ManyWriters

On the day my spouse delivered a child for her dying former sweetheart, my wife's parents positioned multiple guards outside the birthing suite. Even after the birth, I didn't appear to cause any commotion.
My mother-in-law clutched my wife's hand, exhaling in relief. "Rest easy, Ottilie. We're here to ensure he doesn't come near you."
"Your dad even has people watching the hospital entrance. If he attempts to interfere with you having this baby, we'll alert the authorities!"
Ottilie nodded faintly, but she still instinctively looked towards the lift. Seeing it vacant, she finally eased up.
She struggled to comprehend why I couldn't just back her decision to help her ex-lover leave a legacy.
Observing the crying infant in the nurse's arms, she grinned contentedly. She believed that if I visited her the next day, she would forgive our previous disagreements. She'd even be willing to let me be the child's dad.
However, she was unaware that I had just submitted my application to join Doctors Without Borders.
In a week, I would relinquish my citizenship and become a stateless physician, never to return.

A Husband's Escape

After an exhausting flight lasting over ten hours, my group and I finally touched down.


The contrast between our destination and the serenity of our homeland was stark. We had entered a zone of conflict and warfare, where one's life could be snuffed out in an instant without proper caution.


As we rested in the vehicle, the head of the medical team who greeted us provided a briefing on our upcoming location.


He also distributed firearms to each of us.


His words resonated deeply when he emphasized that while our mission to save lives was crucial, our own safety took precedence.


This sentiment stirred memories of my marriage to Ottilie, when I had considered her my whole world.


Hadn't I once valued her above my own existence?


The dirt road was lined with injured individuals, their limbs wrapped in blood-soaked bandages.


It was only then that I learned a bombing had just occurred in the area.


Chapter 6