The manchineel tree- Short story - Part 6

 This story is published in our steemfiction series.  The book is still available on kindle. 

While the company driver took her home, she giggled at the mere thought of forgetting poor Frank at the funeral home.  

At home she was not sure what to do with his ashes. She put the urn in the kitchen and went upstairs to rest. She fell asleep but was awoken a short while later when she felt tiny butterflies in her stomach. It was the very first time she felt the baby move.  

She made an appointment with an obstetrician for the next day, and it would be the first time that she sees her baby. It felt strangely weird not to have someone with her in the house, but she knew that her loneliness would disappear once the baby was born. 

She turned on her back and fell into a peaceful sleep with her hands folded over her stomach. This was one of the happiest days of her life.  

Sylvia woke up very early the next morning. She snoozed the alarm for a few more minutes and then eventually got out of bed. She took a hot long bath.  She had to be at the doctor at ten o clock and she was super excited.  She decided that she would go shopping afterwards. She hasn’t been shopping for a long time, but she was free now and could do as she pleased.     

She looked impeccable when she emerged from the bathroom and she smiled at herself in the mirror. What an amazing feeling it was to feel like herself again. 

She still had her moments, but as the days went on it became more of a reality. She just had one thing left to do and that was to get rid of Frank’s ashes.  She wanted him out of her life completely and that meant she didn’t want any piece of him left in her house.

Sylvia walked into the doctor’s office just before ten and was shown to his office immediately.  She felt at ease with the doctor and knew she made the right choice to come here.  The doctor made her feel totally relaxed and when he finally did the ultra sound, it left her totally speechless.  

When he picked up the little heartbeat the tears welled up in her eyes. For a minute she held her breath but immediately relaxed when the doctor told her that everything seemed to be on track. She was nearly fourteen weeks pregnant, and he asked her if she wanted to know the sex of the baby.  She nodded and grinned when he announced that she was having a little girl. 

Sylvia felt blessed beyond words.  

She was so excited and drove to the nearest store to buy the cutest little pink outfit she could find. Afterwards she took a stroll through the mall and only then realized how much she actually missed the people and just life in general.   

She didn’t want to overdo it and decided to go home, but as she was about to get into the car, she noticed an art gallery across the street. She decided to go and do a walk through just for fun.   

She hasn’t been in an art gallery in nearly six years, and the art was quite impressive. Out of the blue, she asked the manager if she could see the owner.  

She was standing in front of a beautiful painting just staring at the artist’s work when the owner appeared from his office.  She could hear him from a distance.  

“Sylvia Stevens! Is that really you?”

She turned around and started laughing.  “Juan?”

He hugged her and picked her up and turned her around.  His assistant looked surprised when he said:  

“This woman is amazing! You should see her paintings.”

Sylvia smiled and couldn’t resist inviting Juan over for dinner that evening. She didn’t want to be alone, and he was after all her best friend in college. They studied together, and they were best friends before she met Frank. 

Juan gladly accepted her offer and promised to bring dessert. 

She was not in the mood for cooking and ordered in.  The food would be delivered later, and it would give her enough time for a proper nap. She was properly rested by the time the food arrived and she kept it warm in the oven as usual. 

Juan was right on time at six o clock and was very impressed with her house. He wanted to see her garden and she switched on the fairy lights that lit up the whole garden. 

They took a stroll through her beautiful garden and Juan was stunned. They walked through the rest of the garden and stopped right in front of the Manchineel tree. 

“The little apple of death….” 

Sylvia nodded.  

“This is my magic tree. My grandmother had a tree like this, but this specific tree has saved my life in more than one way….”

Juan didn’t ask anything further and they strolled back towards the house. “I never liked Frank you know…”

“I know and I should have listened to you….”

For the next six months Juan and Sylvia rekindled their friendship. He accompanied her to her doctor visits and when little Amelia was born, he was there to hold her hand. Sylvia asked him to be Amelia’s godfather and he gladly accepted.  Juan always wanted children, but his partner didn’t want to adopt, so it was wonderful to have little Amelia in his life.   

They day Amelia was born was truly the happiest day of Sylvia’s life. It was truly amazing to have everything she always wanted, and she couldn’t believe how much her life had changed in the last six months. 

When she walked into the house with Amelia, she asked Juan to hold the baby for a while.  She still had something important to do.  She fetched the urn with the ashes and walked outside.  She stopped in front of the Manchineel tree and opened the urn.  She sprinkled the ashes all over the flowerbed and turned around to begin in her new life. 

To be continued