Silver lining

And as for him not practicing again, that's not totally true" continued Dr Rivers.

"Although he rarely takes on cases after the disappearance of his last disciple and has been living in seclusion, it doesn't mean he has stopped practicing. It's just that he is no longer open to the general public as before."

"This hospital is one of the ones he established before venturing into alternative medicine, so he comes around thrice a year for medical consultations with the top doctors in this hospital and also for him to attend to some challenging cases."

"And today happens to be one of those days. I must say, you are indeed very fortunate young lady."

"Absolutely and like the saying goes; there's always a silver lining in every cloud," supported Dr Samrall from the side.

'I totally agree with you on that, considering the series of events that has been happening in my life these two days. Each time I thought it was all over, God will always create a beautiful twist for me.'

Kathleen dared to hope again and the relief she felt at that moment was indescribable.

————-

They spent two weeks in the hospital and Elizabeth stayed with Kathleen the entire time she was on admission. She even insisted they share the same private ward and arranged for two personal nurses to attend to them.

When Kathleen saw the genuine concern and love Elizabeth had for and showed to her, every resistance she had against her collapsed completely, and she felt safe confiding in her.

She remembered the conversation they had in the hospital room two days after she was revived in the theater.

While serving her some fruit, Elizabeth had said,

"I've noticed that nobody has asked of you since the crash, why not give your relatives a call since you already lost your phone. I believe they'll be worried sick by now after not hearing from you for so long."

Kathleen felt a lump in her throat and said after some time, "Nothing of the sort will happen because I have no family. I'm all alone in this world."

"How do you mean?" Elizabeth's action of cutting the fruit halted.

"I was raised by a single mother, who smothered me with love and affection, indulging me in every thing I wanted. We weren't rich but had enough to keep us from begging. She gladly sacrificed her personal comfort to see me through med school; at times working two jobs to ensure I lacked nothing."

"After I graduated from Medical school two years ago, I applied for my internship and was accepted in a Pharmaceutical Research Institute at Baltimore."

"I rushed home that day to share the good news with my mother only to be told by our neighbors that she fainted and had been rushed to the hospital."

"She was diagnosed with cancer and it was at the very last stage, three months after that she died. It wasn't until she was lying on her death bed that I found out I wasn't her biological daughter but was picked up from an orphanage gate."

"After her death, it dawned on me that I was all alone in this world; I was devastated and didn't know what to do." A nostalgic feeling enveloped Kathleen when recalling her past.

"The only thing that kept me going was my job at the research institute and the admonitions from my adoptive mother before she died. She had always taught me that diligence and a clear conscience will see me through every obstacles in life. Though she wasn't my biological mother, yet she did all she could to ensure I had a good life"

"It was at that point in my life that Shawn came into my life as a knight in shining armor. He became the family I never had until I was set up and framed for adultery. He believed I betrayed him with another man and directly requested for a divorce. That was the reason I was rushing to Baltimore before the planecrash."

Kathleen paused for a brief second before saying: "So you see, nobody will miss me except my best friend and probably Shawn who would only need me to sign the divorce papers." She said it as if it wasn't a big deal but the despondency was very much evident in her tone.

Elizabeth's heart went out to the poor girl before her. She released a long breath she wasn't aware of holding and said, "You know, I've been wondering why I couldn't ignore you all this while. Now I believe God brought us together for a purpose and I finally realized that purpose today."

"I'll be the family you desire, I'll be a mother, sister, friend and everything you'd ever wished for in a family to you. You'll never lack anything as long as I am alive," Elizabeth solemnly promised and vowed to take care of her for the rest of her life.

The day Kathleen was eventually discharged, Elizabeth offered that she return with her to her home. Kathleen didn't see any reason to turn down the offer as she had no relatives and didn't want to go back to Baltimore for the sake of her children: yeah you heard that right, she later learnt she was pregnant with twins.

Since then, Elizabeth had been treating her like a princess; religiously monitoring and supervising her to ensure she strictly adhered to the diet and routines prescribed by Prof Gaius who has been coming around to givie her acupuncture treatment every two weeks to aid in the proper development of the pregnancy.

When she had asked the reason for his involvement he had answered that the result of the blood test carried out on Kathleen had revealed that she had a very rare blood type which piqued his interest.

Kathleen had an inkling that there was more to it as she's yet to believe that was the only reason for him to make an exemption in taking over her case, but for the time being, she had to let nature run its course.

On many occasions when he comes around, he always has something private to discuss with Elizabeth after his acupuncture sessions with Kathleen.