THE VAN door opened.Michelle was carrying Marsha as they went out. Ethan took all of his suitcases on the passenger seat. One of his men took his things and went inside the airport.They walked inside and sent Ethan to the boarding gate. Marsha pouted her lips, almost on the verge of crying. Their daughter didn’t want him to go away even if it was just for a couple of days. She was a daddy’s girl and could not last a day without seeing her father. It might have been because she had lived for years without a father that she became clingy towards Ethan, and that she was still a child who always yearned for father’s attention.Ethan cupped Marsha’s face, smiling thinly as he noticed their daughter’s expression. It didn’t take long before she started to sob.“Oh, please don’t cry, my love,” Michelle said softly. She wiped her daughter’s tears away and fixed Marsha’s hair.“Daddy,” Marsha sobbed even more.Ethan took her from Michelle and carried her into his arms. The little girl immedia
"DID you hear what I said, Mich?"Michelle blinked twice and turned to the doorway of the kitchen. Her father was standing in front of the door, giving her a curious look. The old man’s lips formed a thin line. His eyes became filled with worry."Yes, Dad?""I think you should take a rest today," he said. "You look pale. Are you okay?"She cleared her throat and softly said, "I’m fine, Dad. You have nothing to worry about. I’m just a bit dizzy since I only had a few hours of sleep last night."It was Thursday, and Michelle didn’t feel right. She was feeling under the weather when she woke up that morning. She vomited in the bathroom right before going downstairs to prepare Marsha’s breakfast. Even if she wanted to stay in bed and sleep for hours, Marsha’s birthday was only two days away. There were a lot of things to prepare. She didn’t want to disappoint her husband when he got home."Are you sure?" Her father looked as though he wasn’t convinced by her explanation.She didn’t want h
"SHE FELT nothing but happiness…Michelle tried three more pregnancy tests and they all had one result.She was pregnant.She and Ethan would finally have another baby. Marsha’s wish came true!Her tears kept falling down her cheeks. A smile escaped her lips as she kept caressing her lower belly.Her best friend knocked on the bathroom door, getting so impatient because she had been inside for almost twenty minutes.“Hey, are you okay?” Megan asked worriedly and knocked on the door once again.Michelle wiped her tears away and grabbed all the pregnancy test. She was beyond excited and would want Ethan to find out about it first but she was not good at lying in front of Megan.She took a deep breath and opened the bathroom door. Megan threw her a curious look. Michelle sobbed and smiled.Her best friend’s eyes widened in surprise. She no longer need to beam out the great news as it was already written in her face.“Oh my God!” Megan exclaimed in glee and immediately embraced her tightl
“MOMMY, time to wake up…”The sweet little voice of her daughter made her slowly open her eyes. She felt the lightness of her body, especially her head. Her eyes went from the ceiling to her side, where she saw Marsha, who smiled in surprise seeing her regain her consciousness.“Mommy! You’re awake,” she exclaimed happily and then turned to someone who was inside the bedroom. “She’s awake, Mama Megan!”Michelle slowly moved her head to the other side. Megan was leaning against the wall with crossed arms against her chest. Her eyes found the calm afternoon sky through the glass of window right next to Megan. It was beautiful, and she would have appreciated its beauty, if not for her recalling what had happened before she passed out.Her chest suddenly filled with anxiety. She didn’t know why but she feared that something might have happened, and her instinct told her it was bad… very bad that it made her breathless once again.“How are you feeling now?” Megan’s voice was low, concerned
SHE covered her mouth. Tears ran down her cheeks like a rapid river. Her heart clenched and her knees went jelly. Michelle almost fell to the floor, if not for her father, who grabbed and held her immediately. The news was telling her that something bad had happened to her husband. Every bit of information lingered and echoed in her ears, as if trying to kill her. She sobbed, slowly knelt on the floor with her eyes that couldn’t look away from the TV. The man on the screen was none other than her husband. It was really Ethan. The airplane that was about to land crashed before it made an attempt to turn to the landing area. It sank all the way to the ocean, which wasn’t far away from the airport. Her heart felt like tearing apart and all she could do was sob out loud. "Dad! Ethan… Where’s Ethan?!" She cried. Her father could only embrace and soothe her. Their entire family turned into a mess all at once. The Steinfields and Michelle went to the area where the airplane crashed. Th
IT HAD been a month since the accident had happened, and yet they still couldn’t find Ethan.Michelle took every chance she had and searched for her husband. Her father had always accompanied her whenever she went to the village near the sea where the plane crashed. They had asked numerous people whether they had seen her husband by showing them his picture, but to no avail.That was her daily routine for the past three weeks. She would wake up early in the morning and do everything she could to search for her husband, yet every time they would go home, she’d feel devastated knowing that there wasn’t any progress at all.Even the search team found it hard to search for Ethan’s body.It actually became her biggest hope...If there was no body that could be found, it was possible that he was still out there, alive and probably recovering somewhere else. She thought she just needed to double time and find him sooner.Michelle didn’t want to give up. She didn’t want to think that Ethan wo
AS SOON as they went home, Michelle rushed upstairs and vomited in the bathroom.Her tummy didn’t feel well after having a fight with her dad on the way home. She could feel the dizziness in her head. After sitting next to the toilet for a couple of minutes, Michelle gathered her strength, forcing her feet to stand up and wash her face in the lavatory.She looked at her reflection in the mirror. All she saw was the face of a woman who had obviously turned into a mess. The dark circles under her eyes were a constant reminder that she hadn’t been able to sleep well after the accident. Her hair was a mess, like it hadn’t been touched by a comb in so long. Her lips, which used to be scarlet, turned pale and chopped. She was aware she had lost weight too.But the worst thing ever... she almost felt like she was losing herself every day that passed that she couldn’t find Ethan.She shut her eyes. Tears started to fall down her cheeks. Michelle wasn’t that numb to ignore the searing pain ins
AFTER two weeks…"Mrs. Steinfield, can we get your statement regarding the painful death of your husband?" one of the reporters asked her as she exited the familiar company building.Michelle had to come to a company meeting to hear the plans of the board and the temporary CEO. They wanted to make sure that the business was still operating as expected, as the market value had been bearish since the disappearance of Ethan Steinfield.She didn’t answer any of the questions coming from the reporters who were chasing her and wanted to hear a word from her. No words could explain how she felt about her situation. All she knew was that it was damn painful, unbearable and was like a living nightmare for her.Michelle bumped and swerved through the crowd of reporters. Flashes of cameras and microphones pointed at her were blocking her way until a pair of arms held her shoulders and swiftly guided her all the way to her car.The next thing she knew was that she was already sitting in the passe