The Healing Heart

“Your observation duration is over, and you look quite stable. You can return home now.” Dr. Jones said, smiling at her.

“Thank you.” Olivia George was truly grateful to get out of the hospital. She never did like the atmosphere to begin with, but for the past couple of days, she felt like a caged animal.

“You’ll need to take these medicines…” Dr. Jones continued. She heard the instructions and nodded. She turned around to leave and spotted Veronica.

Veronica Matthews, a private investigator and her best friend, was rushing toward her. “So sorry, I’m late, got stuck in—”

“It’s alright, Veronica. You’re just on time.” Olivia assured her. Veronica was one of those very close friends with whom one could share anything and everything. Olivia was glad to have her at such a time.

“I’m so pleased to be out of there,” Olivia said on reaching her apartment. “It felt as if I might never get out.”

“I am very sorry.” Veronica held Olivia’s hands and gave a warm squeeze. “For not being by your side for the entire time.”

“No. You did all that you could and even more. It’s just that…” Olivia paused. How could she explain something she herself didn’t understand?

“It’s nothing. Maybe I overreacted. But I am happy you are here.” Olivia smiled.

That night Olivia was so tired, she fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.

‘Waaaaa…’ the infant was wailing.

Olivia woke up with a start. Had she heard a baby crying? As far as she knew, there weren’t any babies in her neighborhood. She saw the clock. It was 3:13 in the morning. It wasn’t even dawn yet. Probably just a dream.

She spent the day cleaning the house and checking her emails. Since she was on leave for three further days, she decided to enjoy.

‘Waaaaa….’ James was crying again. He must be hungry.

Olivia once again awakened with a shudder. That’s when she realized she had fallen asleep reading a book. It was evening. She had invited Veronica, and she needed to set up dinner.

“Something smells wonderful,” Veronica said as soon as she entered.

“Aren’t you hungry?” Veronica asked when she saw Olivia had eaten little.

Olivia looked to be elsewhere. “What is the matter with you, Olivia?”

Startled, Olivia glanced up. “I had a dream,” she whispered, and turned to watch Veronica’s reaction. Much as she expected, her friend was listening to her patiently, so she continued. “The same one. Last night and this afternoon. It sounded so real, I could literally see it happening. I think it might be a hallucination, but…”

“Tell me about it,” Veronica prodded.

“There isn’t much to tell. I heard a young infant crying. James was lying in his pram. I was upstairs and saw him from there. He must’ve been hungry. I have to go downstairs…”

“Hold on,” Veronica stopped her. “Who is James? And what do you mean you saw him?”

“That’s what it felt like,” Olivia cried. “As if I was standing there watching him. James is that infant who was crying.”

“Calm down, Olivia.” Veronica could not bear her friend’s distress. “You’ve already been through a lot. Although you pretended to be cavalier about it, I know this surgery has taken a toll on your emotional well-being.”

The past few months had been very taxing. What had started as a routine checkup turned serious when the doctor had shown the reports saying Olivia had a hole in her heart. While she had encountered no problems so far, the physician had stated she was just lucky to have lived long enough. They had put her on the list of organ recipients. She was fortunate to have found a donor before any complications appeared. The transplant was done and now Olivia was out of danger. Veronica was happy for her friend, but she also understood the emotional turmoil Olivia had gone through. Maybe that was surfacing now.

“Olivia, it might as well be a side-effect of the heavy medication that you are going through.”

“I hope you are right, Veronica.”

“Also, why don’t you try out some meditating exercises? It will help you calm down.”

Olivia promised she would do that.

The next day, Olivia scoured the internet for various yoga and meditation exercises. By nightfall, she had learned a lot of new asanas and meditating processes and was feeling decidedly calmer.

But only until night.

‘Hey Jacqueline,’ she turned and saw him come running toward her.

‘You’re late.’

‘I’m sorry, darling. But I had to stop to get these.’ he offered an enormous bouquet of red roses. ‘for you.’

‘Oh, this is so lovely. No one has ever presented me with such a gigantic bouquet.’

‘I know how you adore red roses.’ he grinned and got down on one knee.

‘Hey, what are you doing?’

‘Jacqueline, you are the most amazing person I’ve ever met. I could not get you out of my mind since the moment I set my eyes on you. You bring out the best in me and I cannot imagine my life without you. Marry me?’

She was so overwhelmed and happy, tears filled her eyes until the face before her blurred.

***

‘Waaaaa…’ James is crying.

‘Steve, can you hold him up please, I’ll be down in a moment.’

‘Waaaaa…’,

‘Steven! I think you no longer care for me, but James is your son too!’

She hurried down the staircase.

Thud.

‘Aaaargh’ She slipped and toppled. Tumbling down the rest of the stairs, she landed at the bottom as her head hit the banister.

And then all went black.

She woke up in a cold sweat. It was dark. She half expected to see James wailing in his pram. But she was in her bed, in her house. Despite of the chilly night, she was soaked in sweat. She got out of bed. She didn’t think she could sleep any longer.

“Hello, Dr. Jones.” Olivia called the doctor once once it was morning. “I am Olivia George. I had a heart transplant two days ago.”

“Oh, yes, Miss George, I remember. How are you? Any problems?”

“I want to know the name of the donor.”

“I’m sorry, Miss George. That is confidential. I cannot disclose that.”

“But… but I just wanted to thank.” Olivia couldn’t possibly tell the real reason.

“That is very thoughtful of you Miss George, but I’m afraid, I cannot give you the details.”

“Alright. Can you at least tell me, if it was a woman or a man?”

“Um… Miss George, it only because I know you well, and know that you don’t have any ulterior motives,” Dr. Jones was still hesitant.

“Yes, doctor, it is out of pure gratitude, I assure you.”

“A woman. Must’ve been your age. Mother of a young child. I feel so sorry. Poor thing. But then who has ever comprehended fate?”

Olivia felt a shiver run down her spine. Her worst fear was coming true. She froze and couldn’t move a muscle.

“Miss George. Miss George? Olivia?” Dr. Jones sounded concerned.

“Yes, doctor, I’m listening.” Now she was truly interested. “What is her name?”

“Sorry Miss George. Like I said, this is all I can tell you. Now, you must not dwell on it. That was the past. You have a new life ahead of you.”

“Yes. Thank you very much.”

Veronica came later that afternoon and found Olivia pacing the living room. “I thought you were practicing yoga,” she said when Olivia didn’t notice her. “Or at least you were yesterday. Did it help?”

Olivia paused. She thought before answering. “It helped. But only differently.”

“Differently, how?”

“I still have those nightmares, but now they are clearer. The meditation helped to calm my mind and hence I could see with clarity.”

She recounted to Veronica the dreams and also told her about the conversation with Dr. Jones.

Veronica sat quietly for a long while, contemplating what Olivia had just said. “Are you thinking that—”

“Yes, that is exactly what I am thinking. I am seeing things from her eyes, I am feeling the things she felt, all that she carried in her heart!” Olivia looked surprised at her own inference.

“I am not sure if such a thing is possible.” Veronica sounded doubtful.

“There are a lot of things that science hasn’t proved yet.”

“You don’t have to go through this alone.” Veronica took both of Olivia’s hands. “Tell me, what can I do to help?”

“I do not feel alone.” Olivia smiled at the affection of her dear friend. “I am going to need your help.” She fell silent for a moment. “If only I could find out who she was. Her name…”

“Jacqueline.” Veronica supplied. “You just said her name was Jacqueline. Or at least that is what you saw in your dream. And I’m guessing Steven is her husband.”

Olivia wasn’t surprised. “Trust you to remember the details.”

“But why do you wish to find them?”

“There is a lot more to the story than what I’ve seen so far. I sense something sinister.”

That night, for the first time, Olivia wished to dream. She was far too gone into this to back away now.

She was lying on the bed. Eyes open, she was wide awake. Yet strangely, she was unable move. She tried to move her hand, her head. Nothing happened. She called for help. But to her horror, she realized couldn’t move her lips.

It terrified her. She didn’t understand what was happening to her. She wanted to scream, but her voice died even before it could escape her lips.

After a few moments, she heard the door open. She waited with bated breath. Her husband, Steven, entered. She was relieved. He sat down on a chair beside her.

‘Ah, my sweet wife. I feel so sorry for you. To see you in this condition.’

She wanted to turn to him and cry in his arms.

‘I did not intend this. I had thought after slipping from the stairs, you’d die on the spot. Especially after your head struck the banister with such force.’

She froze, not that it was visible.

‘You know how much I hated Evan. And I hated it even more that he used to linger around you.’

But she had told him already that Evan was just a good friend and nothing more. She did not understand where Steve had got the notion that she was having an affair with Evan when she had constantly denied it.

‘But you denied,’ Steven continued. ‘and lied to me. I could not bear it. So, Jacqueline Perry, before you took the bitter decision of leaving me…’

She did not believe what she was hearing. Oh, how she wished to get up and scream and shake him until he ceased talking all that nonsense.

If only she could…

All she did was just wait and hear him out.

‘… I spilled oil on the steps. I knew you would come down to look for James.’

Olivia woke up. Oh dear lord, her husband had deliberately tried to kill her. Jacqueline, not her. Good God, she had started thinking of herself as Jacqueline. If she didn’t do something about it soon, she would go crazy.

Veronica came early that morning. “I have a list of people with names Jacqueline and Steven— “

“Jacqueline Perry.” Olivia cut her.

Veronica looked at Olivia. “More dreams?”

“More like nightmares.” She recounted the previous night.

“That is definitely a crime.” Veronica declared after hearing what had transpired.

She searched through the list she had acquired. “Here, this is the address. We’ll go in and check for ourselves. If we’re lucky, we might as well find him there.”

The moment Steven opened the door, Olivia had sudden flashes of all the memories. Coffee dates, movies, late night dinners and the time they had both spent together. She couldn’t believe that this man had actually…

“We’re your new neighbors,” Veronica’s smooth lie cut through her trance. “We just moved in.”

“Oh. Hello. I’m Steven Perry. Good to know that— “

“Waaaaa…” His reply was cut short by James’s cry.

“I’m sorry. That’s my son. Excuse me.” He hastily went inside.

They took advantage of the open door and walked inside. Steven was holding a crying infant and trying to calm him down. But the child seemed determined not to stop.

“May I?” Olivia asked, holding out her hands.

He looked surprised at the strange request, but gave it a try, anyway.

James calmed down the moment he landed in Olivia’s arms. He stopped wailing his arms and settled as if it was the most comfortable place in the world.

Steven looked stunned. “It’s a miracle, he’s usually very difficult to manage.”

Veronica too couldn’t hide her surprise. She looked over at Olivia. She seemed to be in an entirely different time and space. She was crooning over the infant as if it were her own child.

“Where is his mother?” Veronica asked.

Steven’s eyes grew misty. “She passed away a few days ago.”

“How?”

“Excuse me?”

“How did she die?” Veronica clarified.

“Fell down the stairs.”

“By herself?”

Steven looked up sharply. “What do you mean?”

“She fell by herself, or did you help her?”

He just gaped at her, open-mouthed.

“I’m sure you helped Jacqueline. You made sure that she’d fall.”

“H-How… how do you know my wife’s name?”

“I know a lot more than that. But I’m interested to hear from you.” Veronica smiled with a charm that usually hypnotized people.

“You spilled oil on the stairs and made sure that Jacqueline would fall, didn’t you?”

Steven collapsed on the floor, buried his face in his hands, and started sobbing. After a while, he looked up and said, “No, no, you are tricking me. You couldn’t possibly know all of this. How could you?”

Olivia answered this time. “Your wife donated her heart. I am the recipient.”

“Oh my God!” was all Steven could get out.

“That possibly explains why James is sleeping so comfortable in my arms,” Olivia was feeling surprisingly content holding the child. “Children recognize the heartbeat.”

“Oh my God!”

“Now then, Mr. Perry, suppose you explain why you killed her?”

He started weeping anew. “I didn’t want to. I loved her so much. But she had an affair. With that… that bloody bastard.” He paused, as if trying to remember something. “I asked her about it and she lied. She lied to me. Said they were just friends. As if I would believe that bullshit.”

“She was not lying, you idiot!” Olivia screamed. “She was telling you the truth. If only you’d listened to her with some patience and no prejudice.”

“Oh no. No, you’re lying.” He was now trembling.

“It is true.” Veronica took charge. “And even if it weren’t, it does not give you the right to kill someone.”

“Oh my God, what have I done?”

“What you have done is a crime, and you’ll pay for it.”

Later that evening, Veronica found Olivia in her house singing to the toddler. Once he was asleep, Veronica asked, “Are you alright? I know the nightmares were bad enough, but actually visiting the place and the people must’ve taken a toll on you.”

Olivia smiled. “Strangely, I felt nothing like that. What I feel is just contentment.”

Veronica nodded. “What are you going to do now?”

She looked surprised at the question. “Actually, I didn’t think about it. Somehow, my heart had already decided even before you voiced the question. James needs me, and over the last few hours, I have realized I need James too.”

Her heart wouldn’t have allowed otherwise.