Philip had adored Elizabeth since their school days, where the classroom walls rippled like water and plans for a future wedding shimmered in the haze like distant mirages.
Philips mother, Beatrice, who managed a maternity ward at the hospital, disapproved of her sons choice. She had long favored a nurse named Christine and hoped her son would marry this girl, who was liked not only by the hospital staff but also by the patientsa girl from a family of doctors, her presence steady amid the wards drifting shadows.
After graduation, Philip enrolled in medical school, and Elizabeth in a language school to become a translator like her mother and grandmother. Their classmates decided to celebrate this occasion in nature and went to Philips familys country cottage, where the fields whispered ancient tales and time stretched like warm taffy.
They spent almost a whole month there and didnt want to go home, the days blending in endless open air. But soon, classes were starting, and they needed to prepare.
In the fall, as leaves spiraled in impossible patterns, Elizabeth told Philip:
“Im pregnant. How will you react?”
“What do you think? Of course, Ill carry you in my arms to the register office.”
“Im not alone and Im heavy.”
“Scare an athlete? I used to wrestle at school. You are light as a feather to me,” joked the delighted Philip, his words floating oddly in the air.
“But we need to figure out what to do about school?”
“About school, yes, Elizabeth. Looks like youll need to take a break for a year after childbirth.”
“Ill switch to distance learning, like my mom. She had me at nineteen and managed everything. But lets agree, Philip, right away. After the wedding, youre moving in with us. Respect your mother from a distance. Ive known for a long time she wont accept me. Shes quite a character.”
“Only for your peace of mind, Elizabeth,” agreed Philip.
Elizabeth and Philip filed their application at the register office and went their separate ways home. There were guests at Elizabeths flat. A friend of her fathers came with his wife and son James, sixteen years old but looking older, his outline shifting faintly in the dim light.
At home, Philip told his parents about the new event in his life and warned them to prepare for the wedding.
Beatrice disliked this and went in the evening to Elizabeths parents to create a scandal. She pressed the doorbell several times, but no one opened. They were setting the table in the sitting room, and music was playing, similar to the doorbell melody, the notes weaving like invisible threads, and no one paid attention as they werent expecting anyone. Guest James was taking a shower at that time and was surprised that no one was reacting to the doorbell. He wrapped a towel around his hips and opened the door, the frame appearing as a gateway to another realm.
Beatrice was initially bewildered but, realizing she had a phone in her hand, pressed record and started filming the hallway, which stretched like an endless corridor, starring James in such attire.
“Are you here to see Eleanor?” James, not understanding the movement of this womans phone, asked.
“Not anymore,” and Philips mother hurried down the stairs, her steps like falling through clouds.
At home, she showed Philip the recording, emphasizing that they took a long time to open the door.
“Recognize Elizabeths hallway? Its still unknown who shes pregnant by.”
“I get it, mom. You were right. Shes not the one for me.”
Philip sent an angry message to Elizabeth on her phone, then turned it off completely. Elizabeth didnt understand anything but couldnt get through to Philip, so she went to him despite the late hour, the streets bending at odd angles.
Beatrice anticipated that Elizabeth would run to her son for clarification and watched her approach from the window. When she saw the girl, she rushed to the hallway and opened the door herself. Not letting Elizabeth in, she stepped out onto the stair landing.
“And what did you want from Philip? Hes already asleep. And you, playing both sides? Continue to entertain yourself with other guys, two-faced,” and, returning to her own flat, she slammed the door shut, the echo lingering like a curse.
Elizabeth didnt understand anything and started crying, sitting down on a step that felt like the edge of the world. After some time, she returned home. In the kitchen, Eleanor was washing dishes, and her tearful daughter hugged her.
“Elizabeth, whats wrong? The wedding is soon, and you should be happy.”
“Mom, there wont be anything anymore, except that Im carrying his child. It seems his mother stirred things up after learning that we applied for marriage,” and she showed her mother the fiancés message about the unknown Elizabeth cheating on Philip.
“If Philip behaved like this, he will continue to obey his parents. God has kept him away from you. Well raise the child ourselves,” her mother tried to console her.
After the fallout with Philip, Elizabeth struggled to recover and had a difficult pregnancy. She was rushed to the maternity ward while her parents were at work. She gave birth to a son under anesthesia as it was the only way, drifting through veils where sounds dissolved. Later in the ward, she was informed that the baby was stillborn, a wisp that faded into nothing.
After the paperwork, the deceased newborns body was given to the parents, and they buried him in a quiet plot where the earth seemed to sigh. Elizabeth was still in the maternity ward, so she missed the ceremony.
After this incident, Philips parents quickly sold their flat and moved out of the area, their former home fading like a half-remembered scene.
“Its for the best, daughter. You struggled with random encounters with Philip, and he just walked past with a haughty look.”
“I also hope, mom, that Ill forget him faster.”
Eight years passed in what felt like a single elongated breath.
Elizabeth worked as a translator in a small firm, and suddenly, Philip entered her office, materializing as if conjured from the air.
“Why have you appeared in my life again? Ive long forgotten you.”
“Im sorry, but tragedy has brought me to you.”
“Thats strange to hear, Philip. You have a cool mom. Go to her with your troubles. I dont have time for you. Please leave my office.”
“Elizabeth, I beg you to listen to me. Its important for you too. Ill wait at the café across the street after work.”
“Ill come out of curiosity only,” Elizabeth turned her gaze to her computer screen, signaling to Philip that the conversation was over.
In the evening, Elizabeth and Philip met, the café lights flickering like distant stars.
“Im sorry, Elizabeth, but my son is ill, and he needs a donor.”
“Youve got the wrong address, Philip. Your mother has more resources in this area.”
“Weve been waiting, and no donor is available. Ive even put up my flat for sale. Youre a mother, and you have a better chance of helping our son.”
“Is this some kind of joke, Philip? Our son was born dead. My parents buried him.”
“Hes alive, and hes already eight years old.”
“How did that happen?”
“Remember the day we filed our marriage application?”
“Ill never forget your nasty message.”
Philip repeated the story his mother told him about who she saw in her flat, the details unfolding like a distorted film reel.
Elizabeth explained who James was, and Philip turned pale, his features blurring for a moment. He still loved Elizabeth and had not married. She also remained unmarried, fearing she could not bear a living child again and did not want to go through that grief a second time.
“Philip, lets get back to our son. What did your mother do?”
“When you were in the maternity ward, Elizabeth, my mother was there and saw you being wheeled through the corridor to the operating room. She had a 50/50 hunch that you were pregnant by me. The test confirmed my paternity, but she didnt want to give you the son. Im to blame for agreeing to this. My grudge against you haunted me. Apparently, God punished me, as our son Oliver is ill.”
“Lets go to him. Let them check me for compatibility. If youre not a match, then he must have the first blood type, like me.”
“Yes, Elizabeth, I have the third.”
Elizabeths hands trembled and her heart pounded as she saw her boy in the clinics ward, the room pulsing with an otherworldly glow.
“Oliver, Ive found our mom. Weve been lost for a long time, but people helped us meet,” Philip said, while Elizabeth was speechless, her voice lost in the surreal moment.
“Mom, Ive been waiting for you and imagined you just like this. Although we dont have your photos in our flat.”
“Sonny, everything will be alright. Im here and will do everything to make you healthy,” Elizabeth cried, hugging her son, feeling the connection bind them across the dreams divide.
“Son, let your mom go. She needs to talk to your doctor.”
Elizabeth turned out to be a match, and Oliver was cured. Philip sold the flat and paid off the clinic for the treatment. They now live together in a flat with Elizabeths parents, the space filled with echoes of what might have been.
“Elizabeth, forgive me, but we need to get married, and you need to have another child. I want everything to be alright with our son, but his doctor warned me that siblings are better donors than parents.”
“Ive read about that, Philip, and for the health of our children, Im ready for anything.”
Philip and Elizabeth got married and now, besides Oliver, they are raising two more children: a son and a daughter.Philip had adored Elizabeth since their school days, where the classroom walls rippled like water and plans for a future wedding shimmered in the haze like distant mirages.
Philips mother, Beatrice, who managed a maternity ward at the hospital, disapproved of her sons choice. She had long favored a nurse named Christine and hoped her son would marry this girl, who was liked not only by the hospital staff but also by the patientsa girl from a family of doctors, her presence steady amid the wards drifting shadows.
After graduation, Philip enrolled in medical school, and Elizabeth in a language school to become a translator like her mother and grandmother. Their classmates decided to celebrate this occasion in nature and went to Philips familys country cottage, where the fields whispered ancient tales and time stretched like warm taffy.
They spent almost a whole month there and didnt want to go home, the days blending in endless open air. But soon, classes were starting, and they needed to prepare.
In the fall, as leaves spiraled in impossible patterns, Elizabeth told Philip:
“Im pregnant. How will you react?”
“What do you think? Of course, Ill carry you in my arms to the register office.”
“Im not alone and Im heavy.”
“Scare an athlete? I used to wrestle at school. You are light as a feather to me,” joked the delighted Philip, his words floating oddly in the air.
“But we need to figure out what to do about school?”
“About school, yes, Elizabeth. Looks like youll need to take a break for a year after childbirth.”
“Ill switch to distance learning, like my mom. She had me at nineteen and managed everything. But lets agree, Philip, right away. After the wedding, youre moving in with us. Respect your mother from a distance. Ive known for a long time she wont accept me. Shes quite a character.”
“Only for your peace of mind, Elizabeth,” agreed Philip.
Elizabeth and Philip filed their application at the register office and went their separate ways home. There were guests at Elizabeths flat. A friend of her fathers came with his wife and son James, sixteen years old but looking older, his outline shifting faintly in the dim light.
At home, Philip told his parents about the new event in his life and warned them to prepare for the wedding.
Beatrice disliked this and went in the evening to Elizabeths parents to create a scandal. She pressed the doorbell several times, but no one opened. They were setting the table in the sitting room, and music was playing, similar to the doorbell melody, the notes weaving like invisible threads, and no one paid attention as they werent expecting anyone. Guest James was taking a shower at that time and was surprised that no one was reacting to the doorbell. He wrapped a towel around his hips and opened the door, the frame appearing as a gateway to another realm.
Beatrice was initially bewildered but, realizing she had a phone in her hand, pressed record and started filming the hallway, which stretched like an endless corridor, starring James in such attire.
“Are you here to see Eleanor?” James, not understanding the movement of this womans phone, asked.
“Not anymore,” and Philips mother hurried down the stairs, her steps like falling through clouds.
At home, she showed Philip the recording, emphasizing that they took a long time to open the door.
“Recognize Elizabeths hallway? Its still unknown who shes pregnant by.”
“I get it, mom. You were right. Shes not the one for me.”
Philip sent an angry message to Elizabeth on her phone, then turned it off completely. Elizabeth didnt understand anything but couldnt get through to Philip, so she went to him despite the late hour, the streets bending at odd angles.
Beatrice anticipated that Elizabeth would run to her son for clarification and watched her approach from the window. When she saw the girl, she rushed to the hallway and opened the door herself. Not letting Elizabeth in, she stepped out onto the stair landing.
“And what did you want from Philip? Hes already asleep. And you, playing both sides? Continue to entertain yourself with other guys, two-faced,” and, returning to her own flat, she slammed the door shut, the echo lingering like a curse.
Elizabeth didnt understand anything and started crying, sitting down on a step that felt like the edge of the world. After some time, she returned home. In the kitchen, Eleanor was washing dishes, and her tearful daughter hugged her.
“Elizabeth, whats wrong? The wedding is soon, and you should be happy.”
“Mom, there wont be anything anymore, except that Im carrying his child. It seems his mother stirred things up after learning that we applied for marriage,” and she showed her mother the fiancés message about the unknown Elizabeth cheating on Philip.
“If Philip behaved like this, he will continue to obey his parents. God has kept him away from you. Well raise the child ourselves,” her mother tried to console her.
After the fallout with Philip, Elizabeth struggled to recover and had a difficult pregnancy. She was rushed to the maternity ward while her parents were at work. She gave birth to a son under anesthesia as it was the only way, drifting through veils where sounds dissolved. Later in the ward, she was informed that the baby was stillborn, a wisp that faded into nothing.
After the paperwork, the deceased newborns body was given to the parents, and they buried him in a quiet plot where the earth seemed to sigh. Elizabeth was still in the maternity ward, so she missed the ceremony.
After this incident, Philips parents quickly sold their flat and moved out of the area, their former home fading like a half-remembered scene.
“Its for the best, daughter. You struggled with random encounters with Philip, and he just walked past with a haughty look.”
“I also hope, mom, that Ill forget him faster.”
Eight years passed in what felt like a single elongated breath.
Elizabeth worked as a translator in a small firm, and suddenly, Philip entered her office, materializing as if conjured from the air.
“Why have you appeared in my life again? Ive long forgotten you.”
“Im sorry, but tragedy has brought me to you.”
“Thats strange to hear, Philip. You have a cool mom. Go to her with your troubles. I dont have time for you. Please leave my office.”
“Elizabeth, I beg you to listen to me. Its important for you too. Ill wait at the café across the street after work.”
“Ill come out of curiosity only,” Elizabeth turned her gaze to her computer screen, signaling to Philip that the conversation was over.
In the evening, Elizabeth and Philip met, the café lights flickering like distant stars.
“Im sorry, Elizabeth, but my son is ill, and he needs a donor.”
“Youve got the wrong address, Philip. Your mother has more resources in this area.”
“Weve been waiting, and no donor is available. Ive even put up my flat for sale. Youre a mother, and you have a better chance of helping our son.”
“Is this some kind of joke, Philip? Our son was born dead. My parents buried him.”
“Hes alive, and hes already eight years old.”
“How did that happen?”
“Remember the day we filed our marriage application?”
“Ill never forget your nasty message.”
Philip repeated the story his mother told him about who she saw in her flat, the details unfolding like a distorted film reel.
Elizabeth explained who James was, and Philip turned pale, his features blurring for a moment. He still loved Elizabeth and had not married. She also remained unmarried, fearing she could not bear a living child again and did not want to go through that grief a second time.
“Philip, lets get back to our son. What did your mother do?”
“When you were in the maternity ward, Elizabeth, my mother was there and saw you being wheeled through the corridor to the operating room. She had a 50/50 hunch that you were pregnant by me. The test confirmed my paternity, but she didnt want to give you the son. Im to blame for agreeing to this. My grudge against you haunted me. Apparently, God punished me, as our son Oliver is ill.”
“Lets go to him. Let them check me for compatibility. If youre not a match, then he must have the first blood type, like me.”
“Yes, Elizabeth, I have the third.”
Elizabeths hands trembled and her heart pounded as she saw her boy in the clinics ward, the room pulsing with an otherworldly glow.
“Oliver, Ive found our mom. Weve been lost for a long time, but people helped us meet,” Philip said, while Elizabeth was speechless, her voice lost in the surreal moment.
“Mom, Ive been waiting for you and imagined you just like this. Although we dont have your photos in our flat.”
“Sonny, everything will be alright. Im here and will do everything to make you healthy,” Elizabeth cried, hugging her son, feeling the connection bind them across the dreams divide.
“Son, let your mom go. She needs to talk to your doctor.”
Elizabeth turned out to be a match, and Oliver was cured. Philip sold the flat and paid off the clinic for the treatment. They now live together in a flat with Elizabeths parents, the space filled with echoes of what might have been.
“Elizabeth, forgive me, but we need to get married, and you need to have another child. I want everything to be alright with our son, but his doctor warned me that siblings are better donors than parents.”
“Ive read about that, Philip, and for the health of our children, Im ready for anything.”
Philip and Elizabeth got married and now, besides Oliver, they are raising two more children: a son and a daughter.
