Chapter 2 - Falling Into The River

<The Year 2022>

In the background of the green hills, an area used for cemeteries, a woman with waist-length brown hair was running while carrying a bouquet of roses. The white coat she wore made her look like a swan. Beautiful, but not so beautiful as to be able to make the flowers green with envy.

Bump!

"Oh, I'm sorry." Odette accidentally bumped into someone, causing the bouquet of roses she was carrying to fall to the ground. Because she was in such a hurry, she didn't pay attention to who she bumped into.

Today was the anniversary of her mother's death. At first, she planned to visit her mother's grave but was told that one of her patients had run away. She then went down the hill, got into the car, and raced the vehicle like the devil.

Many times she almost hit other motorists and pedestrians. Her nefarious behavior in driving had really put the grim reaper in a dilemma. It was not her time to be brought to the underworld yet, but her driving was alarming.

After a few kilometers, the car turned into a narrow plantation road and stopped right in front of a rickety wooden bridge.

"Mia!" Odette was surprised to see the girl she was looking for was standing in the middle of the bridge.

Immediately, she opened the door and got out of the car. She stood there in silence, watching Mia silently staring at the river below with tears in her eyes as if they would never end.

"Mia!" she called but got no response. Odette stayed where she was. She was sad to see Mia's condition. The lash of injustice had made the girl suffer greatly.

She wanted to approach Mia, but she gave up when she saw the condition of the bridge. She had no choice but to persuade Mia to leave the bridge from where she was standing now.

"Mia, I know–"

"You don't know anything. You never lose a child," Mia muttered without taking her eyes off the river.

Mia was a victim of child trafficking crimes. She became an orphan when she was five years old. After the death of her parents, she was raised by her uncle and aunt. That's when her bad luck began.

Mia was not treated well by her aunt. She dropped out of school and was told to take care of the house. If she made the slightest mistake, she would be beaten or starved. The peak of her aunt's evil was when the child was 12 years old, she married Mia off, ah, more like, selling her off to a fifty-year-old man.

For the second time, Mia was crushed by the lash of injustice. It's like moving from one hell to another. In her husband's magnificent house, she was treated as a maid by her husband and her in-laws. Every day she received beatings, slaps, and curses. She forgot how to smile, she forgot what 'happiness' was.

Two years passed, she was 14 years old, and her abuser - who called himself her husband - demanded a child from her. In that house, no one cared about her life. Nobody cared whether the pregnancy would kill her or not. Nobody gave a damn.

In the end, Mia became pregnant and gave birth to a baby boy at the age of 15. She had hated her son. However, when she heard the little baby cry, her heart melted. When she saw her baby laughing, her heart was filled with warmth.

After all these years, she was finally able to smile. She felt she had a companion and her gloomy world feels a little brighter.

However, as if she hadn't been destroyed enough, fate had again crushed her to the last pieces.

After two years of nursing and she weaned her son, Mia was kicked out of the home and separated from her son. She was just thrown away like trash. She almost died trying to take her son away with her.

Odette glanced sadly, concerned about Mia's condition. A gust of wind gently moved her brown hair. With the same sad look, she turned to look at the current of the river below, or rather at a leaf that had fallen by the current and disappeared.

"I... I don't know what it's like to lose a child, but I know what it's like to lose someone you love. My father died while I was still in the womb. In this world, I only have a mother, but two years ago, she left me."

Mia finally looked away from the river and saw the 27-year-old psychologist who was already looking at her too.

"I don't know what it's like to lose a child, but I know how it feels to miss a mother. Maybe your child is missing you right now. He's waiting for you to come and get him. My mom said the reason God chose women to be mothers, is because women are very tough. You are a very strong woman. Please don't give up. You're now free from that hell. You have to get your son out of there."

Mia looked down sadly. Will God help her get her son back? How? Apart from her love for her son, she had nothing and no one.

As if understanding what Mia was thinking, Odette reassured the young woman that she was with Mia. It's not just Odette, but many people were behind Mia and support her, so she didn't have to worry.

Odette also explained how opportunities were open to Mia because the law was on her side.

Mia's husband and his entire family have been reported to the police. They would all be charged with child trafficking crimes, child endangerment, and attempted murder.

"Don't think that you are alone. Live and be happy with your child. Teach your children to be good human beings. Imagine the time when you can play with him, watch him grow, you prepare breakfast and lunch for him before going to school. I'm sure when he grows up, he will be a successful man and make his mother so happy that she will forget how to cry. Do you want to miss all those moments?"

Mia glanced at Odette with trembling eyes, as there was a ray of hope. Her tears were flowing again. However, this time it was not tears of sadness but tears of suppressed emotion.

Well, yes, she could imagine all the beautiful moments that Odette said.

She ...

She wanted to live.

Odette smiled as she extended her hand for Mia to reach. The young woman wiped her tears and smiled back at the doctor. She had given up her intention to commit suicide.

However, when she lifted her leg, suddenly the beam of the bridge broke.

"Ahhhh..!"

"Mia!"

Seeing Mia fall, Odette, without thinking at all, immediately ran, hoping to reach Mia.

However, suddenly the bridge collapsed.

SPLASH!

Odette fell from a height of five meters. She sank slowly and felt the current hit her body. However, oddly enough, she was not dragged away. She kept sinking deeper and deeper.

BUBBLE BUBBLE

Bubbles rose to the surface. She was starting to run out of breath. Odette desperately tried to save her life but in vain.

She felt her body being pulled. She thought she might be being pulled by a crocodile, the river predator.

'Mother ....'

On the verge of realizing whether it was an illusion or reality, Odette saw the area around her turning red.

Was that blood? Was this really the end of her life?

The red around her grew darker. At a glance, she saw a dazzling light before everything turned dark, and she lost her perception of her surroundings.