Our Child

Chapter eight

Confusion. No other word could describe Jennie better when she awoke in that strange room. Instead of her usual springboard, she found herself on a comfy mattress. The white sheets were impossibly soft. Looking around, she was greeted by light blue walls and sleek modern furniture. The brightness of it all felt quite stagnant, lacking warmth. Jennie spotted the couch at the end of the bed, covered in blankets, the only source of mess in the room. Though her mother's mind instantly thought to clean it, she suddenly remembered something much more important.

Annie.

Eyes darted in search of the small girl, but to no avail. As her heart began to race, she slipped her feet out onto the cold floor. Feeling something like paper on her shrunken wrist, Jennie looked down to see a hospital band. Now it all came back; her tiredness, her irresponsibility.

What if someone had taken Annie away?

Now fully panicking, Jennie shot up out of the bed, only to be greeted with immense pain from her stomach. Crying out, she clutched it, now on the verge of tears. With every step Jennie took, another shot would run through her. She had to lean on the couch, collecting what energy she could. By the time Jennie reached the door, panting had overtaken her. Still, she struggled on, growing more accustomed to the pain as she went.

Her eyes dried.

A plain white corridor greeted her, decored with soft purple paintings of flowers. She could barely look at them. Though there was a door across from her, Jennie decided to make her way down into the large open space at the end of the rectangle tunnel. As it opened up, so did the light, piercing Jennie's eyes. Letting out a small wince, she continued on into the large room, her feet still unsure how to walk properly.

"Jennie?"

There was shock in the unknown's voice, followed by the shuffle of someone standing up. The mother looked over to be greeted by Lisa of all people. Adorned in a T-shirt and joggers, it was clear the photographer had no real intention of moving throughout the day. A look of sheer concern was printed over her face, something Jennie chose to ignore.

As Jennie staggered closer, Lisa raced over to take her arm. The now tired ice cream lady was forced to accept. As they both sat down, Lisa gave her panting elder a moment to collect herself, racing over to get her some water.

On her way back from the kitchen, she finally spoke, "What are you doing up?"

Jennie gladly accepted the glass, taking a huge gulp. The cold water cooled her insides, but did nothing to control her mind, still plagued by the same cruel thought.

"Where's Annie?" She asked.

Lisa gave her a look of bewilderment, "She's just at school, I'm sure you'll see her later."

"Oh," Jennie's mind calmed, but was now confronted with another, arguably much more urgent, question, "And where am I?"

Lisa shrugged, "This is one of Jisoo's apartments, bit small if you ask me."

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, I'm sure it's a fine size for a regular person, being open plan and all," Lisa continued, completely missing the point, "But I always thought Jisoo would live somewhere much more extravagant, or maybe classical. She's got that vibe."

An old wooden office flashed in Jennie's mind. The tall windows, golden trimmed carpets and damned purple flowers in their beautiful vases haunted her nightmares. Even if her mind did not look at the desk, she could still hear the black pen scribbling on paper, a document that would change her life. There was a good reason Jisoo gave up classical. It was the same as to why Jennie left purple.