Hi there, dear readers of this story!
Here's another chapter for you-well, it's still Valentine's day in *some* parts of the world, right? ;-)
Oh well, maybe this isn't exactly the most cheerful read on Valentine's Day, but I hope this chapter will at least bring some hope for the moment, since it's actually... well, read and find out...
I'm currently just about to start writing what I *think* will be the last chapter of this story (*gasp!* Can you believe it?) and the following epilogue. You readers are still a couple chapters behind though, it's an important part of my proof reading process.
I hope you've had a great Valentine's Day, but I also hope that you do remember your loved ones throughout the rest of the 364 days of the year as well.
Lots of love from my corner of the world, and thank you for your wonderful encouragement and reviews!
/BoMD
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Howl suffered continuos bouts of vomiting and nausea throughout the morning, sometimes followed by episodes of extreme pain. As long as he wasn't dry heaving, he was now losing considerable amounts of blood every time he was vomiting. Somewhere deep within, Sophie felt that part of her was already coming to realize that Howl's chances of survival were quickly diminishing with each hour, and there was little she could do to help him. Yet, she forced herself to live in the moment, focusing on what was happening here and now, and just being there for him.
Calcifer appeared to be almost paralyzed and ambivalent. He was hardly speaking at all, but yet eager to obey Sophie's every request, even the unspoken ones. Most often, however, he was avoiding her eyes, when spoken to.
Around nine o' clock in the morning, Howl was suffering through one of the worst pain attacks ever, moaning and thrashing wildly, despite his weekend state. As Sophie was doing her best to make him calm down, she was now starting to notice a definitive swelling around his ribcage area on his left side; a red, fist sized mark, glowing angrily in a sharp contrast to his porcelain skin.
As the pain was finally easing off a bit, Sophie was surprised to see that Howl was struggling to open his eyes, for the first time in a long time.
"Soph…" he managed in a weak whisper, fighting hard to focus on her face.
"Shh, Howl, love… don't try and talk too much… save your energy…"
"Listen, Soph… something you need to do… I'm sorry, Soph… but you must…" He coughed slightly before continuing. "Know… the red book… s-spells… page 215… please… just read it… if you love me… beg you… you must… can't take it 'nymore… not fair… to you… please..."
Before Sophie could react, his hand flailed upwards, and one of the heaviest books of the bedroom bookshelves suddenly popped out and fell to the floor with an impressive thud, opening in mid air to turn up the right page. Immediately, her eyes were drawn to the skull and the warning sign that were placed over the headline, and she didn't have to read another word to understand what it was all about. Feeling something snap inside her, a wave of uncontrollable anger swept over her. "How dare you?!" she heard herself screaming.
Grabbing the book, she bolted out from the bedroom, yanking the door to the balcony open, the crisp morning air and the movement of the castle making her hair fly around her face. Furious, she lifted the heavy book over her head and was just about to throw it over the ledge, as she heard Calcifer's shrill voice calling out to her from inside. "Sophie! Someone at the Market Chipping door!"
Breathing heavily, she lowered her arms, put down the book on the floor, and with a resigned sigh, she stepped back inside. "All right…" she managed. "Will you please let them in? I'll be down in a moment."
Quickly wiping her eyes on her sleeve, she went to the bedroom closet, fetching a new apron and straightening her hair, for once not even looking in Howl's direction on her way out. As she entered the kitchen, she halted abruptly as she recognized the woman standing at the landing by the entrance steps, holding an infant baby in her arms.
"Dana!"
A crimson red Calcifer cast an apologetic look at Sophie, mouthing a "Sorry!" through his clenched teeth.
"I-I apologize, I don't know your last name," Sophie stuttered. "And… excuse me, but what are you doing here?"
"It's Mrs Carell. And I need to see Howl. Now. So, go get him for me. Please."
"Look, Mrs Carell, my husband is very sick, hence the note on the door–"
"Sick! No really, does he think he's the only one who is sick around here? I know exactly what he's like, using the tiniest little ailment as an excuse to be freed from his duties, now, go get him! Can't you see that my daughter is very sick! Do you think I'd just walk in here unless I really needed him?"
As Dana unwrapped the baby's blanket, Sophie could see that the infant was indeed very pale and thin, and her little face was wrinkled in a grimace of pain, her eyes tightly closed. She gave a weak, whimpering sound, and her mouth looked dry, with what appeared to be crusted milk around her lips.
"Oh…" Speechless, Sophie felt all the anger she had been building up toward the woman melt away, replaced by a strong wave of compassion.
"So will you please get him for me?" Dana pleaded anew. "It doesn't matter if he has the flu–we all had it last week, it's going around–"
Sophie shook her head, slowly, still looking at the infant. "I'm sorry, Mrs Carell, but this isn't a case of the flu… he's really sick this time…" At the same moment, she felt Howl calling out for her, and she sensed the urgency in his voice. "He needs me… Mrs Carell, please, have a seat, I'll be right back, I promise…"
Not waiting for a response, she dashed upstairs, arriving just in time to help Howl sit upright, and support him over the basin as he once again was retching violently. This time, he brought up large quantities of blood, and the attack seemed to be going on forever.
As he was finally done, he was almost unresponsive, his body limp and his breathing labored. Sophie cleaned him up, and emptied and rinsed the basin, shuddering as the water was turning dark red when she flushed the toilet.
When Dana saw her moving down the stairs, she abruptly rose from the chair where she had been seated, opening her mouth to say something. But all that came out was a load gasp, her eyes wide as she was staring at Sophie's midsection. Looking down, Sophie realized that her apron had been stained with blood.
"Oh... Mrs Jenkins... I... I just didn't realize…"
Sophie nodded. "He took sick about three days ago, and it keeps getting worse... He's been vomiting blood since sometime during the night... I'm so sorry, Mrs Carell, but he won't be able to help..."
Tears were forming in Dana's eyes. "No, I am sorry... I've been so mean and unfair to you... I know it was so selfish of me, choosing to have children in these troubled times, though I knew there were alternatives... and now... this is the punishment I'll have to face for my bad judgement..." Her speech was broken by a sob as she covered her eyes with her hands, her tears now running freely down her cheeks.
"Mrs Carell... Dana... Listen..." Gently, Sophie put her hands on Dana's arm, stroking it softly. "Whatever you do... don't blame yourself!" She drew a long, shivering breath, her voice stuck in her throat as she continued. "I chose to wait... and now... Howl and I... we probably won't be able to get any children... Ever."
The women embraced in silence.
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"I wish there was anything I could do to help," Sophie sighed, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand as she was staring at the now lukewarm cup of tea in front of her. "But my medical skills are very limited, particularly when it comes to infants, I'm afraid..."
At the other end of the table, Dana was almost desperately trying to breastfeed her baby, but the girl only managed a few suckles before she went apathetic with exhaustion. Suddenly, her little face wrinkled with pain, and moments later, she promptly spat up most of the milk she had managed to swallow.
"I thought I did everything I could to prevent this…" Dana mused as she wiped her infant's face and mouth with the edge of her blanket. "We've been boiling all our water, even the bath water, and I've done my best to eat as healthy as possible from the moment I knew I was pregnant. We even used most of our savings to buy ourselves a cow… and I've been very careful not to expose myself to any bugs or germs…" She sighed. "Yet… all three of us took sick with that blasted flu last week… I and my husband recovered after a couple days, and at first, she seemed to be on the mend too, but then all of a sudden she got worse and now… she's not keeping the milk, and lately, her feces have been blood stained…"
"What did the doctor say?"
Dana shook her head. "He asked me whether I'd been feeding her anything else but breast milk, or if I had made any drastic changes to my diet, and when I told him that I hadn't, he said it could be any number of things. He gave her something… some very expensive medication, mind you, saying that it might work… or not, and first, she got a bit better, but once it wore off…"
Sophie nodded. "That's what he said about Howl, too…"
"And now he gives priority to his other patients… those who can pay…"
"Exactly… and we're totally destitute…"
Dana sighed. "And so are we… My husband is working day and night already to pay off our debts… and we want to be able to keep the cow…"
Suddenly, a thought stirred in Sophie's subconscious. There was something about the cow…
"Dana… I… I hardly remember this, I was so young… but once, I do recall that one of my mum's friends… my sisters' mum, that is… she had a baby who was very sick, too… and it was quite unusual, really… This baby… I think she had some kind of allergic reaction to her own mum's breast milk… they were talking about an extreme case of milk intolerance, brought on by a stomach flu… and she only got better when her mum stayed off all kinds of dairy products…"
Sophie saw all color drain from Dana's face, then being replaced by a blush as she lifted her free hand to her mouth. "A-after I got sick, I didn't drink any milk for a couple days… and when I started… come to think of it… she got worse!"
Feeling her heart beat fast, Sophie nodded. "I was just a child at the time, but I remember it because they all kept saying how unusual it is in these parts of the world… and I also remember how worried everyone was for that little boy… but he made it, he was all right within a couple days…"
"Sophie…" Dana gasped, fresh tears running down her cheeks. "I know I shouldn't get my hopes up yet but… that is just like my girl… just like my girl… I'll get off the dairy products immediately… oh Lord… I hope it's not too late…"
"I'm hoping and praying that it will help… like I said, my medical skills are limited… right now, I'd do anything to be able to help Howl…"
"I'm so sorry, Sophie…" Rising from the chair, Dana gently pulled her into another hug, using her free arm. "I would do anything to help you, if I could…"
Sophie sighed, swallowing back the lump in her throat. "It's all right, Dana. Right now, you should only focus on your baby girl… I'll be all right… just… keep me informed on her progress, please?"
Dana nodded. "You and Howl will be in my thoughts and prayers, Sophie. I will never, ever forget the unconditional kindness you've shown me… And Howl… I really wish I could use some magic to make him better too…"
"Thank you… you'll be in my thoughts and prayers too…" Sophie followed Dana to the door.
Before parting, the two women embraced for a last time.
"Wow," Calcifer's stunned voice was heard from the hearth. "Wow…"
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To be continued...