The Unwanted

Maxine's POV I had just gone out of the university when I heard the news that my mother was rushed to the hospital as she was attacked again by her stomach pain. It has been her problem that I have observed her for the past months and she did not even bother to tell me about it. She always acted that I dont exist, and when there are times that I existed in her life, she would treat me as if I were a stranger to her.   “Doc, how is my mother doing?" I asked the doctor after arriving at the hospital. “I'm going to tell you, we have to remove your mother's tumor from her fallopian tube because it's growing, it's dangerous and she could die. Your mother has been confined here for almost a month.” The doctor answered. Weariness was with me. These days have been so difficult for me. With all the problems that I put on my shoulders, my mother’s condition is what I am fearing the most.  “Doc, how about our bills?” I asked upon remembering it. She was admitted to a private hospital and our bills are growing day by day excluding the medicines that she needs to take.  “I cannot provide you the exact amount but the estimate would be around five hundred thousand dollars.” And then he went outside the room while I was still in the midst of processing what he had said. I looked at my mother lying in the hospital bed. She always had that lovely face every time I watched her sleeping and it was the only time I am able to get close to her as she always shoves me away every time she got a glimpse of my existence. I feel hopeless, but I need to fight for my mother, for my dreams, and for the universe to grant my deepest wish of reconciling my relationship with my mother.  Her treatment is what matters the most although I couldn't think of the possible ways to have that amount of money to pay our hospital bills. What am I supposed to do? “I'm sorry if I can't pay it right now but I will do everything for you, mother. Everything is going to be okay.” I kissed her forehead. The woman who brought me to life yet the one who wishes for me to be gone. Not long after, I turned and walked out of the hospital. I can't look at my mother for a long time while I don't have the money to pay the hospital bills. Also, it will only make her angry when she sees that I visited her again. She never sees me as her own child. Not a tiny bit of chance. I went home to sleep, I didn't get any sleep since the club I worked in was tiring and busy with the number of customers last night. Because it's Friday, many people went in to have fun. I dropped my body on the bed. I'm very sleepy, and I have to work again tonight. I am a first-year college student taking up an engineering course. And I work every night while I take my classes during the day. Although it was extremely hard, I have to do both. I want to live in a way that is more pleasant and more respectable for others. However, I was not fortunate enough to have an easy life. I had no choice but to join as a dancer in the club that my mother used to attend. But we were masked so somehow I felt relieved. No one at our school knew that I joined the club as a dancer. I don't want them to know either. My mother used to be a dancer in that club. And that's where she met my father. She got pregnant and I became the result. But when she was about to tell my father about her pregnancy, she heard that he had left for another country. I don't know the whole story, but that’s all that Madam Hermei told me. She used to work with my mother and she knew the story behind it. I must admit that my mother did not treat me well. But I still consider her the most important person in my life. She gave birth to me despite the fact that she never wanted me. She should have aborted me because I was an 'unwanted baby'. But my mother still brought me back to life. That's why I'm not giving up and I will do my best to get her treated. I entered as a female comforter. I may not like this job but I earn a lot here. I get tipped by the men I entertained at the club but I'm only up to the table. I got up when my phone suddenly rang. I was in the middle of preparing the belongings that I will be wearing for the club tonight and I stopped as the unknown number showed up on my screen. I feel the uneasiness that something is wrong as I had no idea who the caller was. "Is this Miss Maxine Atara?" The woman on the other line asked. "Yes." I nervously replied. "I just want to inform you that your mother is transferred to the operating room and the doctor asks for your consent if we will continue the operation." The woman answered. My heartbeats had begun to race uncontrollably. I immediately got up to tidy up a bit and went on my way to the hospital. "Ma'am, I am Maxine Atara and I am here to sign my mother’s operation consent form." I told the nurse at the information desk when I arrived. "Ma'am, your mother is in the operating room and this is the consent form." She handed me the paper.  "Kindly sign this so we can proceed with the operation." I immediately signed the consent form because I knew that my mother's illness was serious. If the tumor in her fallopian tube bursts, she will die. I can't just let that happen. "Okay ma'am, you can sit there now." The nurse said and I settled down to wait for the surgery to be done. As I silently pray for a successful operation. After more than two hours of waiting for the operation to be done, the doctor came out and the exhaustion on his face was visible. "Doc, how is my mother?" I quickly asked him. I felt nervous and at the same time hoping that the surgery was successful. “Everything went well. We just have to wait for your mother to wake up, but her situation is stable now. We will transfer her to her room after the wrap-up." The doctor answered and I breathed a sigh of relief. My only problem now is how I am going to get the money to pay the bills. The money I have was still not enough for the amount they required. I am broke as hell.   As much as I wanted to see her, I couldn't yet. It might take days for me to be able to see her again. Since the doctor had said that she needed to be monitored. I feel that everything just falls down and I feel suffocated with a lot of things that have happened to me and the information that I have heard. And I need to let these things out so I have decided to leave the hospital and take some fresh air outside. This might help me sort things out of my head.