Pulling Her HEARTSTRINGS Episode 14

A story written by HAPPY

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🏥 🏥
👧Umbria👧
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“The patient, George Lee has suffered serious complications to his injured legs including series of internal decay due to the fact that he wasn’t treated early enough. We’ll try our best, but there are only two options: an amputation with splinter for fake legs, or being bedridden with the wheelchair as the only source of movement. Either way, it’s inevitable: he’s never going to walk again unless he’s lucky enough to get trained with the splint, through physiotherapy,” the doctor finished emotionlessly.
Mom slumped to the floor in tears while Maggie’s mom, Janet rushed to hold her.
I stood there in shock, not moving, tears trailing sad complicated paths down my cheeks, with me marking no effort to dry them.
“Doctor….. amputate him,” I whispered.
“What?” mom yelled in tears and got up. “That’s my husband ungrateful child!”
“Mom think of it, an amputation would ease his sufferings, no joint pains. He’d walk normally again!”
Mom was vehement.
The doctor excused us, telling us to come to an agreement quickly. Dad’s life was at stake.
Finally, with the help of Mr Taylor, we convinced mom of the advantages of an amputation over wheelchair forever, and she agreed.
Mr Taylor and I went to discuss the payment with the doctor.
The bill was almost impossible; the whole of my money with little money remaining for feeding one month.
But I’d made up my mind; everything I had to give daddy the best. Just like he’d always done for me.

🕔 🕠 🕕 🕡 🕖 🕢 🕗 🕣 🕘
💉HOURS LATER💉

The operation had been carried out throughout the rest of the day. It’s evening.
Doctor David declared the operation successful, and that the patient will wake up in approximately five hours time.
Maggie and Janet and Mr Taylor had gone home, while mom went for food and clothes. We still weren’t talking. She’s angry at me for using the whole money just to cutoff his legs. I don’t blame her. I’ll never blame her anymore cause I understand now that she’s in shock; had been in shock since dad’s accident.

Mom came with food and clothes for me. She stayed a while, then muttered something about locking the door at home and left.
I stayed by dad’s bedside until I fell asleep.

🌞SUNDAY🌞

Fingers stroking through my hair made me smile and purr a little in my sleep. It reminds me of dad, how whenever I returned from middle school exhausted, he’d cuddle me and stroke my hair.

“Umbria.”

Blinking, I lifted up my lazy lids only to see dad staring weakly at me with a small smile on his face.
“Oh my goodness! Daddy,” I whispered, because due to the tangle of emotions my throat was clogged and my voice failed me.
I bent over him lightly hugging him as tears of joy poured out. He rubbed my back soothingly.
“I’m so…..oh daddy, I’m so sorry this —”
“I know. Ssshh, it’s okay.”

The door clicked open and a nurse stepped in with a smile.
“Hi Umbria,” she said to me bcos she knows me: she’s the nurse that had been checking on dad. “Mr Lee, a pleasant morning. How do you feel?” she asked while taking his vital signs.
“I feel…..strange,” said dad.
Nurse Bela smiled and said “I’ll go tell Dr David that you’re awake.”
She excused herself.

With shaky hands, dad lifted up the blanket around his legs, and gasped.
I did too. The joints of wood and metals looked so foreign. We exchanged looks; him shocked and me sad as I explained everything.

“Dad I gave everything for you. It’s the least I could do to show you love for all you did for me before all this. I love you so much daddy.’
We hugged. ” I’m so proud of you, Umbria.”

💈 🏮 💈 🏮 💈 🏮 💈 🏮

Daddy was to stay in the hospital for monitoring, and a week of physiotherapy, then after he’d return home and I’d have to pay for months of therapy before he’d walk well
I’d returned home, broadcasting the good news to Maggie, Janet and Mr Taylor who were happy. I stopped by the bakery, accidentally meeting Carl. I sighed and called him.
“Look Carl, about the other day, I’m sorry for overreacting when you….”
“No Umbria, I’m sorry I was just jealous and… I’m so sorry I shouldn’t have. .I respect your wishes okay?”
I breathed out. ”Can we pretend it never happened? ” I saw a look of hurt flash across his eye, but he masked it. “Yeah. Friends?”
I smiled. “Friends,” we shook hands and hugged briefly.

Meeting with Bruce B, I thanked him for the days off, and to his greatest delight I accepted the ‘Royal Call to Serve’😸
After school tomorrow, I’ll stop by in the evening. Just to get a hang of what exactly I’m to do.
Stopping by the house, I cooked a chicken chow mein and packed it in a cooler for dad, and I also took my uniform and whatever I’ll need.
Obviously, I’ll be spending more time in the hospital.

🏫PRIMROSE COLLEGE🏫
📍Victor📌
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Being the quiet boy I am, it was usually easy to hide my emotions under the pretext of being quiet.
But the huge bummer was that it’d be mighty obvious if so much as a crack appeared in my facade.
I don’t have any bad or broken past that would make me hate girls or stuff like that: I just haven’t found one interesting enough to move me yet.
And I wasn’t a player either, like Os, Stan and Chris. That doesn’t mean I didn’t do girls; I conducted my affairs discretely.

But now…… now there’s Umbria.
I don’t know…. is it her good looks? Personality? Refusal to be vulnerable? Fighting spirit that drew me to her? It wasn’t love at first sight; I’m not even sure it’s love.
It’s like a need to care for her all the time, to see her happy.

So perhaps that’s love; just not the romantic feeling.
.
The COVS boys and I sat together in the central grade, discussing things ranging from music to money to girls to fun. Although Stan and Chris talked most. Oscar just sat, leaning back in his chair, looking deep in thought with his earphone on his ear, nodding to whatever it was he’s nodding to.

Jessica and her clique were doing their jobs, grabbing the attention of the class with their annoying voices and their talk of the latest fashion she’d walked the runway with from the Teen’s Girls catalog.

“Yo Os,” Stan said tapping his arm.
“Hmm?”
“Kitty, on ANgeLS😈. She’s a trending slut…sluttier that that bitch Nat. I’m thinking of hitting her tonight. It’s sort of a compare and contrast issue,” he finished and laughed.
” Yeah, good for you. I haven’t been visiting that porn and escorts website for a while now,” he said thoughtfully, and sounded surprised that he did.
“Why? Does this have anything to do with what I said the other day?” I asked smiling.
“Nope, been damn busy.”
” Screwing Jessica? ” Chris asked.
“Duh, I’m gonna officially dump her sorry ass publicly soon. She’s driving me crazy with her bully of Umbria.”
“Uh oh, here she comes,” Stan announced.
Jessica was trotting stylish towards our row of seats, a seductive smile on her face.

Oscar rolled his eyes.
And starred for a split second.

Umbria had just strolled into the class, eyes on her schedule. Then she scoffed and hurried out.
Probably read the wrong timetable.

Oscar got up, leaving the headphone dangling around his neck.
”Where’re u going? ” Christopher asked.
“Turning on the charm,” he replied with a smirk and walked past Jessi without a glance.
Jessica’s face was on fire as the whole class laughed at her.

😊Umbria😊
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I just didn’t wanna go to school today.
Wanted to stay and watch dad undergoing therapy, to be there for him when he fell😒
He was the one who’d pressured me into following Bela to the bathroom to shower and wear my uniform and come to school.

And now, here I am carrying my Science textbook to class instead of my calculus notebooks.

Angrily, I shoved the book into my locker and slammed the door, only to be met with a lopsidedly smiling Oscar behind.
“Hey babe, what’s popping?”
——–
TBC