The cry was faint but I heard it loud and clear as I walked past the dark bushes. My steps faltered. It was late and I wasn’t sure if it was a smart thing to stop and inspect the source of the helpless sound. I decided to give it a try and I continued to move. Could it be another innocent child abandoned by a single mother? Could it be an aged grandmother lamenting the sudden loss of her only living descendant? Could it be a little teenager whose heart was broken by the infamous boy next door? Whose cry was it?
As I moved forward, I could hear my heart pounding. I was scared of the unknown. What if a snake suddenly slithers across the overgrown grasses? What if a stray wild animal suddenly appeared infront of me? What do I do then? I shivered but I was determined to find the source of the cry. The cry pulled strings in my heart and I found my legs directing me towards the source of the unease in my heart.
I found her, the source of the cry. She was a middle aged woman with a dark skin that shone under the moonlight. Her brown eyes were filled with tears as they wet her long eye lashes. Her lips were parted as she stared at me in surprise. It was amusing to behold her expression when she saw me and it took a lot of self control for me not to laugh. I soon push the thought out of my mind as I focused on the main reason why I came towards that area.
"Ma'am, could you please tell me your reason for sitting in the bush and crying so late at night?" I asked. As much as I desired to know the cause of her sorrows, I could not point my fingers to the reason why a full grown woman would cry like a baby in the dark.
"You know, I lost my child at a very young age. The doctor told me she died at birth and immediately she was sent for burial by my husband. I couldn't accept that fact and I mourned for a very long period of time. My sadness turned into frustration when I couldn't conceive again after her death. I lived my life in misery but survived due to my supportive husband, or so I thought. A few days ago, my husband was on his deathbed. He had leukaemia and couldn't find a matching donor for a bone marrow no matter how hard we tried. You see, our lives are filled with challenges and mysteries. When I got married to my husband and had my daughter, who's late now, we were very poor and could hardly afford a meal. However, after my child's death, we suddenly became rich but couldn't give birth. When my husband was dying, money couldn't save his life! " The woman lamented but she wasn't done. I was surprised at how quickly she opened up to me but I was glad I could share in her sorrows.
"My dear, on his deathbed, my husband confessed to me that he sold our daughter..." The woman choked up as fresh tears flowed from her reddened eyes. I was shocked beyond words. How could a father do such a thing to his own flesh and blood? What circumstances could have driven him to such a thing?
" I was shocked and devastated that he could sell my own offspring, my child. He said he did it for money and felt we could have other kids but we didn't. Not only did he sell my daughter but he went to have his own kids outside our matrimonial home when he realised I couldn't conceive after birthing my daughter". She smiled as she looked up at me.
How could a man be so heartless? The woman was oblivious that she was living with a demon in human form for years.
"But I'm glad, I've found her." I was happy for the woman and before I could share in her joy she dropped a bombshell that I am certain would take a lot of time for me to recover from.
"And you are her!" The distressed woman had pronounced. Those words kept ringing in my brain.
And you are her?
What?
How could that be?
Those I knew as my parents are dead and I'm the only child. How could it be? I was sold like a commodity? Tossed around like garbage by a father who preferred wealth above me? I couldn't accept this. She told me it was her intuition. She said she felt the bond and even the resemblance spoke volumes but I was not going to accept that fact.
There was only one way to confirm and that's to conduct a DNA test.
I took the woman to her home after our discussion and went to my home where I couldn't even catch a sleep.
And you are her!
Those words shattered my whole world and identity and even after confirming that I was indeed the daughter of the innocent distressed woman and the greedy man, I couldn't come to terms with it for a long time.
The Encounter with my birth mother changed my life but to be sincere, I couldn't wish for a better encounter…


#writcostoryprompt#

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