A pregnant woman on the street became unexpectedly ill, but no one came to help her. At the hospital, something truly terrible was discovered.
On a crowded street, a pregnant woman suddenly halted. She staggered, clutched her stomach, and slowly collapsed to her knees. Onlookers stepped back, but no one came.
“Here comes the drama,” someone commented in the line outside a café.
“Perhaps she’s just feeling lightheaded,” said another.
“Or another scammer,” said a woman in a coat as she took out her phone to record.
No one moved. The only one who proceeded was me. Not because I knew what to do, but because I just couldn’t stand by and do nothing. Her face was as white as paper, and her lips were trembling.
— How are you? I inquired while kneeling beside her.
She couldn’t speak. Work? Are you losing consciousness? Pain? I didn’t know. Behind me, I heard:
He’s probably going to rob her and then act like the hero.
— You! Don’t touch her, fool! Maybe she has a contagious personality!
I was not listening. I picked her up and took her in my car to the nearest hospital. There, something horrible and dreadful was revealed.
The waiting area was chaotic.
Health care workers rushed over. Minutes seemed to elongate into hours. Then a doctor arrived:
Thanks to you, she arrived just in time. The woman’s uterus burst open. Right now, we’re transporting her to the operation room. Without you, she couldn’t have survived. And the baby.
I was still. I couldn’t feel my limbs or legs.
Two days later, to show her how happy I was for her, I delivered flowers to her hospital room. But as soon as I entered, the woman started crying.
“You—you don’t understand,” she said. This is my fifth child. The other four died in the womb. This is the lone one who made it. I had bid them farewell. You are an angel, though.
I sat down next her. The baby was sound asleep in the cradle. A woman. Bright, pink, and warm.
What did she go by? I asked.
Through tears, the woman smiled:
— Hope. After you.
