Chapter 2:
594 Words
The rain had already stopped when Daniel finally arrived home.
It was nearly three in the morning.
His car headlights cut through the darkness as he parked carelessly in front of the small house. He stepped out with a tired sigh, loosening the collar of his shirt as he walked toward the door.
He didn’t notice the ambulance parked a few houses away.
He didn’t notice the faint red and blue lights fading into the distance.
Daniel pushed the door open.
“Maria?” he called lazily, tossing his keys on the table.
No answer.
The house felt strangely quiet.
Too quiet.
He frowned slightly as he walked further inside. The dim light from the hallway revealed something scattered on the floor.
A phone.
Maria’s phone.
Daniel bent down and picked it up. The screen lit up.
12 missed calls.
All from Maria.
His brows furrowed.
“Why was she calling so many times…” he muttered.
Then he saw something else.
Footprints.
Boot marks.
And faint red stains across the floor.
Daniel’s heartbeat quickened.
“Maria?”
This time his voice carried unease.
He followed the trail toward the bedroom.
The door was slightly open.
When he pushed it wider, the world around him seemed to stop.
The room was messy. Medical supplies and cloths were scattered everywhere. The smell of iron filled the air.
And on the floor—
Maria.
Her body had been covered with a white sheet.
Beside her, a small bundle rested in a rescuer’s arms.
A crying baby.
Daniel froze.
“What… what is this?” His voice came out hoarse.
One of the paramedics turned to him slowly.
“Are you the husband?”
Daniel nodded, unable to look away from the covered body.
The paramedic’s eyes softened with quiet pity.
“Your wife went into labor hours ago. She was alone.”
Daniel’s throat tightened.
“She… she tried calling you many times.”
The words struck him harder than any blow.
His eyes slowly moved to Maria’s phone still clutched in his hand.
12 missed calls.
His chest suddenly felt heavy.
“I… I didn’t know…” he whispered.
The baby cried again.
A thin, fragile sound that echoed painfully inside the room.
Another rescuer gently walked toward him.
“This is your child.”
The tiny baby was placed carefully into Daniel’s trembling arms.
He stared down at the infant.
Small.
Fragile.
Helpless.
The baby’s cries softened as if sensing warmth.
Daniel’s vision blurred.
He slowly turned toward the body covered in white.
His wife.
The woman who had waited for him every night.
The woman who loved him even when he gave her nothing in return.
His knees suddenly gave out.
Daniel collapsed beside her body.
His hand shook as he slowly lifted the edge of the white sheet.
Maria’s face looked peaceful.
Too peaceful.
As if she were only sleeping.
But her skin was pale.
Cold.
“Maria…” His voice cracked.
No response.
“Maria… wake up.”
The baby whimpered softly in his arms.
Daniel’s tears finally fell.
“I’m here now…” he whispered desperately.
“I came home…”
But the words meant nothing anymore.
Because Maria had waited.
And waited.
Until her final breath.
Daniel lowered his head beside her lifeless hand, the baby still cradled against his chest.
The house that once held quiet hope was now filled with grief.
And for the first time in his life—
Daniel realized the cruel truth.
The love he ignored…
Was the love he could never get back.
- Writer
