THE FEVER & THE FEAR

Rosie pov.

Next morning 

“Misthi, your breakfast is ready! I’m going to school.”

“Reyna is just about to come,” I muttered to myself.

Misthi just nodded.

I said in a strict voice, “Misthi, look—”

“I know, Mamma,” she interrupted, her little voice full of confidence. “I don’t open the door. I only open it for Reyna Didi. I don’t step outside. I eat my meal on time. And I don’t talk to anyone or come in front of anyone.”

“That’s my girl.” I gave her a flying kiss and locked the door behind me.

Then I called Reyna and told her to come quickly. I had just stepped outside when someone called me from behind  a fat old woman. A selfish woman.

She looked at me with her usual cold expression. “Girl, when are you going to pay the rent?”

I gave her a polite smile. “I’ll pay it soon, Aunty. As soon as I get my salary, I’ll pay the rent first. I just need a little more time.”

She frowned. “I can’t give you more time. You have only two days.”

I forced another smile and turned away, heading toward the school.

.

.

It was nearly 12 p.m. when all the staff were sitting in a serious meeting. The entire room was silent, the atmosphere tense.

Suddenly, my phone rang.

Every face turned toward me.

I checked the screen  Reyna.

I cut the call immediately. I knew why she was calling maybe Misthi was refusing to eat again.

But then, my phone rang again.

Everyone looked at me a second time.

I stood up quickly. “Excuse me,” I said.

The principal frowned. She never liked me she didn’t even pay me on time. 

“Where are you going?” she asked sharply.

“Ma’am, it’s important. I need to take this call.”

“You’re not allowed to leave during a meeting,” she snapped.

Seriously? Did she really think I’d sit there while Reyna kept calling again and again? Never.

I grabbed my phone and walked out of the meeting hall, leaving everyone in shock. I didn’t care. I needed to answer the call.

“Hello,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm.

But Reyna’s voice on the other end was trembling with panic. “He–hello”

My heart dropped. “What happened, Reyna?” I asked in a worried voice.

She hesitated. “Rosie, it's Misthi.”

“What about Misthi?” I asked, frustration and fear mixing in my voice.

“She fainted and her fever was very high,” Reyna said, her voice breaking.

Her words made my whole body go cold. “Take her to Silver Hospital right now! I’m on my way!”

Without another second of thought, I grabbed my purse and ran toward the hospital.

When I reached the hospital, I asked the receptionist for Misthi’s room and ran down the corridor. There she was  my child, my whole world, my mystery sitting on the bed, clutching her knees. She looked up at me.

“Mamma.” Her voice was small, but it calmed my panic like nothing else. 

She stared at me, confused. “Mamma, what happened to me? 

“ You are completely fine.”

Before I could answer, Dr. Jasmine, an old friend, stepped forward. She had just given Misthi a candy and motioned me aside. I stood up and followed her down a short hallway.

“Jasmine, please be honest. What just happened? This has never happened before so why now?” I said, my voice shaking.

Jasmine took a long breath, as if she was preparing herself to speak. She handed me a medical report. “Rosie, I'm sorry. She has cancer. It’s leukemia.”

My world stopped. I felt numb, frozen in place. Tears rose to my eyes and would not fall. Jasmine’s voice was steady but worried.

“Please try to stay calm, Rosie. Everything’s going to be okay.”

“How? How can it be okay?” I spluttered. “What do I do? Jasmine, treat her  please treat her!”

Jasmine reached for my hand. “Listen to me carefully. Leukemia is treatable but not here. The best treatment is in New York. It’s the only place that can give her the chance she needs.”

I sank onto a chair, the room spinning. What did God want from me now? Why all this? I can’t go there, you know that, Jasmine. You know everything.”

“I do know,” Jasmine said quietly.

“But you have to go. It’s the only option, and there isn’t much time to think.” 

She hesitated, then added,

“I can help. I’ll arrange the paperwork. I can provide the documents you’ll need, even a DNA test, so no one questions that she’s your daughter.”

My chest tightened. I felt both ready and terrified. I would go. I would face everything again: the trauma, the memories, the cost I would do it for her. I would not lose the last person in my life.

I was busy gathering all the important documents, medical certificates, and medicines, and paying the hospital bills. Afterward, I headed toward the jewelry shops.

Today, I had to sell the last few things I had of my mother's. I really didn't want to do it, but I had to, even though I didn't need the money.

Usually, I don't take Mishti out with me, but today I had to because of her locket. I had tried, desperately, to open it, to even break it, but it seemed utterly impossible. It was a heart-shaped locket made of diamond. I also had a small, pin-type key that was also diamond, but it wouldn't open the locket either.

The locket's significance made this even harder: she was wearing it the first time I saw her. Thinking about that memory was agonizing.

Anyone who looked at the locket would instantly recognize it as something extraordinary, not a common piece of jewelry.

I entered the jewelry shop and took a seat. I sold the other jewelry first, doing so with a heavy heart. Then, with a hesitant, almost fearful voice, I showed the locket. 

"Sir,"

I said, trying to sound pleasant, 

"I wanted to see if this could be opened."

I held up the locket from Mishti's neck.

The owner looked at it and immediately reacted in shock.

"It's made of pure diamond!" he exclaimed. "Who is this girl?”

"She is my daughter," I said, a sudden bravery entering my voice.

All the people present in the shop turned to look at me in shock.

Well, obviously, who would believe a twenty-year-old girl is the mother of a three-year-old child.

The shop owner said "Do you have any proof?"

I responded with frustration. "What do you mean? Why would I be lying?"

He stammered, "Maybe you just kidnapped this girl for her necklace."

I immediately stood up. "What rubbish are you talking about?"

The owner tried to stop me, "Hey, Ma'am, listen!" but I didn't wait.

I simply walked out of the shop.

I got into the car with Mishti. On the way, she started asking questions, as she always does.

"Mamma, you don't like my locket?"

"Oh, God," I sighed inwardly.

"No, baby, it's nothing like that. It's just not safe for you." I took a breath. 

"Mishti, promise me you'll never show this to anyone, no matter what."

Another scene

As Kian reached the hospital, he went straight into the room where the man was admitted, who had been in a coma for two years since that night.

Kian sat beside him while his guards stood

nearby. He ordered in a calm voice,

"Remove it," pointing to the oxygen mask. A nurse tried to interrupt, 

"Sir, you can't " but before she could complete her sentence, Kian removed the mask and threw it away.

He said in a dangerous voice, "Name"

The man first breathed heavily, then stabilized and whispered, "Sir, I don't know her name."

Kian put the gun to his head. "Then be ready to die."

The man, scared, stammered, "Sir Sirr but I know the names of the men who survived that accident and were following that girl. Maybe they caught her"

Kian lowered the gun and said, "Speak."

"Fraz and Antin."

With that, the man again lost consciousness. The nurse ran toward him and reapplied the oxygen mask. Kian stood up and ordered his men,

"Find both of them.”