Chapter 25

(Wednesday)

It was 5:27 am; I woke up feeling discomfort; I sat on the bed, with an intense pain spreading all over my stomach, even breathing made it worse; I was afraid for I had never felt such pain, I started feeling bad, sweating cold, I looked at the bed, the girls were sleeping peacefully, I didn't want to wake them up, and so I walked to the bathroom, leaned against the sink and when I looked up at the mirror, I got thrilled by my pale face.

And I wondered, What's happening to me? , Aunt Luh hadn't arrived yet, neither the sun hadn't come out, and the malaise is getting worse and worse; I turned on the tap and washed my face, but the maneuver of lowering my head wasn't a good idea; it made me more nauseous, seconds later I started vomiting everything I had eaten last night. To my surprise, there was blood on it, which made me extremely scared, but the running tap flushed it all away, soon the girls heard my noise, and they rushed to help me, but they didn't notice the blood I vomited, they helped me wash my face and mouth and going back to bed.

I was in shock, asking myself a thousand questions about that blood, if it was real blood or something else, my stomach still hurt staring towards the bathroom, thoughtfully

Paula: Isa? Are you ok?

Isabella: being honest, I don't think so

Rafaela: what are you feeling, sweety?

Paula: do you want us to take you to the hospital?

Isabella: I'm in a lot of pain

Paula: where?

Isabella: in the stomach

Rafaela: I think you need to go to the hospital

Isabella: I'll do some checkups later; I don't want to go to the hospital; you know I'm not too fond of needles.

Paula: but you're not ok Isabella, are you sure you don't want to go?

Isabella: I am; I just want to lie down; I don't think I'm going to school today girls, let them know that I'm not fine

Rafaela: all right, now will lie down and rest to see if this pain goes away.

After a few hours, the girls went down for breakfast, and I remained alone in the room; I grabbed my cell phone from the nightstand and texted Nicolas.

Isabella: Good morning, my love; I woke up feeling bad. And I decided to stay home. I'm not going to school; I'm in a lot of pain

Nicolas: good morning princess, I'll finish breakfast and stop by your house before going to college, then you can tell me what's going on, ok?

Isabella: Ok, thank you, honey, I'll be waiting for you

- we're on our way, Paula said right after opening the bedroom door

Isabella: it's ok, thanks for coming to sleep with me and all that.

Rafaela: are you feeling better?

Isabella: I am

Rafaela: good, keep us posted.

Isabella: I'll be fine, don't worry, Aunt Luh will spend the day here. Usually, she doesn't leave until 6 pm, and Nicolas will come to see me in the afternoon

Rafaela: great.

Paula: we will come back to sleepover at night, be safe sister, bye

Rafaela: bye, see you later

Isabella: ok, see you later, friends

[...]

Nickolas: Hi, my love, he said, kissing me shortly after the girls left. Your face is very downcast, in a concerned tone.

Isabella: My tummy still hurts, I said as I sat in a chair in the living room.

Nicolas: What did you eat for breakfast? he sat on the couch and took his backpack off.

Isabella: Nothing, I didn't even have breakfast; I woke up like this with a blinding stomachache.

Nicolas: Have you taken any medication?

Isabella: No. I tried to find that medicine, but I couldn't.

Nicolas: Do you want me to go and buy you some?

Isabella: if you would please, as long as it's not going to disturb you too much.

Nicolas: Wait a minute, and I'll be right back, ok, he said, giving me a peck.

Some minutes later, he arrived

Nicolas: Ok, take it he said, handing me a pill. It's here in case you feel something again.

Isabella: Thank you, my love, I said, receiving them from his hands.

Nicolas: You haven't had breakfast, right?

Isabella: no

Nicolas: promise me you'll have a hearty breakfast before taking this medicine

Isabella: I promise, low spirited

Nicolas: I don't think I heard you right

Isabella: I promise I'll have a considered breakfast

Nicolas: and don't eat junk, eat healthy things

Isabella: that's ok, my love

Nicolas: I have to go now, ok?

Isabella: thanks for coming, will you come to see me at night?

Nicolas: Absolutely princess, I'm not going to spend all day there today; I'll come to see you in the afternoon, ok? You're not going to work out like that, are you?

Isabella: no, no. I'll just be waiting for you, see you later, he kissed goodbye

Nicolas: I love you, he replied affectionately, kissing me back

Isabella: I love you!

After Nicolas had left, I went to the kitchen trying to eat something; I had juice, a tapioca* with eggs and cheese, and some grapes; Aunt Luh and I talked in the meantime. When I finished, I took one of the pills Nicolas had bought and gone back upstairs to my room; my belly was sore even though the pain has eased; I thought about calling my parents, but I only would worry them, I also thought that I should have told Nicolas about the blood I saw. Still, it was so fast that I ended up not mentioning anything; when he comes in the afternoon, I'll tell him. I sat on the bed once more, thoughtful and questioning myself about that blood, I literally felt butterflies in my stomach and a cold chill taking over me, but I preferred not to imagine bad things. I settled into a comfortable position, closed my eyes, and prayed to God:

"God, Thank you for another day; I don't feel well today, neither physically nor emotionally, physically, pain and malaise are consuming me, and emotionally it saddens my soul, but I deliver everything in your hands, and I trust you, if it fulfills your will in my life, give me strength and perseverance, faith and positivity, and may the good days be ten times the amount of the bad ones, may your peace reign over my heart and my life through my days, amen."

I put on my headphones, grabbed a book, and started reading, so as the hours go by faster until lunchtime, I couldn't concentrate on reading, so I put the book back where it was. And just listened to music, looking at the sunbeams passing through the window. Little by little, the sleeping sultan caught my eyes in its tender way, and I didn't even notice when I blacked out.

I woke up hours later at 1 pm, had a light meal, and watched TV with aunt Luh; at 3:45 pm, Nicolas arrived; we went to the bedroom and sat on the bed.

Nicolas: how are you feeling now? Did you get better?

Isabella: yes, I'm feeling better

Nicolas: Did you eat properly?

Isabella: yes, I had breakfast right after you left and had some lunch.

Nicolas: Why this sad face then? He asked when he saw me thoughtful.

Isabella: it's no big deal, sweetheart

Nicolas: don't you want to tell me?

Isabella: when I woke up, the sun wasn't even out yet; I was feeling terrible in horrible pain, and a considerable amount of blood came out with the vomit; I think I'm really sick

Nicolas: blood? He cried out, Why didn't you tell me right away? This is very serious Isabella, why didn't your friends take you to the hospital?

Isabella: they didn't know either; the tap was on, and the water flushed everything away.

Nicolas: are you sure it was blood? Was it too much or too little?

Isabella: I think so, it was very much alive, but it wasn't a lot

Nicolas: you need to go to the doctor; if it is blood, you must know what's causing you the bleeding. When are your parents coming?

Isabella: maybe tomorrow

Nicolas: maybe? Don't you want to go today?

Isabella: I'm scared, and I'm not too fond of needles; my voice was shacking

Nicolas: Do you know what I do when I feel sad and scared?

Isabella: What?

Nicolas: First, I pray, and I unburden to God, then I read the Bible, I look for words of comfort in it, something that soothes my heart.

Isabella: And do you feel better afterward?

Nicolas: yes

Isabella: I'm still kind of aimless in this new experience my love. I think I need to know God better.

Nicolas: I see, it's just a matter of time. And no matter what we're going through, whether it's good weather or bad, we have to be perpetually seeking and worshiping the Lord. But if you feel that you need to seek Him more and know Him, just do it, pray more, adore more; that's how you will get to know the Lord more. That's also how he blesses us.

Isabella: Shall we do this now?

Nicolas: Yes, we will. Get your Bible.

Isabella: ok, just a minute; I went to get the Bible in my room.

I went upstairs, grabbed my Bible, went down to the living room again, and sat in the same place as before. When I came back, he already had his Bible open

Isabella: do you always have the book with you? I said right after I sat down and saw him flipping through his Bible.

Nicolas: Yes, I always leave this one in the car. Opens to Psalms, chapter 23, he said sitting in front of me with the Bible on his legs crossed.