As he was prepared to leave his house by 2:00pm, the phone rang and that rarely happened because no one knew them. He picked up the phone and could hardly believe what he heard. He dropped the phone and sped his way to the hospital joyfully singing. He could not believe his dying son was now awake and in good condition. As he got to the hospital, he saw a different picture that tore his heart out; nurses and doctors pacing about in his son’s ward. They seemed horrified and he thought to himself they said he was fine so he must be in the waiting lounge in one of the nurse’s arms but as he approached to say goodbye to his friend thanking him for all he had done. What he saw made his face as white as snow for it was his own son; Shawn who was lying down DEADDDDDDDDDDDD. He remembered his exact words to his wife “Gabrielle, I promise you for as long as I live to protect our child and never to forget you”. He had kept his last promise not to forget her but was not sure he has attained the first promise. He felt he had failed her and was alone…very alone…………..
Duncan was surprised at how bad luck had dealt with him, in his own eyes he could see himself being torn apart by the forces of luck and left to be ravaged by savage beasts. Why he cried did death decide to take away all that he had left to live for? Shawn was so small and innocent and yet he suffered so much pain and was robbed the right to have a future. He decided to go for a drive and because of the amount of alcohol he consumed he fell asleep on the wheel.
He and Gabrielle’s parents were both dead when they were teenagers: they were both only children and so connected to each other. They knew no other person for they had no relatives; Gabrielle came from France to America to school. They had been close in high school and kept to each other because they were shy. No one talked to them so had any other friends. She was excited when Duncan came to propose to her. They had been throughout life without friends and did not need one except each other.
He opened his eyes to see he was in the middle of the high way with a lorry speeding forward. He knew he could get out now but what is the point when he has lost all that mattered to him. It all ended and 30 minutes later all one could hear in the streets that Duncan woke up on the night he had his first drink of alcohol were sounds of ambulances and police cars. “This is a tragedy that can never heal” one of the cops said with tears in his eyes as he read Duncan’s life history in the police files.
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A teenage girl was lying down in Room 8 of Bristol Hospital in the same place were Gabrielle had given birth to her baby and it was the exact day; 5th of January, 1988 she gave up the ghost that Theresa was becoming conscious. She had bright eyes and a lovely face; she was extremely stunning but yet so pale. Her vision that was formerly a blur began to pick out images and put it into focus. She caught sight of some pills, a desk, apart from that you could say the room was empty except from the bed she was laying on and then she saw that made her know what the place was; on herself, drips were all over her and in a noticeable place was a heart monitor. She felt like throwing up, yanked all the drips from her and went to do just that in a toilet enclosed at the other side of the room.
She had never considered this prospect but she would have to now because she wanted to leave the hospital with all its disturbing smells.
‘Who am I? How did I get here and why?’
She had asked herself a million times but all that came out was nothing. Theresa could not believe it how she could not know her own identity. Just then a doctor came in she was not listening to what he was saying but a couple of sentences he said arrested her attention
‘You were brought here by a policeman he claimed to have found you on the streets unfortunately you have amnesia.
The doctor repeated his former statement but in clearer terms. “You have amnesia so you have no idea of who you are and neither do we. You seem like a well-bred girl and not someone emerging from the gutters. Your relatives will come and find you. She could not wait because she had the distinct feeling of danger. So she trusted her instincts and ran far away.
She decided to take a risky solution by going out on the roads to find her relatives but someone must at least recognise her and surely know her name. She must leave immediately leave immediately. She was told she did not have any luggage belonging to her only her clothes.
“Where do I start from here” she thought as she walked down the street she had no idea where to go but thought that if she looked around at buildings and houses it would all come back.
After working about 5 miles from the hospital she felt weary and sick; the soles of her feet hurt very badly. She was hungry and desired to eat so much that it hurt. She saw a café went into it ordering a drink and a cake. It was brought to her and she ate like a glutton. After eating she looked into her pockets but there was nothing there. “This can’t be possible”, she said to herself. She remembered the young doctor saying she must be rich only for her to find out she had no means of paying for the meal she had just consumed. There was only one thing she could do as she went to the waiter who had served her thinking she would understand. When the waiter heard she could not afford to pay for her meal, the woman threatened to call the police. She made sure to shout this that it managed to reach the ears of every customer. Theresa felt disgraced and tried to plead but the woman refused and then one of the on-lookers to her surprise asked to pay her bill. He was nicely dressed so she assumed he was rich; he had a friendly smile and looked handsome she thanked him and knew from then on she was in debt to him.
Two minutes later as they both strolled down the street and stopped in front of a car, her mouth fell open. The car was beautiful and definitely had class. He asked to drop her off at her destination but she could not accept because she had nowhere to go; she told him and then began to explain what happened since she woke up at the hospital. She knew she could trust him, he had to be a good person with a determination to help, if not, he would not have brought her out of the bird’s cage she was in back at the café and even at this moment, she could see and sense in his eyes that he was moved by her story. “I would help you” he said. “You have suffered a great deal but now I shall be happy to carry your burden for you. I know this is too soon to say but I really admire you and I would do my best to find your family”.
He took her to a comfortable, small place he disclosed to her was his second home. She felt bad breaching his privacy but he assured her that he was happy to help and would never forgive himself if he had let her slept through his fingers. Before he left he gave her a number to contact him when she wanted to and could have everything at her disposal. She saw him driving away in his car and she was surprised at how her luck had changed definitely there was a slim chance that her family would not be discovered in his care.
It was the trust that Theresa had for this man that destroyed her. He came to her the next day preparing soft drinks for them both unknowing to her that he had spiked hers with drugs. After taking two sips she fell asleep. Waking up all Theresa could feel was the bad headache she had and the fact that her body was limp. She was totally unaware of her surroundings and one will only guess why; she remembered every single detail and it made her feel like a dog rolling in the mud. She was Theresa Lopez Fitzgerald her parents had died in a boating accident when she was a teenager. Yes! They were rich but her father’s lawyer stole the money at their death. She had nowhere to go and her only hope was her mother’s friend, Julie. Unknown to her Julie ran a whorehouse and because of her friend’s daughter beauty taught she could use her to enhance her business.
Theresa was told plainly by the only person she knew that she had to make her male customers happy so as to earn her keep. She was not naïve and she knew what her supposed aunt meant. She could not defile herself in any prospect so she decided to run away. She had gone a clean distance away and managed to relax. Just then someone ran toward her screaming she give him all her money and when she said she had none was hit on the head with something that looked like a bat. What happened next was completely dark for Theresa. Coming back to the present she saw beside her on the bed the man who had promised to help her asleep; completely naked just as she was. “This could not be happening,” she said to herself and at that point the man beside her told her to move closer to him. He said she could not go anywhere now but was stuck with him. She owed him from saving her in the café also giving her a place to live, he had every intention of her paying him back and last night was the first instalment. She should not bother refusing because he would have to control her and suddenly what caught her eyes was a gun at the counter beside him.
She really could not believe he had drugged her and then taken away her innocence. She felt dirty what was she to do she had no where to go, if she decided to leave she might fall into the danger that had befallen her leading her to his point. She was petrified, shocked and utterly unhappy, stuck as a slave to this man’s needs or wants. She knew no one and he may decide to use violence on her: any more of that and she would die. No one could help her now and she was doomed for the rest of her life. What could she do and how will she cope. In her mind she screamed with such high intensity it could shake the world.
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A woman was lying on her sick bed feeling nothing but pain as she remembered how she tried to kill herself and how disappointed she was at not being successful. She had these features on her face: her nose, mouth, ears. It was like she was an angel from heaven but she was crying so hard that it ruined her face and she was also slamming her hands on the bed as she continued sobbing. She had lived a life of torture and so wanted to end it once and for all. Distracting her thoughts was a knock on the door, it swung open and a doctor stood in the doorway. He was the same person who attended to Theresa Lopez Fitzgerald. John was worried when he read her file and why wouldn’t he be. “Did you attempt suicide or did someone try to kill you?” he asked. She didn’t reply and so he went on; “By this report I would say you tried to end your life but I wonder why.” She was shocked by his concern and instead changed the subject by asking where she was. He told her that she was in room 3 of Bristol hospital in Cardiff. She spent a six weeks in the hospital and during that time, he pestered her to tell him how she got to a position in her life when she felt it was no longer worth living. They became good friends, sharing jokes between themselves. She thought to herself one day: I can’t keep this from him anymore because she realised that he had become an important part of her life and she decided that he asked her once again she was going to open up to him. He came to her and asked, as she knew he would and she told him everything that happened to her – at least all she remembered.
I looked at the body on the carpet. It covered in a pool of blood. I was completely horrified as I kept saying to myself “what have I done”. Days before this I would have said my husband deserved everything that came to him and worse but as I looked at his body on the floor of our bedroom I was tempted to think otherwise, he was so hopeless. I had never resorted to violence, not the slightest bit on my husband because I was too weak and too scared to fight back but that night everything changed. I did fight back and it resulted in his death. She stopped for a brief moment and John held her hand then and she continued her sad, sad story. I was on the ground numb; my body red and hot, still reeling from the force of his blows, my nightgown almost completely torn and my face slowly bleeding at the side. I did not know how I stayed married to him for five years but I did and I got out of it at the expense of his life. She closed her eyes as she recalled what happened before she ever thought of killing the stupid bastard.
My troubles began when I married Sam D’Angelo, it was a teenage romance and I thought I was in love with him. He was the man of my dreams and he turned out to be someone else. He had charmed himself into my heart in every way; romantic beach walks, candlelit dinners, flowers; now I know it was all an act. When he asked for her hand she gladly accepted. It was like a dream come true but if I had known I would have gone far away from him as I could for every day as his wife was like being married to the devil himself and believe me it was not pleasant. She closed her eyes remembering every bitter detail of the marriage, she had to finish and John got up ready to leave because he sensed she needed time alone but she stopped him. She wanted to get it over with.
On the wedding night when I was feeling insecure; being that I was a virgin and was scared, he used that opportunity to be violent with her. He beat me up and raped her but I did not realise that he was a sick bastard who enjoyed seeing people suffer. He cheated on me of course and I really didn’t care. All I wanted was to be free from his torment. I went to prison because everyone loved him and they wouldn’t have listened to me if I told them the truth. He was a good friend and associate but a terrible husband.
Prison was a terrible experience and I got constant beatings from a group of girls, which resulted in scars and terrible bruises. I don’t know how I did it but I survived and when I got out, I met Luis Morgan. We fell in love and got married. We had a happy marriage until two months later when he went on a business trip and……… and………… his… plane… crashed in the middle of………of………. the Atlantic Ocean. She gulped for air as she said it. I found it all hard to take in. I took a pregnancy test- it might have been a stupid thing to do at the time but I guess I just wanted a part of him to be with me; unfortunately that wasn’t the case. The doctor said that I would not be able to conceive because of the damage done to my womb. When I was with Sam, I had three miscarriages, the experiences were very bitter but I survived it. I believed……….thought………..I guess I hoped that it would all be okay. I was sad, unhappy, and with the news that I am barren I became annoyed, and frustrated. You can say that I wasn’t thinking, all my thoughts were on my dead husband. I wanted to join him………be with him and I guess I freaked out. I have never told anybody of my life since I met Sam besides Luis and now you. Luis was so caring and even when I thought he will break all contact with me but he surprised me. She smiled to herself as she said this, SURPRISES. He loved surprising me and that’s one of the reasons I loved him. He said he loved me and would like to marry me. That was the happiest moment of my life unlike the last time someone said those words to me. This time it was genuine on both sides.
John’s eyes were filled with tears at her story and on impulse, he grabbed her, hugging so tight as though he was afraid to let her go. They kissed passionately and decided to take their relationship further. Danielle started laughing stupidly and when John asked why she said that if any thing happened to him she would make sure she committed suicide no matter how much his ghost told her not to. They laughed together this time and started to prepare themselves for their future. John had promised to heal her from her pain for it was his job. They confessed their love for each other got married and adopted two beautiful children:Emma and Chris who they love dearly.
