Thank you for the lots of reviews! Chapter 3 is here

The next few weeks were very hard on Maria. As much as she tried to keep herself busy and try to forget about her past, those demons didn't want to leave her mind. She worked long hours in the inn, performing all her duties with compliance and resignation. If it was needed she cleaned the rooms, changed the sheets, washed the dishes in the kitchen or waited on guests. This life was different from the one she had imagined just a few weeks ago. Now she should be in Paris and someone else should be waited on her, changing her sheets and most of all her husband would be next to her pampering and caressing her. This is how she had always imagined it, but now she had to face reality.

The only good thing in her life at the moment was Helena, who was really a motherly person. She was always there if she needed to talk to someone, and Helena also liked Maria very much. She often wondered about the distant look in Maria's eyes, what did cause this young girl to run away from everything she had had in Salzburg. Maria didn't reveal much of her past to Helena, only hints of events were told, but Helena started putting together the puzzle, and also being a woman she quickly realized that Maria's sadness had something to do with a man.

In their little free time they used to go for walks and tried to enjoy themselves as much as they could. After those first weeks Maria started regaining some of her cheerfulness, and she found herself slightly smile again.

"Maria? Can I ask you a question?" Helena said while the two women were sitting on a bench at the lake.

"Yes." Maria answered with a lump in her throat.

"I have noticed that you are beautiful young girl. How come you never go out with anyone? An intelligent and beautiful girl like you should go out withâ€.." Helena let out her words.

"Helena, please don'tâ€." Maria started. Tears filled her eyes because she knew where Helena had wanted to lead the conversation. "I have my reasons." Maria swallowed. "I was deeply in love with someone, I was engaged and my life was like a fairy tale. Then everything changed, and my entire world fell apart. I ran away from it." Maria finished.

"Oh, I see. Sorry Maria. I didn't want to hurt you." Helena said with sympathy. She knew the girl's pain very well; she had gone through a few things in her life.

"Oh, it's okay. It's in my past. I'm ready to start a new life and I know that everything will be alright." Maria said sounding a bit more optimistic.

"Why don't we go for a little walk?" Helena suggested. Maria nodded but when she wanted to stand up a sudden dizziness came over her. Her face turned pale and she needed to sit down again.

"Maria, are you alright?" Helena asked as she took a hold of Maria's arm.

"I think I'm only tired. I only need a few minutes of rest and then we can go." Maria answered while some color returned to her cheeks.

In fact, in the next few days Maria didn't feel too well. Those dizzy spells came over her more and more frequently and often she had suffered from severe headaches. She couldn't eat much due to a strange feeling in her stomach and each time she started eating her stomach didn't really agree. Helena also noticed Maria's problems and often she tried to convince her to get some rest. She was always resistant saying that she had to make her living in the inn; she didn't want to live on anyone else's account.

"Maria, you should go and see a doctor. You are very pale and look very exhausted. Tell me, how many pounds have you lost?" Helena asked her as Maria was doing the dishes in the kitchen.

"Only a few maybe. It's most probably because of the workload and the lack of appetite I have because ofâ€. Of what I told you about." Maria replied referring to her called off engagement.

"No, Maria. Don't protest! I don't want to you see you like this." Helena said and gave a piece of paper to Maria with the doctor's address. "Go and see him now. I can finish your work." Helena said and touched the young girl on the face. She was worried about her young friend. In fact, Maria was more than a friend to her. Their relationship developed to be a kind of mother-daughter one.

"Well, doctor?" Maria asked as the doctor took a seat on the other side of the desk. She felt her cheeks redden, still feeling embarrassed after the examination.

"Fraulein Rainer" The doctor paused. "You are going to have a baby." He trailed off the information to the young woman sitting in front of him.

"What? I meanâ€." Maria's words failed.

"You are about 7 weeks along." The doctor finished.

"7 weeks.. yes that could be true". Maria reasoned while she felt tears welling in her eyes. It was about 7 weeks ago that she had left the Von Trapp Villa. She didn't know how to react. For a moment she simply starred at the spot on the floor, trying to recover from the shock. As the information started sinking in her she felt scared, terrified and confused. She had been almost ready to start a new life, but now this information had changed everything.

"Thank you doctor." She whispered, tears still filling her eyes.

Slowly she started walking to the inn. Mixed emotions were fighting for control in her head. What was she going to do now? So far it had been only her life, but now she was responsible for the child growing inside her. It was Georg's child. That very night a child was conceived from their love. "Love? Did he love me at all? I loved him, and this child is the proof of that. But what about him? And what shall I do now?" She was aware of her situation. Not owning a home and without having a proper job, the only thing she could give her child was her love.

When she reached the inn she tried to stay out of the way to meet anyone. She needed some time alone. Slowly she sneaked back to her room to settle her emotions. Sitting on the bed she felt losing all the control over the feelings, and she simply let them release. She dropped bitter tears. She was afraid of her future, terrified by the fact of her being with child. She was afraid of Helena's reaction, after all she was going to be an unwed mother, and obviously a woman who had sinned. Only now since the night she had felt guilty. "How happy I would be now, if all these happened under different circumstances, if we were married now." She remembered how they had discussed the possibility of having more children and both of them had seemed to be thrilled about the idea. She did want to have this child more than anything, only the situation was too tough on her. She cried until she fell asleep. A soft knock on the door woke her up.

"Maria, are you in there?" Helena's soft voice was heard from behind the door. She would have to tell her about the news, and as painful as it was going to be, she was ready to face the situation even if Helena wanted to fire her. On a slow pace she walked towards the door to open it. Helena's heart almost broke at the sight of her. Maria's face was pale, her eyes red and swollen due to the large amount of tears she obviously had dropped.

"Maria. My dear, what happened?" She asked in fear. First Maria didn't say a word just motioned for Helena to come in.

"What did the doctor say? Are you seriously ill?" Helena's voice sounded worried.

Maria shook her head as she took a seat on the bed.

"Maria, talk to me! You know you can tell me everything my child." Helena begged her.

"The doctor said, he said†I mean†"Maria's words failed. "I'm going to have a baby." She whispered hardly daring to say out the word. In the next moment her tears became a storm. Helena pulled her close and hugged her tightly, a reaction that surprised Maria. She had expected her to be angry with her.

"Sssh, everything will be alright. Everything." Helena comforted the young girl in her arms.

"But how? It's not something that could be taken back, nor the thing that I have done." Maria cried.

"Maria? Please tell me your story. I promise not to tell it to anyone. But if you want me to help you and support you, I have to know what happened. Please!"

"Was it the man you were engaged to?" Helena asked. Maria nodded in response.

Maria needed a moment to arrange her thoughts, but she knew that it was time to reveal her secret to the woman she loved as her mother. She felt that she could trust Helena, they had been such good friends, and at the moment there was no one she could turn to.

"Okay." She started with a slight smile crossing her face.

So she told her everything from the point she had entered the abbey to the day she had left the Von Trapp Villa. There was only one piece of information she didn't tell Helena, the name of the family. Helena was listening to her carefully on all what she had said, comforting her if needed, when her emotions took over again. When the story was finished she understood everything, why this stunning young woman had always been so sad, why her beautiful eyes had been shadowed by sadness.

"Helena, I loved him very much. I trusted him blindly. And all those things, the letter and the telegram came so unexpectedly." Maria finished.

"Maria, and you didn't even try to sort out things with him?" Helena asked.

"No, as clear as the instructions were†I left the house." Maria replied.

"I would understand if you decided to fire me now, Helena. I don't want to bring shame to your house" Maria let out her fears.

"Nonsense Maria. How could I let down my daughter?" Helena gently comforted her. "And besides I know your pain very well. Let me share my story with you." Helena took a deep breath.

"How old are you Maria?" Helena asked before she went into her story.

"I'm 23. Why?" Maria asked.

"You see I was 21, just a bit younger than you when it happened. There was a young and handsome man in my village that started making court to me, just the way it should go. I fell in love with him, oh so madly. I was young, and naïve. We got engaged and I was the most excited bride ever. We got married and my happiness was beyond any control. And then few weeks later he didn't come home. I received the news of him being killed in an accident." Helena's eyes were shining with tears. Maria gasped.

"My world had fallen apart into pieces; everything that I had believed in, or had hoped for was taken away from me. I suffered from a severe depression. I could hardly eat and breathe. I was lost without him, he was my significant other. Just when I decided to try to move on I found out that I was expecting. I eagerly anticipated the birth of my child, since this child was the only thing that remained me from him. My cheerfulness started returning, I experienced a real miracle, a new life growing inside me." Helena paused for a long moment. "But then after the 4th month I lost my baby." She finished with teary eyes as the memory came back. Maria gasped and put her hand on her stomach and caressed it gently.

"And worst came to worst†I not only lost my child, but also I was never going to be able to get pregnant again. When the doctors told me the news, I thought I wanted to die. That was the point when I lost everything." Helena finished her story.

"I'm sorry, Helena. It must have been hard on you." Maria said in sympathy.

"What I wanted to make you see Maria, that you are lucky in a way. I know it's hard that you have lost the man you loved and you trusted, but you still have your child. Take care of this child, Maria. Your child is a true gift from God." Helena said and hugged Maria.

"Thank you. You are like a mother for me." Maria smiled.

"I have always wanted to have a daughter like you. You very much remind me of the younger myself." Helena said as she gently rubbed Maria's back.

After the conversation Maria felt much better. Not that her fears and worries had disappeared, but at least she was able to look at her life from a new point of view. Her hand rested on her stomach and she knew that even though she had lost her fiancé and the family she had always longed for, now she had this child that she can love more than anything.

"Helena, I'm still wondering about my future. You know I don't want to bother anyone and if I stay here, which I would really love to, I'm afraid I won't be able to work as much I do now." Maria said worried.

"Maria, please don't worry. We'll find out something for sure. Of course I will redo your work schedule by giving you less physical job. You are intelligent, you could do everything you wish." Helena comforted the young girl.

"I'll do my best. Thank you so much for everything." Maria smiled.

"It's okay, my child. Now please get some rest. You are exhausted and now you will need your energy more than ever." Helena smiled at Maria before she left her alone so that Maria could get her well-deserved rest.

To be continued

I know there might be too much drama in this story, but please trust me I know where it is going. Leave a little review and Chapter 4 will follow shortly!