The Mother | Teen Ink

The Mother

July 21, 2022
By MosesBanford BRONZE, Caldwell, Idaho
MosesBanford BRONZE, Caldwell, Idaho
3 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Long ago, in a small town, there lived a woman named Elizabeth, and her husband Johnathen. The two were inseparable. When they discovered Elizabeth was pregnant, the couple rejoiced, happy as could be.

With each passing month, the two grew more excited for their first child to arrive. Fate however, had different plans in mind. One sad night, Jonathen awoke to Elizabeth’s cries and screams. In the bathroom he found her, tears falling down her cheeks, and blood splattered over the floor. The baby was lost.

Both were shaken, and devastated for a season. Their heartache never left, but it did ease, and when it did, they decided to try for another child. Upon discovering she was pregnant again, the two rejoiced and prayed that this child they may keep.

Months passed, until the day finally arrived when the baby was to be delivered. The couple anxiously rushed to the hospital. When the baby arrived, it arrived in pieces. The doctor looked up at Elizabeth, his hands and shirt covered in blood, and said two words.

“I’m sorry.” 

After being cleaned up, Elizabeth and Johnathen returned home, hearts heavy, and cheeks wet. Their terrible trials however didn’t end. Only a few days later, Johnathen received a draft letter. He was to leave in one weeks time. 

Elizabeth was heartbroken. Many who were sent to the war, never returned. She stood at the train station, eyes red and puffy, waving goodbye to Johnathen. Almost a week after he left, Elizabeth discovered she was once more pregnant

At first she fell into despair, fearing she would lose this one as she did the others. Months passed, until the day arrived when it was time to deliver the baby. She entered the hospital. After a few hours in the stiff hospital bed, the baby was successfully delivered. For the first time, Elizabeth was finally able to hold her own very child in her arms. It was a girl. Her name was Alice. 

Elizabeth loved the child with all her heart, and attended to all her needs. She pushed Alice in a stroller her father had built long ago, and sang sweet lullabies to put the child to sleep.

Soon Alice was old enough to attend the local school. Every day Elizabeth packed her daughter a lunch, and hugged her goodbye as she left for school. Most of her time she spent sitting on the porch, reading, knitting, or simply staring at the sky, waiting for Alice to return home. One day, after Alice was put to bed, there came a knock at the door. When Elizabeth opened the door, she found Johnathen standing before her. Jonathan tightly wrapped his arms around her, eyes filling up with tears. Elizabeth was speechless, but overjoyed. Against all odds, their family was finally whole. This happiness was not to last.

As time passed, Alice began to become sick. John began to become weak. Elizabeth was able to schedule an appointment with a doctor, but he wouldn’t be able to see them for another three days. Their sickness progressed rapidly. Elizabeth did her best to attend to their needs, giving them soups and erbs, but the illness continued to worsen. 

Finally, the day arrived when the doctor could come. Speedily Elizabeth led him to her room where Alice and Johnathen were resting, only to find the room to be empty. They had vanished. Panicked, Elizabeth frantically searched the house. She rushed outside into the gloomy and foggy air, and ran round town searching for them. Just when she was about to give up, she saw a figure standing in the distance, in a large empty field. She approached him only to find it was Johnathen. He turned to her, sorrowful.

“Elizabeth, you can’t keep doing this.” He whispered. He gestured to the ground. When Elizabeth looked down, she saw a gravestone. Alice’s gravestone. Elizabeth stumbled back. 

“Elizabeth, Elizabeth, you can’t keep doing this. You must come back to reality.” He said.

She looked around herself, trembling. When she stared back at Johnathen, his skin was colorless, three bullet holes in his chest, and one in his head. Elizabeth fell to the ground shaking.

“No, you can’t be dead.” She cried, and then pointed at the gravestone, “And I carried her home!”

“She died an hour after being born, remember?” Jonathan replied softly, “Elizabeth, you can’t continue this. You're very sick. You must let go of us.”

Elizabeth buried her face in her hand, Jonathan tightly hugged her. When Elizabeth looked up, she was in her room, lying on her bed. Doctors surrounded her. 

She made a quick recovery and never saw, or never said she saw, Alice or Johnathen ever again. However, that didn’t stop some of the residents from seeing, or hearing the ghosts of Alice and Johnathen. 

Some say that when the fog sets in on the town, and the air becomes unearthly cold, Alice appears at that endless field, waiting for the day she will reunite with mother.


The author's comments:

I am an aspiring author and recently attended BYU's Young Authors Academy. I write mainly Sci-Fi, Thriller stories. Aside from writing I enjoy composing music and playing Piano.


Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 0 comments.