The Third Segment

She sat back and breathed quickly and very consciously. The blood in her face raced immediately to her stomach, which felt so hot! Her cheeks felt dry and her eyes were slowly watering.

“This can’t be happening”, She kept repeating to herself.

Her feet were getting cold and her thighs were going numb, only to realize she’s been sitting on the wooden board at the end of the bed.

She slid up to the middle of the bed and felt the weight heavier on her heart. She flipped to her side and wept herself to sleep.

Next day, she went to the “central” as the locals called the international phone exchange, intending to call her mother.

When she walked in, she was shocked to see such number of foreigners either in line or shouting though the phone booths. She felt absolutely disoriented and out of place. The “central” had a distinguish smell of cat urine. The whole scene was bizarre and definitely depressing.

She suddenly heard a strong accent from home right behind her. When she followed the voice, she was shocked to see a huge woman the source of this “snow-white” voice. It did, though, feel like her prayers have been finally answered. This gentle lady can help her with her call. Hell! She might even turn to be a good friend!
“Who knows!?”

-“Excuse me?”, she asked hesitantly

-“Good Lord! One of us!!? Hi ya sweet thing. Y’all have no idea how it feels like to find someone from home. How ya’ doin’ pretty? Wha’s yo’ name? Oh where are my good manners?! I’m Marry J. My friends call me MJ. Wha’s yours honey?!”

-“Anna”, she blurted out, surprised at the woman’s capacity to go on!

-“Well hiii there Anna. I’s good to meet your acquaintance. First time in here? Oh Lord you look disoriented. Well, you better count your blessings sugar. When I first got here none of this was available. I had to ship letters home and wait months before I got any replies. Dear by that time I had forgotten what my letter was all about!”

-“Actually”, Anna said feeling suddenly like a school girl, “I just heard about this place and can’t wait to call mom.”

-“Oh yeah sweetie! Don’t you worry about a thing now. I’ll set your business straight”.

And MJ came through. Anna was finally at a phone booth and about to call her mom. The phone booth looked so dirty and disgusting. The phone was light green and the phone dial was missing a couple of number stickers. When she held the phone to her ear, the distinct odour of ear wax and saliva immediately made her throw back the phone.

She pulled out a handkerchief from her white purse and held the phone with it just a few inches away from her head. When she finally finished dialling, and the phone started ringing, her heart skipped a beat and her hand got sweaty. She gripped the phone harder and gave her back to the line of people waiting outside the booth.

Then that warm friendly loving voice of her mom’s came through. She stuck the phone tightly to her face as she heard the word “Hello?”

For a few seconds, maybe a minute, she couldn’t reply. She felt her throat suddenly bloating like a real adam’s apple.

-“Moooooooom..”, she sounded like a horny cat.

-“Anna? Anna is that you sweetheart?”

-“Moooo .. ooooom”, and she wept like a child. She couldn’t stop her tears.

-“Sweetie? What’s wrong? Are you O.K.? Is Adel all right?”

-“(sob) Ya Mooom (sob) we’re both ok”

-“What’s wrong then sweetheart?”

Oh how she longed to hear her voice. How she longed for that sweet concern. Genuine love!
-“(sob) I just… I just.. miss you”, as she entirely broke down weeping. She wept so hard she couldn’t catch enough breath to reply her mom’s questions


When she walked into the medical centre later that day, Anna was mortified by the stench of the sterilizer, the dirty ugly old waiting chairs, the amount of covered women, and the look old men had on their faces.

The Asian nurse was approaching her. Slightly plumb, with thick spectacles, hair pulled back, “probably mid forties” Anna guessed.

Anna explained her need of a pregnancy test as if she was speaking about someone other than herself, until the nurse pointed her to the lab for a blood test. That distance seemed getting longer and longer as she walked through it. The corridor kept getting smaller, and the neon lights were getting brighter, then blurrier with every step.

“Run! You can still get out of here!”
“Go home! Sleep!”
But her body kept moving towards the lab. She was getting anxious and light headed as she reached the lab’s over exhausted door and sat on the chair right next to it trying to hold the tears in her eyes and stop her hand from shaking.

“What’s wrong with you? STOP IT!”, and her tears just ran down her face.
“But I don’t want toooooo”
“You don’t know it yet!”
“Yes I do!!! And I don’t want tooooo”, and she beat her legs against the floor like a five year old.



When Anna got home, she walked like a zombie planning to go straight to her room. She felt that no joy or happiness will ever come her way, this rotten house was her prison, and this rotten family were her prisoners.

But when she walked in the main entrance, she saw Adel’s father bent down on his tool box and apparently intending to fix something.

-“Hello Anna, trust your day was all right?”, he said in perfect English and barely looked up from the box.

-“Yes sir. Yours?”
“Liar”
But as she smiled at him, she felt her face was about to crack.

-“Good. Have you seen that blue screw driver? The big one? I can’t seem to find it!”
“Damn! Does that mean I have to help? Really I don’t feel like it”

-“Let me help you” and she placed her white purse on the chair by the door and knelt on the tool box with him.

-“I said it’s not here. I’ve searched twice and nothing. But go ahead and look if you want to.”

She ignored him and started pulling out the tools one by one. Suddenly she got the urge to re-arrange the whole box.