head, still believing there's a solution for her friend. "No. No, no, no" there has to be another way to save her. Something must be done."
“You just said I’m a match already, why make me lose hope!”
“I am,” she added desperately.
“I can save her!”
The healer’s voice remained calm, because he didn't know what to do at that point.
“And in another circumstance, you would.”
“But not like this.”
Elara stood up abruptly, as she was tired of sitting down. She sat on the floor, hoping he would tell her there's another way out.
“This doesn’t make sense to me!” by now, her eyes were already filled with tears.
"You already told me I'm the only one who can help her..."
"And now, I can't help her again..."
The healer kept quiet, watching her, but didn't care to respond. He was not happy himself, but there was nothing he could do to save the situation. If Elara wasn't pregnant, it would have been a different case.
Then, her hand moved to her stomach, to where her child was.
"This is so unfair," and told no one in particular.
"Life rarely is fair to people." The healer responded.
Elara suddenly started laughing, a very hollow kind of laugh. Of course, anyone that just walked in and seeing her behave in that manner would tag her a mental health case, not knowing what she was passing through.
To her, she hadn't given up. She believed there is still a way to save her friend, and she was going to find it out by all means. She would push her friend to fight, to live and walk again.
She thought about the innocent life of her unborn pup, who's growing healthily inside her. She thought of what she had to pass through because she became pregnant. And right now, just when there came a second chance for her friend, to redeem herself, her baby is now standing on the way.
She so much wished the sickness would turn out to be a prank. That the doctors would call them back to say they made a mistake in diagnosis or that they switched their results with another patient, and they wouldn't even be angry with them.
But she knew it was true. Something must be done or her friend would soon be under ground, six feet below.
"What if..." She started, but couldn't finish the sentence. She didn't know how it would sound in others ears, and how they might take it.
The thought was so heavy, and that scared her. "What are you thinking about?" The healer asked her, when he noticed her unusual calmness.
"Nothing serious." She answered quickly.
"I need to take my leave right now," she said as she stood up to go.
"Elara..." He called her, but she wasn't ready to hear anything that won't bring solution.
- Writer
