The Lost Sanity

Without needing to be asked twice, the man ran again.

But this time his steps weren't as quick as before. The gravel along the railway track made his footing unsteady.

"Waaah... waaah..."

A baby's cry broke the silence of the night.

Alea panicked even more. She looked back and saw Carlos's men closing in.

"Put me down here!" Alea begged, sobbing. "Quick, put me down!"

The man glanced back slightly. He was panting.

"What do you mean?"

"We'll get caught if you keep running while carrying me." Alea squeezed his shoulders. "Put me down. Hurry!"

Alea tried to wrench herself off the man's back.

His steps immediately faltered.

Bruk!

They fell onto the gravel. Luckily, the man quickly shielded the baby in his arms so he wouldn't be hit. Alea sprawled a few steps away from them, and the pain in her belly struck again with full force.

"My baby..."

Alea crawled toward her son. The moment the baby was back in her arms, she kissed his little face again and again.

"Don't cry, baby. Don't be scared. Mommy will protect you."

Alea's voice shook. Her tears flowed harder.

"Hurry up! Catch them!"

A shout from behind made Alea flinch.

Carlos's men were almost on them.

With trembling breath, Alea handed her baby to the stranger in front of her.

"Please save my baby."

The man looked at Alea in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"Take him with you." Alea shook her head, trying to hold back her sobs. "I promise I'll take him back. But right now, please take my son away. They won't let him live."

"But—"

"Hurry!" Alea pushed the man with what strength she had left. "Get out of here! Save my child!"

The man seemed to hesitate.

But the sound of the pursuers' footsteps grew closer.

"Finally caught you!" one of the men shouted. "You can't run anymore!"

Alea looked at the stranger one last time.

"Go," she whispered faintly, full of pleading.

The man nodded.

Without looking back, he ran toward the station carrying Alea's baby. Several of Carlos's men immediately chased after him, but the man managed to get into one of the train cars first.

Soon after, the train began to move.

"My baby..." Alea sobbed.

She stretched her hand toward the train as it pulled farther away. Her body trembled. Her chest was tight from having to let go of her son. But Alea knew it was the only way to give her baby a chance to live.

"Alea, sweetheart." Carlos, who had just arrived, walked over. He immediately wrapped Alea in a tight embrace. "Why did you run from me? I won't hurt you."

Alea thrashed at once, trying to break free of Carlos.

"Go away! You disgust me."

Carlos only tightened his hold. "No, sweetheart, I'm not going anywhere. I'm taking you home!"

Alea kept struggling. But Carlos didn't loosen his embrace at all.

"Alea... You're hurt."

Suddenly, Carlos's body went stiff. He gasped at the blood soaking the lower part of Alea's patient gown.

Carlos's face turned pale. "We have to get you to the hospital."

Carlos lifted Alea into his arms.

But the moment he took a step, a loud screech and crash sounded from far away.

Boom!

An explosion shook the night.

Carlos's steps stopped.

Alea stared, eyes wide, at the black smoke billowing up in the distance. The train the stranger had just boarded was no longer visible. There was only a blaze of fire.

"MY BABY!!!" Alea shrieked hysterically. She thrashed out of Carlos's arms. "No! My baby!"

Before Alea could do anything, her vision went dark.

She whispered faintly before her consciousness sank away. "Baby... forgive Mommy for not being able to protect you."

A few weeks later...

"My baby! Give me back my baby!"

Alea screamed as she thrashed.

Both her hands were bound by blue restraint straps that wound around her body. Her legs were restricted too, letting her move only slightly on the narrow bed.

"Calm down, sweetheart." Carlos held Alea as she kept crying. "Our baby is safe. He's happy now, in the other world."

A week had passed since the train accident that night.

Carlos said the train the stranger and their baby had boarded had been in a terrible collision. A track error had sent two trains racing toward each other in opposite directions. There were no survivors among the passengers.

Including Alea's son.

"You have to let him go, sweetheart," Carlos said gently. "Our baby is gone."

"No!" Alea shook her head hard. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying so much. "Please bring my baby. He must be hungry. I have to nurse him."

"Alea..."

"Give me back my child!" Alea screamed. "He's still alive! I know he's still alive!"

Ever since the night of the accident, Alea's condition had grown increasingly unstable.

Carlos's betrayal, Andrean's death, the premature birth, and the loss of her son had struck Alea without pause. Alea drowned in guilt, feeling she had failed to protect the baby she had just given birth to.

Several times, she had even tried to end her life.

Alea had once tried to cut her wrist and to hang herself from the window grille of her hospital room. Luckily, the nurses had found her before it was too late.

In the end, Carlos placed Alea in a special care room under the close supervision of several psychiatrists.

"Sweetheart, don't be like this." Carlos wiped Alea's tears. "I beg you, don't hurt yourself. I'll bring you the baby you want, as long as you calm down."

Fiona, who was in the room, pulled at Carlos's hand. Her face was sullen. She made no effort to hide her dislike at seeing Carlos's concern for Alea.

"Carlos, let's go. The civil registry office is about to close."

Today, Carlos and Fiona had planned to go to the civil registry office to register their marriage. But their plan had been delayed, because on the way the hospital had called Carlos to tell him Alea had again tried to hurt herself.

"No," Carlos shook off Fiona's hand. "I'm not going anywhere until Alea is calm."

Fiona looked at Alea with contempt.

"Crazy woman," she sneered. "All you know how to do is cause trouble!"

Fuming, Fiona left the patient room. Outside the door, a psychiatrist approached her.

"Why did Alea lose control?" Fiona asked, her face full of anger. "Did you forget to give her the medication?"

"I'm sorry, ma'am," the doctor answered nervously. "We deliberately reduced Miss Alea's dosage. If she keeps being given excessive sedatives, her psychological condition will only get worse."

Fiona clenched her jaw.

Over this past week, without Carlos's knowledge, Fiona had ordered the doctors to give Alea high doses of sedatives. The drug's effects caused Alea to hallucinate, to struggle to think clearly, and to feel a stronger urge to hurt herself.

"I don't care about the risks," Fiona said coldly. "Your job is to keep that woman calm so she doesn't bother me and Carlos."

The doctor bowed his head.

"Remember, Alex." Fiona stepped closer and fixed the doctor with a sharp stare. "I won't hesitate to bankrupt this hospital if you don't carry out my orders."

"Yes, ma'am." Alex answered fearfully. "I'll carry out your orders."

A faint smile appeared on Fiona's face.

Andrean's company was the largest donor to the hospital where Alea was being treated. Now, with Andrean dead and Alea helpless, Fiona had complete control over everything around her.

Fiona stared sharply at the door of the patient room. "Alea... if I can't make you die right away, then I'll keep you locked up in this mental hospital forever."