ONE HUNDRED AND TWELVE

DYLAN'S POV

I was terribly missing Anisha, and I started to wonder if she too was missing me. When she had promised to come back to Lakeworld, she later on postponed by a few days. Although I had said it was fine, in my heart I really wanted her to come back like yesterday. But when she told me that she had finally met Amelia, I was the happiest person. Anisha's determination to find Amelia was too great, and with how strong willed she was, I knew that I was not going to be able to convince her to just leave the matter. Now that Amelia was found, I knew I could have my girl back with me. If it wasn't for the loads of work that I had, I would have flown to Hallowcave to see Anisha, for I was failing to bear not having her with me. I smiled to myself and took my phone so that I could call her.

Just at that same moment, a receptionist informed me that a couple was there to see me.

"A couple? What is it about?" I asked, for I was not expecting anyone. And besides, I hardly ever got visitors at my office.

"They said they are Mr and Mrs Woodruff. They have a little boy."

"Oh the Woodruffs! Send them in!" I stood up to meet them.

"We're very sorry for just showing up without an appointment," Mr Woodruff started to talk.

"It's OK. You're welcome, please take seats."

Liam ran to me and I picked him up. He started calling my name continuously.

After a while of chatting and catching up, Mr Woodruff went into the details of their visit. Before he started talking, I could tell that the topic of his talk was heavy on his heart. I could read pain on the man's face.

"What is it, Mr Woodruff?"

"I will get straight to the point, doctor. We have been trying to reach Anisha, but her number won't go through. And you're the only person we know who is close to Anisha." The man stared long and hard at me. I had expected him to proceed, yet he remained silent.

"I'm listening", I encouraged him.

"Sir, we are sad to tell you that, our fostering period for Liam is up, and we have no intention of extending it. We would have loved to; but we cannot."

Immediately he said those words, Mrs Woodruff sniffed and started to cry. The husband gently stroked his wife's back and continued, "We have to say goodbye to Liam. We just thought it would be proper for you to know. Anisha seems very much attached to Liam. We thought it is only fair to inform her of this new development."

Mrs Woodruff raised her head and doing her best to suppress the tears, she started talking, "We would have loved to extend, but then Liam has failed to adjust. He still calls me Nisha, he still cries a lot and sometimes refuses to eat. I have tried everything, doctor de Milo; everything! But it's not easy. It seems to us like Liam has a bond with Anisha, which is too strong. We thought by now he would have warmed up to us, but we have failed. Sometimes I think it was a mistake to allow Anisha to see him every Sunday. I mean…maybe Anisha could have kept her distance, so that Liam sort of forgets her…I don't know...I just don't know."

The woman's eyes were tearful, but when Liam, who was busy playing with a toy car, looked up at her and called out, "Nisha!", Mrs Woodruff quickly smiled and avoided the tears at all costs.

"I'm sorry to hear that", I stated to them.

"I can give you an example," Mrs Woodruff carried on. "When I try to feed Liam, sometimes he flatly refuses. But if Anisha walks in and takes that same food and feeds him, he eats all of it! It's painful. My husband and I have concluded that, even if we continue fostering Liam, it's more of a selfish move. We will be doing it for ourselves, not for him. He is not happy with us, doctor de Milo. Liam is not happy with us." She slowly shook her head.

"What have you planned to do?" I asked calmly.

Mr Woodruff heaved a sigh and said, "We thought it would be best to let the child go. Maybe a new set of parents might be able to make him happy. He's just a child, he can't even talk, but we can tell that he is not happy with us. If you want to see Liam laughing, it will be on a Sunday. He laughs a lot when Anisha is around, but once Anisha leaves, he becomes sad."

"But then, even if he goes to a new home, wont it just worsen the situation? He will have to start off with new parents, and it will take him time to adjust to the new environment. When he is with you, is it not better? He already knows you."

The couple looked at each other. They were both about to start speaking at the same time, but the husband ended up giving his wife a chance; "we thought about that, doctor de Milo. But for now I think this is the best decision. It's the best for us. It's the best especially for Liam."

We spoke about the issue at length. Although I really wished Anisha was present to hear about the story too, I decided not to call her. I thought it was best to tell her about it once I saw her. In the end, I asked the Woodruffs to extend their period by six months. My reasons were for them to wait for Anisha to come back. It was prudent to have her go and see Liam before he was taken into another home. I felt Anisha would have wanted it that way too. And also to me, the decision to move her to another home sounded more selfish; for if the little man had taken that long to get used to the Woodruffs, was it not torturing him to ask him to get used to a new set of parents? I explained all that to the Woodruffs and they agreed to the extension.

As soon as they left my office, I was getting ready to work on my laptop. Although I held the title of Hospital CEO, my dad was running the shore. I was still under his stern eye, and him being him, he left no room for errors. I straightened my back and typed in my password, before my phone rang. It was my mother.

Since the time she had given me a very painful earful; we had never spoken again. She had not tried to reach me; neither had I tried to reach her. I watched as my phone vibrated violently on the desk, and I suddenly felt chills. I was not in a mood for a fight. I could not pick up the phone. I knew that once I picked it, she would say a lot of hurtful things. I decided to ignore it. The phone rang again a second time, and a third time. I buried my head in my hands, and told myself that maybe it was best I just pick it.

A thought crossed my mind. What if something had happened to her? Maybe she needed my help? I struggled between returning her calls and just ignoring; and before I could make up my mind, the phone started to ring again. I answered it.

"Mum."

"Dylan! I want to know; from the time you left the manor until now, are you still deciding who you want in your life, between me and that girl?" she went straight to the point.

I sighed, immediately regretting why I had picked the call.

"Mum please, don't make me choose between you and her. I want both of you in my life. I…"

"You can't have both of us, Dylan. I cannot be in your life if she is in it too. We are two very different people; and you know that; I know that, and that girl also knows that. I was clear to you. You either choose me, or her. And telling from the way you have been so silent, I can conclude that you have made up your mind. And your choice is that girl. Am I right? I am right, am I not? Tell me I am wrong, Dylan?"

"Mum I love you. You are my mother; how can I not want you in my life?"

"And that girl?"

"I also love her, mum. Please, understand me. It's a different kind of love, you know that mum."

"Well she obviously means more to you. I still don't know what you see in her."

"If you give her a chance, and get to know her mum, you will see that she is more than just a pretty face. Mum please, don't make this difficult for us both."

There was a fairly long silence, followed by a low mocking chuckle, then

"Make the right choice, Dylan. It's either me or her in your life. It can never be both of us."

She immediately ended the call.