Chasing After My Wife

For some reason, Jade felt unease. She was restless and she was breathing really hard. Sky was starting to worry for her. At such a young age, she witnessed her biological mother died during labor. Now, she saw the same fate was happening to Jillyanna as well.     

"I'm a bad luck. I am a bad luck. I am a bad luck. Anyone who wanted to become my mother will end up in a bad state. I am a bad luck." She started crying once again and she gripped her head tightly.     

If it wasn't for Sky holding her in her arms, she would bang her head on the headboard of Jillyanna's bed. She had been awake since last night and her eyes were already bloodshot from lack of sleep and stress.     

A small child like her, instead of enjoying her Christmas, she was basking in so much pain. "Sshh. Sshh. It's not your fault sweetheart." Sky mumbled while gently rubbing her back. "Your mom will be fine. Get some sleep and we will visit your mother in the afternoon. Don't blame yourself."     

"Grandma, I am scared. I am scared of losing my mother and baby brother." Jade sobbed in Sky's arms, holding on to the old woman, tightly clutching her clothes to gain some sort of support.     

"Your grandpa called and said that the baby is fine. Don't worry. Your mother is strong so I know she will come out fine as well." Sky added. Even though she was comforting the child, her own heart was breaking into millions of pieces. She was afraid as well.     

They knew that sooner or later, Jillyanna would leave them and follow her parents. But when it actually happened, they were still afraid. They don't want her to leave. Many people still needed her warmth. They couldn't afford to lose her.     

"I don't want my mom to leave me." Jade mumbled between her hiccups and sobs. Her eyes were swollen and her face was a mess.     

Sky couldn't help but pity her. 'Lord, please keep Jillyanna with us. Don't take her yet.' Sky silently prayed while hugging the child.     

Perhaps, out of exhaustion and other mixed feelings, Jade finally fell asleep but it wasn't a peaceful sleep at all. Her brows were pulled together in a tight frown and she was holding Jillyanna's pillow in her arms.     

It was darkness covering all around her. She couldn't even see her own hands which she knew were right in front of her. Jade walked aimlessly, the sound of her footsteps echoed and groaned. Her heavy breathing accompanied with her footsteps was scary and she started to feel scared.     

"Mommy? Daddy?" She called but no one answered her. "Mommy?! Daddy?!" She screamed at the top of her lungs but there wasn't anyone who reached out their hands to pull her out of the darkness.     

Suddenly, she heard whispers and murmurs, still not finding anything, she followed the direction of the voices. Steps after steps, she gradually found a small light of hope. She ran to chase it, getting closer as it gradually appear brighter and wider in front of her.     

What she was looking for wasn't the one she found. What awaited her after that expanse of light was a dimly lit room. A little girl was weeping beside the bed where a woman was lying in a pool of blood beneath her.     

"Mom?" she asked tentatively, worried to startle them but the woman was no longer speaking. The little girl kept sobbing, a girl smaller than her but when it turned around, she saw her own little face.     

She watched her little self wiped away the tears and ran out of the room. She remembered it was when her mother told her to run. Run away from home, ran as far as she can where her father couldn't find her. It was the last plea of her mom.     

She wanted her to run and never show herself in that place again. Otherwise, her father's enemy might use her against him. She didn't understand why her mother did that before. Now, she knew why. Her father owned a casino, a gambling place where people win and lose. He made several enemies and anyone close to her will be used against him.     

Jade walked towards the deceased woman. Just as she was about to touch her, the memory blurred and it shattered into pieces.     

"Jade?" A soft voice called out to her. The voice that she will never forget no matter how much time will pass. "Jade, when you grow up, you have to be strong. Don't let anyone bully you. Be smart and humble. I will forever guide you."     

Jade watched the memory flashing right in front of her. Her tears fell on her cheeks and she wiped it with her small hands. "You said it yourself. That you will guide me forever. But you still left."     

Her young body and mentality couldn't take it anymore. She decided to sat down wherever she was and cried her heart out. "You are all leaving me. No one will stay with Jade. Everyone is leaving me behind."     

"Jade?" This time it was a voice with a hint of laughter. "Jade Venus Madrigal. That is your new name from now on." It was Jillyanna's face who came into view.     

She was gently patting her head, making the small girl raised her head to see her for herself. Jillyanna was smiling at her. Her beautiful face was radiant, her hair was tied in a ponytail, and she was wearing the bracelet that Travis gave him.     

"You are looking at my bracelet again? Do you like it?" Jillyanna asked as if they were really talking to each other. Jade nodded her head, and as if Jillyanna saw her nod her head, she also smiled and answered back. "This is the first ever accessory that your Daddy gave me. He said that it will keep me safe no matter where I am. I am giving this to you now. Keep this for me and no matter what happens, don't lose this."     

"Are you leaving me as well?" Jade asked but the image of Jillyanna didn't answer her question. "Don't me leave me, okay? I will behave and study hard. I will be obedient. I will help with the house chores. Just don't leave me. Mom, don't leave me." Her tears rolled down one after another. She was devastated. She didn't want to wake up. She didn't want to know the painful reality. She wanted to hide herself in that dark place where no one can find her.     

"Jade." Sky called her name anxiously. "Jade, wake up." She wanted the child to sleep earlier but seeing her face crunched up, sobbing silently, probably due to a nightmare, Sky was even more worried. She shake her lightly to wake her up. "Sweetheart. No one is leaving." She tried talking her out but it was to no avail. "Jade?" Sky was alarmed when she wasn't waking up at all. "Jade? Wake up, honey." Sky went downstairs and took an ice cube. She couldn't pour a bucket of water but she can press a cold thing on her face.     

Jade didn't know what happened but she felt her face was getting colder. The image of Jillyanna in front of her wasn't fading as well. It was still talking about random things to her. Things that happened in her reality and was kept in her files of memory.     

She laid herself somewhere and watched Jillyanna talk non-stop, gradually falling asleep, happy to have her as a company to sleep.     

She stirred in her sleep and she flinched from the cold. Her breathing was stabilizing and the frown on her face was disappearing. The panic that Sky felt started to subside and she finally breathed a sigh of relief.     

"What am I suppose to do if Jillyanna will be gone?" she whispered to herself. Not only them, but Travis will suffer, the two children will suffer. Specially Jade. The death of her biological mother left a deep scar in her young heart and mind. They couldn't afford to cause another trauma to the child.     

In the hospital, Travis was sitting on a chair beside Jillyanna's hospital bed. She was still inside the ICU after the doctors successfully saved her from the tight clutches of death. However, ther situation wasn't looking good. Thus, they permitted him to stay inside the room. He had been talking to her, hoping that she would hear him and his pleas.     

"Jill, I still have so many surprise to show you. I haven't spent your birthday yet. It's been so many years since I last celebrated your birthday with you beside me. And now, I thought I have the chance to celebrate it with you. Aren't you going to let me spend your birthday?" He was holding on to her hand and caressed it gently as he spoke. "I still want to travel the world with you. Ever since we got together, we haven't had the chance to spend a long vacation overseas. So many things had happened and we chose to stay in this city for your sake. Jill, come back to me, to us, to your family and friends. You haven't seen our baby yet." He paused for a while, looking at her pale face with a smile. "I fulfilled my promise. A choice which wouldn't make you hate me. How about you? When will you fulfill your promise? When will you wake up and see me?"     

This time, the situation was reversed. It was him who was safe and sound while she was lying on the bed, critical and in the precipice of death. "I understand how you felt when I was the one lying here. I understand the pain. And you know it, too. Won't you spare me from this suffocating agony?"     

He had spent all his morning talking to her and the doctors had been running back 'n forth to rescue her. Still, it was to no avail.