Predestined (18+)

Despondency

Depression.

Is this what its like to wish for an end? Time had passed. I could feel the retreat of life, siphoning from me as I drew in each breath. How much time? How long had I laid rest in this bed? The warmth of linen and feathered coverings cradled my weak frame.

The baby.

A kick would awaken me just enough to inspire my body to turn over, but I dare not open my eyes.

Swarms of memories battled in my head. So many lives blurred into one intertwined reality I could no longer recognize. My face. Could I even remember my true identity? Who am I? What did I become?

Pain.

A sharp jolt of anguish darted through my insides and alas, I had to sit up to examine myself. My itching hand sent a screaching warning up my arm as I used it to sit myself upright.

"Ah." I cried out as I opened my eyes to find an IV tube hanging from my left hand.

My stomach twitched again as I made the discovery, and my right hand clutched at my side as I struggled to breathe through the pain. A tear ran down my cheek and I tried to look around the room for aid, but the fresh water in my eyes blurred my vision.

"Hello?" My voice came out hoarse and I nearly choked as I tried to clear my throat.

"I thought I heard you moving around." A familiar voice entered the room, but not a voice I'd yet met in the real world. I hurried to wipe my eyes and clear my vision, but froze when I saw her closing in on me. "Shh. Its ok Jo. You're safe here." She whispered as she reached for my arm.

Her marble brown eyes looked so concerned. It made no sense. My body couldn't move as I intended. I wanted to run, but my legs remained motionless no matter how many times my brain sent the signal for them to run.

"What the hell am I doing here with you?" I hissed before her warm brown hand had rested on my arm for more than a second.

"I'm so sorry Josephine. Nathaniel said you knew who I was, and I assumed..."

"Bring me Nate then witch. NOW!" I screamed, still trying to rise from the bed.

Her face expressed immense confusion. Her long, shining, black tresses draped over her shoulders and rested at her waist. Her full lips began to pout as she went to stand up straight again. Had I know she'd been my care taker, perhaps I would have been more cordial. Though, I doubt it would have mattered considering the impressions my dreams had implanted in me.

"Of course." She finally said and turned to make her way out if the room.

As soon as the sound of her footsteps on the stone floors echoed her distance from my door, I tore the covers from my body to examine my legs. I'd hoped to find them. Surely the witch hadn't robbed me if my limbs. What I found instead was the inability to clearly view the top half of my thighs. My tummy, round and prominent, waved under my linen gown as I drew in each breath. My legs remained intact, but my brain had already forgotten my concern for them.

Shock filled me, but awe and wonder followed as I placed my hand over the lower part of my bump. Then, my eyes widened as I felt an elbow, maybe a knee, or perhaps even a boney bottom slide under my palm before the feeling disappeared into the recesses of its amniotic dwellings.

"Is she dancing?" His voice drew my attention away from my belly, and I dropped my hand as I looked up to find Nate leaned in the door frame sporting a crooked grin.

"She?" Now my voice broke, not from pain, but an overwhelming emotion I had yet to encounter.

He smiled as he made his was over to my bed and sat down next to me.