Change in Plans

Sandra was nervously fidgeting her fingers in her sweater. The sweat was forming on her forehead though the air con was on. It was her first time to be here, and the smell around the room didn't help her either. She was feeling nauseous but controlled it.

Her feet were tapping on the white marble floor, and that sound echoed throughout the room. She was the only person sitting there, waiting for her turn to come.

She suddenly jerked up a little when the sound of the opening door. She saw a beautiful woman in her twenties, with blonde wavy hair. Her eyes shined blue, and her smile was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

Sandra wondered whether she was a human or an angel. The woman before her was looking ethereal, and she was a masterpiece.

She saw the woman walking towards her while a beautiful smile plastered all over her face.

Being a good girl, Sandra replied to her with a smile.

She scooted over a little for the beautiful woman to sit beside her, which gladly the other did.

The other woman could see the nervousness on Sandra. She slowly placed her palm on Sandra's fidgeting fingers and soothed it calmly.

"Everything will be okay, don't worry." The other woman's voice sounded even more beautiful.

"Does anything this woman has that is not beautiful?" Sandra wondered.

"H-How do you know, everything is going to be okay?" Sandra stuttered but still asked the stranger woman.

"Because this is not my first time here. I have visited many times."

Sandra's eyes widened while hearing the statement.

"W-What?" The other woman chuckled by looking at Sandra's reaction.

"Y-You have done more than one abortion?" Sandra asked her in disbelief. It was her first time to come to the abortion clinic. She was only twenty-one, but here she was having an appointment for an abortion.

The other woman chuckled and shook her head as a no. Sandra furrowed her eyebrows and tilted her head in confusion.

"I have seen women walking to this room full of doubts, but eventually they get their work done, and leave this hell. But do you know what happens to your baby once you abort it?"

"I-It's not my baby," Sandra whispered and didn't like where this conversation was going. She clutched her blue dress tightly and wished she never had to go through this.

"You are carrying the baby. If it's not yours, then whose is it? Are you a surrogate? Did you consult with the person who is the father?"

The other woman shot her bullets of questions making Sandra feel angry.

"I don't know who the father is since I was raped by a stranger who left me alone in the dark alley, alright. Now shut your mouth and get away."

Sandra outbursted and started to cry. She wished she was dead instead of facing these problems. She never did bad to anyone. She was a good woman and wanted to have a simple life.

But her peaceful life was disturbed by a stranger when she was on her way home after her night shift.

Little did she expect a suspicious man to drag her into the alley, and destroy her body, and wound her heart.

She wished million times to be that incident as a nightmare.

But when she got conscious and woke up with pain in her abdomen and blood spots on her thighs were showed her, it wasn't a dream.

Still, she tried to overcome the painful past, but fate didn't like it.

After a month, she found out she was pregnant with her rapist's child.

Being raped was torture. And to add fuel to the fire, how would one feel getting pregnant to the person who did nothing but ruined her life? After that incident, she gathered the courage to come out of her house and to lead a normal life.

Sandra sniffled her cries when she felt a pair of arms hugging her, and rubbing circles on her back. She knew who it was, but she didn't want to break the hug.

She was an orphan, who worked hard to live her life by living single. She had no one to share anything. No shoulders were there for her when she wanted to cry. No ears were there to listen to her problems. But this stranger woman was listening to all her problems.

After some minutes, Sandra broke the hug and wiped her remaining tears off from her eyes.

"I won't understand what you are going through right now. But I have seen women aching to bear a child. The baby which you abort, is thrown to the garbage. A soon to be a child will become a lifeless soul. Is that what you want?"

Oddly, Sandra felt terrified by the consequence of her action. She didn't know what will happen after abortion, but this woman didn't make it look easy.

"I-I don't want this." Sandra brought her hands to her belly and gulped lightly by her words. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked at the woman who was smiling at her.

"If you don't want this, you can give it to others who desire it."

It was a good point though. Sandra was not ready to be a mother yet, and she didn't want to have her rapist's child.

"If your mother thought about aborting you, do you think you would be here alive?"

"But my mother was not raped like me."

Sandra countered her with a little raise in her tone.

"Do you know for sure?" Sandra opened her mouth to speak, but she couldn't.

In all her life she never knew who her parents were. She spent her life in an orphanage and lived all alone.

"It's easy to destroy, but difficult to create. Though you didn't have parents at least you had a life to live. Don't deny that for the baby in your belly. She or he has every right to live, and you can't stop it. If you don't want the baby, give it to people who need it. Don't destroy it for your good. If you don't abort this baby, I am sure it would be happy and live a life as you had."

With that, the stranger woman got up and walked out.

"W-Wait. What's your name?" Sandra asked in the hope that the beautiful woman would reply to her.

"They call me Angel." With that, the stranger woman left while smiling.

"Indeed you are." Sandra thought to herself.

"Miss. Sandra, you are the next. Are you ready?

Sandra looked up to see the nurse waiting for her to proceed with the abortion.

She didn't know why, but after having a conversation with the stranger, she felt not to do this. If she ever did this, she would regret it for her lifetime.

Yes, it was not her right to kill someone. And she was not a heartless person to kill a fetus, which was also a part of hers. If she can't raise a baby, at least there were people in the world who would want it, and love like their own.

I didn't have someone like that in my life, at least I hope this baby has it. Sandra thought to herself.

"Miss. Sandra?"

Sandra shook her head and looked at the nurse with puppy eyes.

"D-Do you know someone who would adopt a baby?"