by Autumn Duckworth

The woman in her mid-twenties sat in a navy blue, cushioned chair with a book resting
openly in her lap while she enjoyed the late-morning sunlight streaming in through the
window. The stream of light illuminated the caramel-colored streaks in her otherwise mousy
brown hair, and the flecks of amber in her green eyes seemed especially bright as she gazed
towards the cloudless sky. She remained in this state of solitude until she was approached by
another woman, at which point she closed the book in her lap, the gold cross on the cover
glinting in the sun’s rays.

“Mrs. Katherine, it’s time for you to take your morning medications,” the woman in
scrubs states, handing her a small container full of different prescriptions.

The container resembled what she used to put her ketchup in at fast food restaurants,
she mused, as she took it from the woman’s outstretched hands. It was always a different
woman making the rounds, offering candy-coated miracles. Katherine did not argue with them,
not anymore. She never understood why they had sent her here, why what she had done had
been so wrong. Despite all this, she did understand one thing, the green and yellow pill kept
her happy enough that the thoughts that used to plague her came less frequently. They kept
her happy enough that she truly believed she may one day rejoin her daughter.

She handed the container back after she had taken the multitude of pills and turned
back towards the window. She did not regret the actions she had taken, even if the
consequences were a great number of court-ordered years here. She had done what was
best for the sake of their future, a decision she would have never taken lightly.

#

The tan carpet on the flight of stairs in their home had squelched as her husband
ascended them. Each waterlogged step had caused the heaviness in his heart to grow as he
found his wife standing at the top, clothes soggy.

She had looked the same way the night she had been baptized. He remembered how
proud she had been, taking that step for a Christian rebirth, so that she could further her faith.
She had been practically glowing when she emerged from the pool of water; she was grinning
from ear to ear with the weight of her previous sin lifted from her shoulders. She wore a
similar expression to that day as he looked up at her now, still making his way up the stairs.

Why didn’t she look upset with the situation they had found themselves in? Their bank
account had taken too much of a hit from past medical expenses, and this accident would
be detrimental to their funds.

The birth of their daughter was not an easy one. Katherine had developed severe
preeclampsia during her third trimester, and she had to be kept on bedrest in the hospital until
the birth. The bills had stacked up quickly from the complications she had endured. While
their daughter had been a complete blessing, concern over his wife’s health still tainted the
memories of those last few weeks before she was able to safely deliver.

He thought again about how they wouldn’t have the money to fix the burst pipe, let
alone the water damage that came along with it. Why hadn’t she called? If she had let him
know sooner, maybe the damage from oversaturation in water wouldn’t be to this extent in the
house. They still would have had time to decrease the damage.

It had always been like this though. Katherine was always the had always been one to
take matters into her own hands instead of seeking outside help when she needed it.

“You should take Emily to your mom’s house while I try and figure out this mess…,”
he started with a sigh, looking down at the floor in dismay.

He remembered when they had first found out that Katherine was expecting. It had
been terrifying, finding out they were going to be first-time parents, but she had never seemed
more excited. Happiness had seemed to radiate from Katherine when she would feel the
movement of their child in her stomach, urging him to do the same when they would be
lying down in bed together. That euphoria quickly fizzled out after the birth. The first week or
so, she was so withdrawn that he had started to worry about leaving her alone. However, his
days off with pay had started to dwindle, and he knew they couldn’t afford to take a hit on
their weekly income.

“Oh, don’t worry John,” she said, a smile, as pure as freshly fallen snow on her lips,
“she’s in a better place now. She’ll never have to endure the pains we have. She’ll never know
the despair I’ve felt. She’s happy. She’s already home.”

He seemed to be startled at that. Katherine had never had an easy life, but he had
thought things were starting to look up again. She had slowly become more engaged with
their little family; oftentimes, she was found humming her favorite hymns — the most
common being “God Will Take Care Of You.”

Confusion distorted the features on John’s face. “Is she napping?” he asked, inquiring
again about their 6-month-old daughter.

“No dear, she’s returned home. She will never be unhappy again — she will have all
her heart desires,” she said, pausing briefly. “She will have lived a life without sin. All we have
to do is trust in Him.”

Fear leaped into his throat. Refusing to believe what he was hearing, he pushed past
her on a mission to get to his daughter’s room. They had picked out their daughter’s pastel
pink paint color months ago when bliss continually stained their cheeks a similar shade. They
had gone completely overboard during the nesting phase buying an array of items as “just in
case” measures.

Except he never made it to the end of the hallway. He didn’t get a chance to enter that
bedroom only a few feet down the hall and scoffed at the absurd amount of toys they had already
piled into the corner. Instead, he stopped cold, horror clouding his face as he looked into the
bathroom’s door which had been left ajar. There hadn’t been a pipe burst.

Standing on the bathroom threshold, he found his daughter floating lifelessly in the
overflowing bathtub, the faucet still running.