Sign of Relief

Zeta's POV

"Your father has stage three bone cancer."  Doctor Nick announced.

" Oh my god!" My mom gasped, and her hands flew to her mouth immediately.

" He needs to be operated upon as soon as possible. The treatment costs $300,000" Doctor Nick announced.

* I'm sorry about this Mrs Jones." He shook his head sadly.

My mother burst into tears. My father was laying unconsciously on the hospital bed. 

"Oh my god!" My mother gasped. Her hand flew to her mouth. We were doomed. There was no way we could  raise that money in the space of five years talk less of in seven months time. 

Delay in treatment would automatically lead to his death.

" You can get the scan results down the hall." He told me.

My mother sobbed bitterly. 

" I can't lose him." She cried bitterly. I rubbed her back, as my heat was filled with grief. 

He was hooked to many machines, lying helplessly.  We could never had  known that the constant nausea, constipation, and weight loss he complained of was a  symptom of something so deadly.

Papa was our anchor, our provider. I only started working as a housekeeper few months ago, and the meagre $200 salary couldn't help. I couldn't focus on anything. Losing him would really cripple our family.

" We won't." I promised.

" You don't know that." She muttered pessimistically.

I held her shoulders. "We won't lose Dad." I promised.

"Mummy, will Daddy be okay?" Ava, my younger sister, inquired when she came in.

"Yeah, he will." Mom said as she wiped her tears away.

" But you're crying." She pointed.

"Oh, I've got something in my eyes; Zeta is trying to help me get it out." She said this and sniffed.

"Okay," she replied warily, and she bounced out of the room.

"What are we going to do?" My mom sobbed again.

"Mom, we'll find a way." I reassured her even though I didn't feel too good inside.

Tears streamed down my face as I watched him lie helplessly on the bed.

I needed to clear my head and process the recent happenings. There was no hope of getting Papa saved. He was too good to die. I wished the doctor could call and say it was a mistake.

Why did bone cancer choose him as a victim?" Someone like him deserved to live a long time.

The tears trickled down my face like a dam broke as I watched despondently.

It would take a miraculous intervention. We couldn't take a loan because we had no collateral. We were dirt poor.

All of Dad's money went into my college fees.

Dad worked as a local miner. He literally helped us survive. My mom was a housekeeper down the street. The wages earned couldn't sustain the house. We were threatened with getting kicked out of the house in two weeks if we didn't pay rent.

There were a lot of bills to pay. I still had school debt to pay up, and now this

"I need a miracle, Lord." I prayed with all I had.

I was grieving sorely. My father meant the world to me. There's no one like him.

"What did the doctor say?" Avery, my best friend, asked, rushing into the room.

She came in immediately after I texted her.

"He is in stage three..." I broke down in tears again.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry." She said that and patted my back.

"I don't know how to raise that money."

She patted my back until I quieted down.

" We'll find a way around it."  Avery said.

" I hope so." I replied.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Are you okay daddy?" I rushed to his side when I heard him groan.

He woke up after three days. It was pretty late. I have never been scared this much in my life. 

" Yeah, I'm getting better." He said, his voice a little gravelly, before coughing loudly. I gave him a bottle of water. He took a sip.

I didn't believe him, but I was thankful that he had regained his consciousness.

" Where's your mama?" He asked.

" Mom will soon close from work." I replied, she couldn't afford to miss a day in her housekeeping job. For we needed the money.

"How is Ava taking it?" He asked. 

"She is not aware yet." I added. He hated secrets in the home. His teachings were that secrets destroy homes. I wonder how my mom got so lucky to have such a good man as a husband.

"I need to go home." He said that, and my eyes widened in alarm.

" What? The doctor needs to endorse that."

"How are you feeling today?" Doctor Nick inquired as he raised his stethoscope to check his heartbeat.

 It tried to beat me down, but I would conquer it." He winked, and I smiled weakly. He had always been an optimist. Very resilient being. One of the reasons I adored him.

"Can I go home today?" He asked hopefully.

Doctor Nick shook his head and said, "WWe still need to keep you for observation." He explained.

"I feel fine." He protested. My father had always hated hospitals. He said it reeked of death.

"I'm sorry, that's the protocol." Doctor Nick replied.

Knowing that he wouldn't win the argument, he sighed.

"Please get me another thing except hospital food." Dad said the door shut immediately.

"What?" I asked him.

"You are to eat veggies." I informed him. He sighed again, and I smiled. In his opinion, they were grasses.

" Okay." He agreed, and I went downstairs to get some fruits to snack on in the meantime.

I watched him snack on some fruits as I put a call across to mom.

"Mom, please bring some veggies for dad."

"Okay, love." She said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Good to have you back, honey." Mom gushed excitedly as she went to hug him.

"Hello daddy." Ava smiled happily as she also went to get a hug from him.

"I'm fine, honey." He said this as he patted her head. She sobbed quietly into his shoulder.

I picked Ava up. "Let's go downstairs." She was happy; the couple needed their privacy.

"What will you get for me?" She asked, smiling from ear to ear. I forced a smile. She must not be stopped from smiling.

"Chocolate ice creams aren't good for your health." I chided her.

"Please, just a tiny bit." She showed me the size with her fingers.

She didn't know when to stop. An energetic child with a sugar rush would be a disaster in my hands.

"Okay, just a small pint." I agreed.

"Thank you." She smiled cutely. Another person who would be devastated if Dad died

"Be careful." I called out as she ran into the ice cream shop.

"Can you bring me back sometime?" She pouted.

"I guess." I shrugged.

"I'll be counting on it." She said.

Just how old was this girl? I wondered. 

" Yeah." I nodded, hoping I would leave for school after the holiday.

"Are you okay, Zeta?" She asked. I didn't know when my face slipped into melancholy.

"Yes, is there a problem?" I asked her.

"You looked sad," she said. Her eyes shined intelligently.

"No, I just remembered an unpleasant incident." I replied.

"Tell me about it," she said.

"Why don't you look at that?" I pointed to a plane flying in the sky, evading her request.

It worked because she gasped. "I will be in those one of these days." She said.

"I want to be a pilot. I would fly around the world. I'll take Dad and Mom wherever they want to go." She rattled off, and I tuned her out.

Such big plans for someone who had a few months to live

"Are you listening to me?" she asked.

"Yeah, you want to fly around the world." I replied.

"Yes, and... No, not now, baby. I tuned her out again.

I saw a gathering of people at a poster. "Why are people gathering?" I muttered aloud.

" Ouch!" Ava cried beside me, and I found out that she stubbed her toe on gravel.

" Sorry." I hushed her.

"My toe hurts bad." She cried out.

"Let's get back to the hospital." I picked her up again.

"Miss Jones, Doctor Nick says you should see him in my office." A nurse informed me.

"Okay, please take care of her." I handed Ava to her.

"It's just a small bruise. I'll get it cleaned up." I heard the nurse explain to Ava.

" Okay."  Ava followed her heartily.

" Miss Jones take a seat." Doctor Nick motioned.

"From the new results I have with me, your dad has four months to live." He told me.

"I'm sorry." He consoled me.

I let out a breath. How was I going to break the news to them?

"Thank you for letting me know, sir."

"I'll cover the bill for the scans and his primary treatment." He said.

"Thank you so much, sir." I was relieved that at least that was out of the way.

"He would like to spend his days at home; can he get discharged like tomorrow?"

"Let's see what can be done. He has to come in for a regular check-up." He told me.

"Yes sir." I would make sure of that. My father would not die. I would make sure of it.

"That would be all." He dismissed me, and I went downstairs to get the scan results before popping into the emergency ward.

Ava was bouncing her toe. It was cleaned and plastered. Thankfully, it needed no stitches.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What?" I asked them to stop hushing amongst themselves.

"II think there's a way you can get the money."

"Tell me, tell me." I demanded.

He was reluctant to speak.

"You might not like it, though." He said.

As long as it would save him, of course I would like it. Why was he not eager to tell me?

"Wait, I hope it's not murder?" That is the last thing I'll do.

"What do you take me for?" He was clearly offended.

"Dad, just spill." This ominous vibe he was giving was very annoying.

"Promise me you won't freak out." He said. My mother rubbed his arm in moral support.

"I don't know how to say it." He said. One of the rarest times I have seen my father unsure of himself

"I want you to know that I love you, right? I'm not saying this because I don't want you to hate me."

"I won't; can you just talk?" They were beginning to scare me.

They whispered something to each other, which I didn't catch.

"Baby girl, let's excuse them." She smiled at Ava.

"My leg hurts." Ava whined.

"Just for a few minutes." The door closed, and I stared at my dad.

"Alpha Darius needs an heir, and he promised to pay $500,000 for anyone who gives him a male child."

"Okay, so where do I come in?" I asked.

He sighed. "I want you to apply; peradventure you will bear him an heir, and use it for my treatment."

"How did you get this information?" I queried. Wasn't it supposed to be classified?

"Read this." He handed over a magazine to me.

"I am in need of an heir. This is not a Scout for a second wife. Strictly business. A series of tests will be conducted to determine how fit you are.

The compensation package is worth half a million. Apply in person."

                                              Alpha Darius.

Wow! This is the miracle I have been praying for. I am so seizing this opportunity.

"Daddy, I'm in." I said it without giving it any thought about what it truly entailed.

He sighed in relief.

"Just so you know, I don't like this." He started.

"You don't want to sound like a father that is about to sell his daughter for his selfish interest." I interrupted.

"I understand that, and I could never think of you like that." I patted his hands in reassurance.

He pulled me into his arms and muttered, "Thank you so much, darling."

"Any thing for you, dad," I replied.