"She's under. I will prepare her." A masked doctor coldly spoke of a defenceless and unconscious Emma. She then applied an IV drip to Emma's arm and quickly removed her pants and underwear to insert a catheter in her bladder. "She is ready." The doctor said robotically. "Good, let's get started. Nurse, please unbutton her shirt." The surgeon, Gerald, instructed the nurse next to him. She sighed "yes doctor." she said reluctantly as she slowly began unbuttoning Emma's cotton shirt with her nitrile-gloved fingers, exposing her torso.
Gerald wiped her undeveloped chest with rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball. Before demanding "Scalpel!" Nurse Deborah quickly handed the scalpel to the surgeon. The surgeon held the scalpel up,ominously shining in the large light above before carefully making a long incision in the middle of her chest. Blood gracefully trickled down her torso from where the incision was made. The kind nurse quickly wiped it away before the surgeon used forceps to hold open her skin like an envelope with the secret message to Emma's heart hidden inside. But Gerald cared not for what she held dear to her heart or what lay within it. He only cared about placing the trap inside of her heart as to please his demon masters and ensure his own survival.
Her sternum and ribcage were now exposed but not for long. Gerald grabbed a saw and quickly began working through her breastbone, breaking it. Crack, crack, the sternum loudly cracked while it was being broken. To the kind nurse the sound made her feel like her own heart was going to break in pain. But to Gerald it was music to his ears. He then used a retractor to slowly open and hold the cut halves of the sternum. Now Emma's beating heart and ribs were on full display for the medical team to see.
Emma's innocent heart beat away almost sadly as if it knew that it was powerless to stop what was about to happen next. The sadistic surgeon Gerald then used a pair of metz surgical scissors to carefully make a small incision on the side of Emma's heart, He grabbed a small tube and carefully inserted it into the incision he just made before grabbing a thick syringe and injecting it through the tube. Once he finished the injection, another doctor then pressed a button on a small hand-held remote controlled device. There was a blue light that was visibilly blinking through Emma's heart. "The tracker has been successfully placed." the doctor affirmed.
"Good." Gerald said as he quickly removed the tube from Emma's heart. "Stitch her back together nurse." He coldly commanded. The kind nurse quickly grabbed the sutures and began repairing her heart despite it being held hostage by the foreign object inside of it. The nurse gently and efficiently stitched her heart back together like it was a delicate item of clothing before cutting the string with scissors once she was finished.
The surgeon's then began to put the puzzle pieces of Emma's broken sternum back by screwing metal plates against it to hold it while it fused back together . They also tied wire to both of her rib cages so they were in the right position while she healed. Finally, they stitched up the large incision made to her torso. The suture was crudely done, unlike the gentle and carefully done suture on her heart earlier by the nurse. The scar left on her chest a raw and ugly red wound that would forever be a permanent reminder of the doomed life she was now trapped in.
"The surgery has been complete." Gerald said coldly as he buttoned her shirt back up. "Nurses and Dr Ogawa please send 63194 back to the hospital and take care of her, inform us if anything goes wrong with her recovery." He commanded. "Yes sir." The three of them said as they bowed at the same time. They wheeled Emma on her hospital bed to the recovery room where they hooked her up to a machine that montired her vital signs like breathing and her heartbeat all of which were healthy and normal.
"Her vitals are good." Nurse Deborah affirmed. "Wonderful. I'm starving." Doctor Ogawa commented self-centred. "You two go ahead and have lunch. I'll stay here and look after the patient." The kind nurse suggested. Deborah frowned "Are you sure Rebecca? You are still fairly new to the team, can you handle this by yourself?" she asked, concerned. Rebecca the kind nurse nodded her head confidently. "Yes, I'll be fine. I'm ready to prove myself to the team. The patient seems healthy, so there shouldn't be any issues."
Deborah sighed "Very well, but you know to press the red switch to alert the other staff if you need to." She and Dr Ogawa began to exit the room before she paused to clear her throat. "Oh, and Rebecca." She began turning back to her with a vicious glare. "If something does go wrong with 63194 under your care. You will pay for it..dearly." It didn't take Rebecca much thought to figure out what the outcome of that not so subtle threat entailed. "Yes Ma'am." she responded meekly. "Good." Deborah uttered as she and Dr Ogawa left to go eat their lunch, leaving Nurse Rebecca and Emma alone together.
Rebecca then stared at Emma pityingly while she sighed sadly. "I'm sorry this had to happen to you dear." Emma, who was still unconscious, did not hear a word of Rebecca's apology. The nurse then unbuttoned Emma's shirt inspecting the rough stitching of her surgical incision. It was very rushed and done with very little care. The nurse then unbuttoned the buttons on her own shirt and moved her hand to feel her chest which was marked with its own rough long surgical scar. Rebecca felt tears welt in eyes as she remembered her own traumatic surgery she suffered when she was almost Emma's exact age. She remembered how hard she fought to get the doctors off her while they held her down to inject her to sleep.
Rebecca also remembers when she woke up and the immense pain she felt after the surgery. The long red painful incision she found on chest has now faded into a permanent grey scar. She then looked at Emma again, sleeping away blissfully and would soon awaken to realise the horror inflicted on her. Rebecca promised to herself that she would give her patients the best care she could so at least the impact of their nightmare will lessen.
Rebecca grabbed the syringe and painkilling medicine from the medical cabinet and inserted it into Emma's IV drip. She carefully undressed Emma, then grabbed alcohol and used it to clean Emma's incision before redoing her sutures with care and precision. She then wrapped Emma's chest up in a bandage. She then gently cleaned Emma's body with soap, warm water and a sponge. Before redressing her in a dull grey smock which was the uniform for all the trainee's. Rebecca wishes she could dress her in something more deserving for a beautiful, sweet and innocent child like Emma but would receive an earful from Nurse Deborah and Grandmother Sarah if she dared to even try.
Rebecca then removed the shower cap from Emma's hair and upon seeing the unshieveled state of it decided to fix it. She washed her hair with warm water, then applied a sweet conditioner to her hair that smelled of roses, then rubbed it in her scalp thoroughly before using a comb to brush through her messy red hair. Her hair was easily untangled and straightened thanks to the conditioner and Rebecca's precise combing. Rebecca then slicked Emma's hair back before carefully rinsing out the conditioner and drying her hair with a soft towel.
Rebecca then began fixing her own appearance, straightening up her uniform, changing her gloves and made sure her demeanour was a warm and approachable one compared to the cold and cruel demeanours of Gerald, Deborah and Grandmother. She then grabbed a book on medicine to refresh her memory and sat on a comfy chair next to Emma, reading until she finally awoke from her blissful sleep.
Soon enough when Emma finally awoke. She didn't open her eyelids for awhile as they felt heavy. But slowly she managed to flutter them open as her eyes gazed upon the first thing she saw grey, that dreadful grey of the ceiling wall. The next thing she saw was equally dreadful grey walls with medical equipment hanging from it. Emma then looked at herself and saw the grey smock she was wearing, the pale white bed she was lying in as well as the tubes in her hands going up towards her arms and the plastic breathing mask on her face. She was in a hospital room.
Just then Emma remembered why she was there. How she ran away from the operating room and was caught, dragged back and held down by doctors while they forcibly put her to sleep so they could operate on her and put a tracker on her heart. She then moved her nimble hand under her grey smock and felt the bandage covering the scar on her chest. The surgery was successful.
Emma in shock ripped the mask from her face and let out an anguished cry. She then felt a comforting hand on her shoulder "Are you alright sweetheart?" A gentle voice asked concerned. That's when Emma saw her…An ethereally beautiful woman dressed in a pale white nurses uniform. She had long white shoulder length that was parted to the right and almost as pale as her uniform. Her white hair reminded Emma of her best friend Norman's. But, the woman's eyes, her eyes were a breathtakingly stunning violet. Which reminded Emma of her Mama Isabella's. Well, former Mama. But this woman's eyes were different while Mama's eyes were also a beautiful violet; they always had a cunning and invulnerable gleam to them, While this nurse's eyes seemed genuine and trustworthy.
Emma took her time answering and ignored the sweet nurse's question. "Those doctors… put a t-t-tracker… in my heart d-d-didn't they?" She trembled holding back her tears. "Yes, they did. I'm so sorry, sweetheart. I couldn't stop them." The nurse admitted apologetically. Emma took a breath still holding back her tears. "Now they always know where I am." Emma uttered in defeat. "Not only that you can never step foot out of headquarters or any of the plantations without one of the staff turning off your tracker otherwise you will die." The nurse explained to Emma with guilt in her voice.
"What?! What do you mean I'll die?" Emma asked horrified as her eyes grew wide. The nurse looked shocked. "Deborah didn't tell you?" "She told me that I would get a tracker inserted into my heart. But nothing about me dying if I leave headquarters or any of the plantations." Emma explained. The nurse sighed sadly, "I'm so sorry sweetheart, the chip they inserted into your heart isn't just a tracker… It is a bomb set to go off if you ever set foot outside of grounds of the headquarters or any of the Plantations. It also alerts the headquarters of how you die whether it is caused by the bomb or not." The nurse explained bitterly.
Hearing that revelation, Emma could no longer hold back her tears, as she began sobbing uncontrollably and shaking her entire body. "No. No. No this can't be! Why? Why? I want to go home! Take me back to Gracefield, back to my family, to Mama." She pleaded. The kind nurse then held Emma tightly and warmly as she also began to cry in empathy with her pain. After what seemed a long time Emma finally calmed down enough so that the caring nurse could ask "What is your name love?"
Emma remembering Grandmother's slap and harsh words that she was just a number answered robotically "63194" "No. No. No. Not that. What is your actual name?" The nurse insisted genuinely. Emma looked surprised "But, grandmother said that I no longer have a name that I am just a number. I am just 63194 from Plantation 3." The nurse gave Emma a sympathetic look then smiled gently. "Well I am not Grandmother. Your name is safe with me I promise. If it makes you feel safer honey, you may call me by name Rebecca."
"Rebecca?" Emma parroted back, which caused the nurse's head to nod. Emma then beamed her first smile since she left Gracefield. "That's a pretty name. My name is Emma, nice to meet you!" she said cheerfully as her usually friendly self returned to her. "Thank you sweetheart. Emma is a pretty name as well. It is nice to meet you too, though I wish it were under very different circumstances." Rebecca muttered. "Yeah me too." Emma muttered back.
Rebecca gave Emma another warm smile. "You know Emma, you are a very beautiful girl. You seem to have a kind heart. I would hate for you to lose that in this horrific place. I promise to help you in any way I can. To help you survive and to lessen the pain of all of this. Something I wish I had when I went through all of this." Rebecca kindly promised as she gently held Emma's hand. "You went through the same thing?!" Emma exclaimed shocked.
Rebecca nodded sadly "I had a bomb implanted in my heart to when I came here. I was not much older than you. I arrived from another plantation. Plantation 1 I was surrounded by Mama, the sisters and my siblings until my world shattered on my "adoption" day when I was 12. I was given an option to become a Mama or be eaten by one of those things. Emma could tell by the way Rebecca said 'things' she meant the demons.
"Just like me!" Emma exclaimed. "It is so unfair! I'm so sorry it happened to you too Rebecca!" Emma squeezed Rebecca's hand in sympathy while she leaned in for a hug. Rebecca hugged her back. "Thank you dear. But what matters is that we are both alive. I will do everything in my power to make sure you and the other girls keep living while keeping my own life." Rebecca whispered in Emma's ear while she gently stroked her back. "Thank you Rebecca you are so kind compared to the other adults here." Emma whispered back. " Rebecca sighed sadly before speaking to Emma again. "This place changes people because when they arrive here most of them as children they are pitted against each other for their lives and taught not to trust anyone. If they do manage to make it out alive and get one of the few positions available. By the time they reach adulthood they have shut down their empathy for others as a survival mechanism."
"Oh." Emma muttered sadly. This place was even worse than she could've hoped. Emma prayed to herself that she would never become cruel or lose her compassion for others here. Emma then thought about Rebecca being a nurse instead of a Sister or a Mama, and grew curious. "How did you become a nurse instead of a Sister or Mama?" Emma asked Rebecca.
"I got lucky. Really lucky. When I was 20 I failed the Sister Exam. Those who fail the exam are eaten by demons. But one of the older nurses had died and they needed a new replacement for her. I may have failed my Sister exams. But, my results in first aid and caretaking were excellent so they made me a trainee nurse until I became her replacement. I am grateful to still be alive." Rebecca explained, the relief was obvious in her voice.
"I'm glad you survived Rebecca. I hope I can become a nurse instead of a Sister or Mama. I don't want to raise children just to send them to their deaths." Emma said in a defiant tone. Rebecca smiled ruefully for a moment before returning to a neutral expression. "I thought the same but being a nurse here is awful too. I have to witness and participate in children getting treated like cattle, bombs put in their hearts and even killed by demons if they fail to pass the tests. The worst is I can't do anything to stop it." Rebecca's eyes filled with tears as she recalled the awful memories of what happened to the children under her care.
"I'm so sorry Rebecca. This place is awful, we have to do something we can't stay here we need to escape!" Emma asserted impulsively. Rebecca then quickly put a finger to Emma's lips gesturing her to hush. "Be careful what you say Emma please. If grandmother or any of the other staff heard what you just said they would send you to the demons for 'disloyalty'" Emma nodded. Rebecca carefully took her finger from Emma's mouth before staring at her sympathetically with her violet eyes on to Emma's forest green eyes. "The best thing you can do Emma is study, exercise and keep your head down until there is an available position for you to take and then try with every inch of you to get it." Rebbeca instructed her firmly, which Emma nodded along taking each word of her advice to heart.
"Also," Rebecca paused before speaking again. "I want you to promise me that you will still try to keep your empathy and compassion even in and after this place. Try to show kindness when it is possible. It makes living through this and forgiving yourself easier." Emma could see Rebecca was pleading with her beautiful and gentle violet eyes. "I will Rebecca, I promise." Emma affirmed. This place may have already taken her away from her home, reduced to a mere number, and treated more like cattle. But Emma will try her very hardest to not let this place twist her warm, kind and loving spirit into something cold , cruel and monstrous like it did to someone like Grandmother, something that she would never want to be. Emma wondered if Grandmother or even Mama were caring people like her once but this place made them only care about their own survival. I would rather die than let that happen to me. Emma thought to herself before being addressed by Nurse Rebecca again.
"Good thank you Emma. It is possible to keep your compassion for others no matter what despite this place trying to convince you otherwise." Nurse Rebecca reassured Emma with a kind smile. "Now, you should try and get some rest so you can heal faster." Rebecca instructed and tucked Emma gently into the blanket. It didn't take Emma long to fall asleep, she slowly closed her eyes and drifted off into a peaceful sleep. The next few days were a blur, Emma remembers different people coming into her room. She couldn't remember most of their faces but briefly remembers them studying her and checking her surgical wound as if she were a science experiment. She remembers the sharp pains of healing chest for it to then be satiated by the nurses injecting more pain killing medicine through her IV drip. The medicine made Emma feel drowsy and made her fall right back to sleep.
When she awoke she was back at Gracefield house, lying in a pristine white bed in the infirmary room. Her siblings ran towards her bedside "Emma what's wrong why are you sick?" Phil looked up towards Emma with his bright blue eyes filled with concern for his big sister. Emma was confused. Did she just have that long nightmare because she was sick? She then looked at her siblings Phil, Connie, Toma, Lan, Sherry, Jemima and the others all huddled around her bed in loving concern. Emma smiled lovingly back at all of them. "I'm alright I just had a really horrible dream and my chest hurts for some reason. But I feel better now that you are all here, I love you guys." Her siblings smiled back and all proceeded to encapsulate Emma into a bear hug "We love you too Emma" they chanted. Suddenly the sound of a door opening, when two familiar heads of white hair and jet black hair entered the room. "Norman…Ray…" Emma murmured out in pain as her chest ached. "Emma are you okay? I'm so sorry I think you caught my sickness." Norman said as he guiltily looked upon Emma. But, Emma just weakly smiled back. "It's okay Norman I'm just glad to see you." she said equally weak but in a genuine tone. There was a chuckle from Ray "I told you the book says idiots don't get sick. I just hope the others aren't too smart" he teased. "Oh Ray..I am glad to see you too" Emma said affectionately. Both of them hugged Emma, which she gladly returned. She was so happy to be surrounded by her family when they were around she felt that no matter what she would get better.
But it didn't last long until Mama Isabella entered the infirmary "What are you all doing here?! Emma has pneumonia. It's contagious! You will all get sick! Quickly leave all of you!" Mama demanded as she dragged the children away from Emma's bedside out of the infirmary. Soon only Ray and Norman were left in the room with Emma. "Get well soon Emma, then we can study and play together again" Ray encouraged. "It's okay, Emma you can just rest for now we will leave our study books here so you can read them when you feel better." Norman said kindly while leaving the textbooks beside their bed. "Thank you..I appreciate it." Emma murmured as she smiled gratefully. Both the boys gave Emma a sympathetic pat, Norman patted her shoulder while Ray patted her head. They then quietly left the infirmary but not before Norman gave Emma a comforting smile and shut the door behind them. Not long after Mama came back and was holding a jar of medicine in one hand that had a thick brown liquid inside of it. And inside her other hand Mama held a silver spoon. It didn't take Emma long to realise what was going to happen next. "Time to take your medicine Emma this will help get you back to normal in no time then you can see your siblings again!" Mama then pulled off the cork cap from the jar and poured the medicine on to the spoon until it was full. She then turned to Emma and held the spoon in front of her face. Mama smiled mischievously as her violet eyes twinkled. "Now open wide" she coaxed Emma as she drove the spoon towards her mouth.
Emma then suddenly awoke and found herself in a hospital bed. Those cold grey walls and the stiff grey bed. She was still in headquarters, still in hell. All of what happened before was just a fever dream of a past memory of her at Gracefield. She remembers what happened after the memory. Emma managed to take the foul-tasting medicine Mama gave her after gagging a couple of times and after a day of rest she was healthy again. But there was an outbreak of pneumonia amongst her siblings. Emma with Norman, Ray and the other healthy children had to help Mama take care of the sick children until they all recovered. Emma wished she was really back at Gracefield with her siblings comforting her and Mama taking care of her. Even though Mama was the one that lied to Emma and her siblings raising them to be cattle. Emma missed her and her siblings so much. She felt hot tears fill up her eyes as she started bawling loudly.
"Oh quit the waterworks fresh meat." A cruel voice crooked. It was Grandmother. She was again wearing the same long dark dress, her hair and skin was pale and she stared at Emma coldly with her soulless black holes for eyes. For quite a moment Emma had mistaken Grandmother for a ghost which caused her to stop crying and jolt sitting herself right up in bed. When she realised her mistake she nervously addressed the wicked woman by her contradictory title "Grandmother."
The old woman's lip curled into the faintest of smiles as Emma obeyed her command to stop crying and correctly addressing her. "I heard you have been recovering rather well 63194. Soon you will be able to eat solids and be moved back to your room where you will continue staying until you are fully recovered." Grandmother explained. "Unless there are complications of course then you will be sent back here." Grandmother then turned to the nurses standing by the hallway. "And those complications better be fixable otherwise there will be consequences." Grandmother said in a threatening tone and turned back to Emma. It was unclear whether the threat was intended for the nurses or for Emma or both of them. But both the nurses and Emma nodded their heads and replied "Yes, Grandmother."
"Now you will have 3 months to rest. Plenty of time to recover fully. But don't think this means you can slack off and do nothing!" Grandmother snapped as she gestured to the books on the bedside drawer. Emma turned to see the books were on multiple topics like sewing, medicine, martial arts, child psychology, human anatomy and even body language.
"You will study the content of these books as much as you can it will give you a good headstart for when you join classes with the other fresh meat you will then all take an exam and if you pass you will become a trainee and if you fail you will be 'fresh meat' for the demons." Grandmother explained coldly which caused Emma to shudder.
"It's time to eat fresh meat now. We need to fatten you up so that you will be strong enough for physical training. The nurses will check on you each day to give you your medicine and to make sure you are eating all your food and studying the contents in each of the books. I will be taking my leave luck 63194." Grandmother turned and silently walked out of the hospital room. The nurses curtisied to her on her way out.
Nurse Rebecca quickly went to make Emma some food while one of the nurses went to help clean Emma up, change her clothes and brush her hair. Emma read on her tag that she was 'Nurse Mabel' she had short dark hair, warm skin, seemed to be in her early to mid twenties, she had a dull emotionless expression on her face and did not say a single word to Emma the entire time which made Emma feel uncomfortable. But the woman was gentle with her and once she was done she nodded her head at Nurse Deborah who then signalled for Mabel to leave which she quickly did.
Nurse Deborah changed Emma's IV drip and filled it with an unknown liquid but it quickly helped Emma to relax. Emma took a closer look at Deborah's appearance; she looked like a middle aged woman with her wrinkled skin and salt and peppered dirty blonde hair that was in a curled bob under her nurse's cap. She had worn out hazel green eyes that were always intently focused on whatever she was doing. But her nurses uniform was impeccably clean, not a speck of dirt or crinkle in sight. Emma thought that Deborah might have used to be beautiful if it wasn't for all the stress caused by being in this evil place that aged her severely. "Try and eat all of your food even if you're not hungry we need you to gain weight and grow properly so you will do well in your combat classes. If you refuse to eat enough or at all. I will have to inform Grandmother and we might have to force feed you and we don't want that do we?" Deborah asked in a threatening tone, to which Emma shook her head in response. Deborah then helped prop Emma up with a pillow and put a towel over her new clothes as to not get them dirty.
Soon enough Rebecca came back with a big bowl of rice porridge with cut up fruit pieces mixed in. "Are you ready to try to eat Em- 63194?" Rebecca nervously stumbled over her words as Deborah was watching her like a hawk. Emma smiled at her sympathetically "Yes, Nurse Rebecca" she answered politely. This calmed Rebecca as she mixed the contents of the bowl together before taking out a spoonful and gently blowing on it. Her violet eyes shone on Emma's, similar to how Mama Isabella's was in Emma's dream but they were more soothing, as she began spoon feeding Emma, who was hungry after not eating properly for a few days. Emma quickly thought the porridge with the fruit was deliciously sweet and quickly ate it all up happily.
"Good girl well done you ate the whole lot!" Nurse Deborah looked on impressed. She then took the now empty bowl from Nurse Rebecca excitedly. "I will tell Grandmother of your progress." As she went to leave she addressed Nurse Rebecca "Watch over 63194 make sure to go over the material with her." Nurse Deborah commanded, then left the room with her shoes clicking behind her. As soon as Nurse Deborah left the room Nurse Rebecca gave Emma a big hug. "I'm so sorry about Grandmother and Nurse Deborah. How they treat you and permit you only to be called by your number. If I called you by your name I would get in trouble for 'humanising the cattle.' Unless you become a Sister or Mama then you are allowed to be addressed by name. But just remember you are a person with thoughts and feelings not a number or cattle despite what will try to have you believe" Rebecca reaffirmed with a kind pat on Emma's back. Emma smiled, finally feeling safe again in Rebecca's presence. "Thank you Rebecca. Also the porridge you made was delicious. It reminded me of the food I ate back at home, at Gracefield."
"I'm glad to hear that." Rebecca smiled. "Do you think you will be okay to go over some of the texts? I will read them out to you." Rebecca kindly offered. "Sure thank you" Emma agreed politely. Rebecca grabbed a book on human behaviour called 'How to tell if someone is lying' and began reading it out to Emma. "No matter how good you think you are at lying your body language or speech will give away telltale signs of your dishonesty."
Emma perked up from her bed. She was very interested in this book. Rebecca continued "For insistence if someone who is right hand dominant when they are looking to the upper left they are likely telling the truth, because looking to the upper left is signalling they are recalling memories of a past event. But if they are looking to their upper right they are more likely to be lying because looking up to the right is signalling they are accessing their imagination to try and invent an answer. The opposite is true for left hand dominant people."
It is surprising how much you can learn from one book. Emma learned a lot about lying from Rebecca reading to her. How people fidget or blink a lot when they lie or talk a lot about unnecessary details to distract one from the truth. Eventually Emma fell asleep not because she was bored of listening to the book. But because Rebecca's voice was so calm and soothing that it lulled her to sleep and Rebecca let Emma rest again, she learnt enough for today.
Over the next few days the nurses came to check on and care for Emma. Nurse Deborah would often come in with saying little or no word to her and would want to finish her job as quickly as possible even at the expense of Emma's comfort. Sometimes she would come in with Grandmother where they would both find something to criticise her for. Despite that, they were both very proud of Emma's immense progress. Nurse Mabel would also make little conversation with Emma. But was gentle when taking care of Emma and did her job efficiently and took her time if needed. Emma could also have sworn she had occasionally seen caring glances and smiles on the woman's face. But of course Nurse Rebecca was the opposite of the other two nurses. Always cheerfully greeting Emma and asking how she was doing. She did her job well while also helping Emma study over her textbooks and giving her a shoulder to cry on and hug if needed.
Soon enough, Emma was feeling well enough to take care of herself and was moved out of her lonely dull grey hospital room to her own lonely dull grey room. But, at least now she wasn't monitored nearly every hour by nurses or grandmother. But they would come in three times a day to give Emma her food and check to see if she was studying the material. Grandmother would sometimes come in to quiz her about it. If she failed to answer correctly, Grandmother would smack her with a cane. Luckily, Emma was on top of her studies thanks to the help of Nurse Rebecca and because there was nothing else to do but study and rest which caused her to get most of the answers right.
When she did, Grandmother would smirk and say "Well done, 63194. Keep it up and don't start slacking because you got the answer right! You need to be prepared if you want to pass your tests when class starts if you are to survive." Emma would always always nod her head and promised Grandmother she would continue studying hard to which Grandmother would reply "You better. I see great potential in you 61394. Do not fail me. Understand?" She said in a threatening tone before taking her leave.
Nurse Rebecca came into Emma's room as usual to give her food and help her study. She saw Emma on her bed sobbing because she had been hit with Grandmother's cane twice today, after she got two of the answers to the hardest questions wrong. She had self defence wounds on her right arm which Rebecca treated. While she was treating Emma's arm, Rebecca thought about how she could cheer her up. Just then, she noticed a suitcase on the side of Emma's bed.
"What's inside that case over there?" Rebecca asked inquisitively, her eyes gesturing over to the plain brown suitcase. "Oh, that has some of the stuff I packed with me from Gracefield, my previous home. Not that it is much use to me anymore." Emma said defeated as she continued sobbing. Rebecca suddenly got an idea. She handed Emma a bowl of food which was almost always a bland meal of unseasoned cold vegetables, rice and fish. Though, Emma reluctantly always ate all of it because she was afraid of the threat of being force fed.
Rebecca then grabbed the suitcase and sat on the end of Emma's bed. "What arr yowww doowing Rebecca?" Emma asked with her mouth full of food. Rebecca opened the suitcase and looked inside and pulled out a giant colourful origami aeroplane with loving messages written on it. "Who made you this?" Rebecca asked with a sweet smile on her face. "My brothers Lan and Thoma made it for me." Emma answered seeing that made her feel "saudade" A feeling of nostalgia and deep longing for something or someone distant that one loves. Even if it's likely you won't ever see them again. Emma remembers reading that word in a dictionary; the word was of Portuguese origin. She had never felt this feeling before until now.
Rebecca continued to pull out all the gifts given and made to Emma from her suitcase including a paper mache heart from Jemima, a small handmade teddy bear from Nat, A beautiful painting of Gracefield house from Yvette and finally Phil's drawing he gave Emma the day she left. Rebecca carefully decorated Emma's room using everything she retrieved from the suitcase. Soon, the once cold grey room was now filled with warmth and colour. To Emma it was bittersweet to have a constant reminder of her former family, knowing she would likely never see them again. But it was like a piece of them was with her, giving her strength to continue.
"What is this?" Rebecca pulled out the last remaining item, an envelope from the suitcase. "Norman's letter!" Emma exclaimed. How could she have forgotten?
"Norman?" Rebecca asked. "Norman was one of my best friend's at Gracefield. He gave me that letter and told me not to read it until after I was adopted then to come find him…But I can't now he is gone! Eaten by those monsters!" Emma cried out. Rebecca gave her a comforting hug. "I'm so sorry Emma. " Rebecca sighed sadly before she continued. "I think you should still read the letter. Even though he has gone, see what he says in the letter. Maybe it will provide you comfort." She suggested. "I don't know.." Emma muttered feeling uncertain.
"Well, would you rather see what your friend has written for you or go without ever knowing?" Rebecca explained. Emma mulled over her words for a while. She ran her finger over the flap of the envelope before taking a deep breath and opening it. She carefully took out and unfold the letter that was inside. "Dear Emma, by the time you have read this you-" Emma suddenly stopped as tears began to fill her eyes making it difficult. "I can't read, it is too hard for me..Can you do it for me Rebecca please?" Emma pleaded. Rebecca patted Emma on the back and smiled encouragingly. "Of course I can, sweetheart." Rebecca said gently, taking the letter from Emma and cleared her throat before she began:
Dear Emma, by the time you have read this you will have figured out the truth about Mama and Gracefield house. I'm so sorry I know that it must be heartbreakingly painful for you. I wish I was there to comfort you through all of this. Ray had told me about the secret before I was "adopted" out. I wanted to tell you about the truth as well. But Ray told me not too in fear that you might not believe us and inform Mama. We both made plans to escape Gracefield just the three of us but we were discovered by Mama. She told us that she had plans to send me elsewhere and to make you a Mama but if we "make a fuss" or tell anyone about the truth about Gracefield and try to escape. She will ship all of us to be eaten with a flick of her pen. Ray and I couldn't risk putting you in danger. So we both promised Mama to keep quiet and to not try anything. I don't know if Mama is telling the truth about taking us elsewhere. But, if you are still alive, please try to stay strong, don't lose hope and come find me if you can. But, if you trying to find me, puts your life and safety in danger then I beg of you to forget about me please. I will miss you. I hope your future is bright and filled with happiness. All my love Norman."
Rebecca finished reading the letter and was now crying too. "Thank you." Emma whispered and gratefully hugged Rebecca tightly. Emma felt various thoughts and emotions about what she just heard. Norman and Ray knew the truth and didn't tell her! She felt angry and betrayed. They did it to protect her. She felt both frustrated and touched by their actions. But Mama had plans to take Norman elsewhere? What if it was true? That means Norman could still be alive! The letter made Emma feel something she hadn't felt since she first met Nurse Rebecca or before she left Gracefield..Emma felt hope.
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