Tears of an Orphan
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© Mary Francis Solomon
One day, Mrs. Grace decided to join her church’s outreach team.
Since she was a nurse, she planned to focus on health matters while helping with the evangelism activities.
Before traveling, she made sure everything was ready for Cynthia and handed her some cash to take care of herself whenever she felt hungry or experienced any discomfort in her body.
Cynthia and Patience had become so close that Patience had grown very fond of her.
They used to cook together, read together, play together, and also stroll around the environment side by side.
Mrs. Grace was still finding it difficult to tell her husband about Cynthia’s pregnancy.
Patience rushed out very early that morning to go to school because their first term exams had started.
Cynthia was feeling some pains, but since Mrs. Grace was not around, she decided to take some pills they usually gave her during her antenatal sessions.
Her belly had started protruding, but Mr. Henry wasn’t paying much attention because he hardly stayed at home for long.
He was always busy — from work, to his friends’ place, to watching football, and sometimes church activities.
After taking the medications, she rested a little.
When she woke up, the pain had not completely gone, but she felt a little better.
She decided to fill the drums of water in the restroom and also in the kitchen.
She forced herself to do it.
When she was done, she decided to clean the sitting room for the second time because there was a little sand on the tile floor.
As she was sweeping, she started feeling dizzy.
Before she realized it, she fell on the floor and slumped.
Mr. Henry was not aware of what had happened because he rarely came out of his room whenever he was alone with Cynthia.
He did that to give her the comfort and space he believed people who had been sexually abused needed, since they often became scared of seeing the opposite gender.
So he either rested, listened to songs, chatted on Facebook, or sometimes went out of the house.
That evening, he decided to stroll.
As he came downstairs, he was shocked to see Cynthia on the floor.
He rushed to her, sprinkled water on her face, and called her name, but she wasn’t responding.
He tapped her — still no response.
Quickly, he grabbed his car keys and drove her to the nearby hospital.
He was so worried, wondering what could have made her slump in the sitting room.
He remembered seeing a broom beside her.
He sighed deeply and wondered why she hadn’t told him she wasn’t feeling well.
He rushed to the cashier’s office, paid the bills, and waited anxiously for the doctor to tell him the outcome of Cynthia’s condition.
His mind was so occupied with thoughts that he couldn’t even call his wife to give her updates.
He believed she would be busy on the mission field.
After some time, Mr. Henry saw the doctor coming out from the ward, so he quickly rushed to him and asked how Cynthia was doing.
“Sir, she’s fine, but she really needs a lot of rest — bed rest.
Thank God she didn’t lose the baby,” the doctor said innocently.
“We checked to see if anything happened to the baby, but it wasn’t serious.
The baby is fine, and the mother is fine — but she needs rest,” he explained further.
Mr. Henry was shocked beyond words.
He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out.
The doctor noticed the surprise but decided not to ask further.
“Please sir, follow me to the office so I can prescribe some medications you’ll get for her.
We’ll keep her here for a day so she can rest properly,” he said as he walked toward his office.
Mr. Henry stood transfixed, wondering how Cynthia became pregnant and why his wife didn’t tell him.
He was filled with disappointment and rage.
“So this girl is pregnant… and Grace didn’t tell me?” he muttered under his breath.
He forced himself to follow the doctor.
Reaching there, he sat quietly, deeply in thought.
“Here are the medications,” the doctor said, handing him a paper.
“We’d like to start administering them this afternoon, and we also need to monitor her.”
Mr. Henry was so lost in thought that he didn’t notice the doctor stretching the paper out to him.
“Sir… Henry,” the doctor called.
Mr. Henry jolted in fear.
“Oh! Sorry sir… I’m lost in thought,” he said, collecting the prescription.
“Is everything okay?
When I told you the outcome of her condition, you looked surprised.
Don’t you know she’s pregnant?” the doctor asked.
“Uh… I… I… I know about it,” he lied, but the doctor knew he wasn’t telling the truth.
“So what is the problem, sir? You look worried,” the doctor pressed.
“Nothing… it’s fine,” he said as he quickly stood up.
“Let me get the drugs.”
He walked out of the office.
Hmm… I hope he is not the one responsible for the pregnancy, the doctor thought.
The way he reacted, the fear, the confusion… if she were truly his daughter, he would have expressed disappointment, not shock.
I just pray it’s not what I’m thinking, he murmured as he flipped through some patient files.
Mr. Henry later returned with the drugs and went to the ward.
Cynthia was already awake.
He moved closer, held her hand gently, and asked,
“How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine, sir,” she replied weakly.
“Okay… so what happened?
Why did you slump?
I was about going out when I saw you on the floor.
You already cleaned the room in the morning — why did you clean it again when you weren’t feeling strong?
What happened? Tell me,” he asked with genuine concern.
“There was a little stain on the tiles, so I wanted to clean it.
I was feeling weak, so I took the medications.
I thought I was getting better… I didn’t know I wasn’t strong enough,” she explained, her innocent eyes shining.
“Okay. Your well-being is what matters to us.
Whenever you’re not feeling strong, don’t force yourself, okay?”
“Yes sir… thank you very much, sir,” she replied, appreciating him.
Then his face grew serious.
“Cynthia… tell me the truth.
Who made you pregnant?” he asked, his tone firm.
Cynthia’s heart skipped a thousand times.
She was shocked that he had found out, and she was sure Mrs. Grace had not told him anything.
She opened her mouth to speak — but no word came out.
To be continued…
Inspired by the Great Teacher.
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Stay blessed. See you in the next episode.
Written by Mary Francis Solomon.