Chapter 4The Gentle Lie

I was rushed to the hospital to have my stomach pumped.

Mindy, without a word, packed her bags and went back to her parents' house, refusing to return.

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was Leo, screaming and crying at my bedside. "You bad woman, give me back my mommy!"

Then I felt a warm drop on the back of my hand. Anson was crying. I panicked, not knowing what to do.

"Anson, it doesn't hurt. Don't cry, please don't cry."

"Sasha, what am I going to do? What am I going to do?" He was like a caged animal, pacing and frantic, desperate to break free from the invisible bars surrounding him. "My life was just getting back on track. I can't let you ruin it all over again."

He looked at me, his eyes pleading. "Just go to the asylum, okay? Please?"

I didn't know what an asylum was. But if it would make Anson happy, I would go anywhere.

The next day, I was taken to a big house with high walls.

"Sasha, Leo and I will visit you every week," Anson promised before getting in his car and driving away without so much as a wave goodbye.

So I started counting the days on my fingers.

"Hey, simpleton, you even know how to count?" a few of the nurses snickered amongst themselves.

I turned my back to them, my cheeks puffed out in annoyance. Anson used to tell me I was once the country's youngest mathematical genius!

But I'd run out of fingers and toes to count on, and Anson and Leo still hadn't come.

Oh no! The thought struck me like a bolt of lightning. What if something happened to them?

The fear grew until it was all I could think about. So, when the nurses weren't looking, I slipped out.

I stumbled along, asking person after person for directions, until I finally found my way back to our street. Seeing the familiar building, I beamed with pride. I'm not a simpleton! I found my way home all by myself!

But then I saw it. A pile of my clothes, discarded in a trash heap by the curb.

I froze, my eyes drifting up toward our apartment.

There, on the balcony, was Anson, gently holding Mindy in his arms as they soaked in the afternoon sun. And Leo was making funny faces at a baby in a cradle, trying to make him laugh.

I took a few numb steps forward, just close enough to hear their voices drift down.

"What are you planning to do about Sasha?" Mindy asked.

Anson's voice was heavy, final. "I've taken care of her long enough. Just let her live out her days in the asylum. You and the baby are my future now."

So that was it. Anson didn't want me anymore. I must have become too much of a burden.

I quietly turned around and walked all the way back to the asylum.

Three days later, a morning news report sent shockwaves through the city.

"A fire broke out late last night at the Northwood Asylum. Authorities report that among the one hundred and ten patients and staff, there were no survivors."

Anson shot up from his chair, the legs scraping violently against the floor. The next second, his phone began to ring.

He answered it numbly. A gentle, pitying voice came through the line.

"Mr. Hayes, I'm very sorry to inform you... your wife was among the victims of the fire."