Shadows
Tabitha is hiding in the golden bathroom. Her eyes are sore, her nose is red, her face wet with tears. How can life go so badly wrong in such a short time? She sobs and sobs, trying to stifle them as much as possible, for fear that Richard will hear. Richard! That brings on a new flood of tears. “Oh, Richard,” she groans “my Richard! My wonderful, strong, handsome Knight in shining armour! What am I going to do? What can we do?”
Just a day or so ago Tabitha had been dancing on the mountaintop of life. Her heart was fit to burst, her cup was overflowing. She and Richard couldn’t have been happier, their future together stretching out as an endless golden dream. Now, in just the blink of an eye, their future looks a black gaping abyss.
Tabitha looks round her beautiful bathroom, all golden and shiny. What she wouldn’t give to have her dreams restored and polished till they shone again, too. Never, when going through all the worries about getting engaged and getting married, having to share her life and bed with a virtual stranger, never for once did she imagine this. Sure, arranged marriage is a huge gamble, it could lead to heartache and all sorts of issues. Sure, there is a lot of unfaithfulness, even in Sims Mobile, but Tabitha hadn’t banked on this. This horror, this…this unimaginable horror.
All was well during the wedding event, in spite of it lasting for ages. The sweet times together still play in her mind, in spite of their bittersweet aftertaste. The event did last, and last, and at one point Richard changed back into his green superhero suit. Tabitha stayed in her wonderful dress, it made her feel the queen of the house, even if it was just for a limited time! They discussed all sorts of things. They confessed all sorts of things. Tabitha confessed that she had toyed with the idea of just getting eloped; Richard didn’t like that idea!
The tears subside a bit whilst Tabitha is replaying the wedding, and the wonderful tender times they had. Until she remembers that conversation about having a family, planning how many children they were going to have. Tabitha slides down on the cool bathroom tiles, crying as if her heart will break. Children! They were going to have a house full of them, filling the little bassinet as quickly as it would empty! They had dreamed together about playing with their children, playing with the castle, watching them draw, encouraging them, praising them.
Tabitha cries and cries, until she is totally spent, and can not possibly cry anymore. She can’t get off the floor, she is too worn out. She doesn’t care about her wonderful career, she doesn’t care about the beautiful wedding dress she managed to buy. She doesn’t care about life anymore. What sort of life is it, anyway, which lies ahead? Bleak, empty, dark…never ending…
Once the wedding event was over, and they were officially pronounced husband and wife, life soon went back to normality. All four of them, as Chris and Victoria were married by now as well, went to work on the Luxury Events. They had totally neglected these as their courtships and weddings had taken top priority. Now that they were all four happily married, and both Victoria and Richard had been allowed to move in, it was time to resume normality.
That was when disaster struck, or rather, when the effects of the disaster became apparent. Tabitha stares ahead, not seeing the sparkling bath, or anything else for that matter. All she can see is the horror, the dread, the shock on her beloved’s face. Richard had gone to the restaurant to do the event there, she was at home, doing the Leisure event. First there had been a very garbled message from Jalisa Key. Jalisa is the manager at the restaurant, another one of the ancient workers that never seem to retire. According to Jalisa, Richard had collapsed, and was in fact beyond recognition.
Tabitha had absolutely no idea what Jalisa was talking about, the woman sounded completely out of breath as well as out of sense. She tried to get her off the phone as quickly as she could, just a little worried, wondering if the move and long wedding had been more tiring than they had realised. Tabitha wasn’t over concerned, as Richard was a very competent doctor, as well as young and strong, his muscles bulging under his wedding shirt!
Until she saw him, standing on the doorstep. Her world caved in, and everything went black. When Tabitha came round, she was on the bed in the Granny Annexe, a sad Lancelot and Adrianna by her side. She could tell that Adrianna had been crying, and she couldn’t remember her Dad ever looking so sad! “What happened?” she asked, then it all came flooding back in her mind. Her darling Richard, looking like a pink blob, standing on the doorstep, looking more distraught than she had thought possible. Her handsome, powerful husband, with his kind eyes and ready smile, reduced to a blob. It was beyond comprehension.
Richard knew what it was, of course. So did her Uncle Sebastian. They explained it to her, much later, when she was recovered of her initial shock. They all sat down in the Granny Annexe, looking sad, although for now Richard had recovered a little, looking just like his normal self. Tabitha looked at him, his strong arms, his eyes sparkling, just like he had looked for the last days or so whilst courting her, marrying her. Hope crept into her heart, she allowed it to sneak in quietly. Surely it couldn’t be that bad, with him looking the picture of health and manliness?
All her hopes were dashed though, and she felt her heart disintegrating with each sentence. The one word that started the destruction of her dreams was ‘Llama Flu’, and all hope fled from her heart. Llama Flu, the dreaded disease that Sims Mobile Hospital had been battling for centuries! The best doctors over the years had tried various vaccines, but nothing seemed to completely eradicate it. The vaccines prevented some of the cases, and in fact, she couldn’t remember having heard of a single case. Until now, that is.
She had heard of people displaying some of the symptoms: no growth in Traits, not retiring, not being able to move out… Nobody had ever told her about a single person having a full blown case of Llama Fly, though. Now it was here, in town, in her house, in her family. Her sweet, sweet husband was struck down with it! Tabitha closes her eyes, covering her face with her hands, and sobs.
Nothing in life has prepared her for this. There had been no warning, no way of knowing. No way of dealing with it either, it seems… She is utterly heartbroken, and looking at her wonderful husband, it is impossible to picture them together in the garden, wearing a white dress and a tux, whispering, laughing, kissing…
She cries out, wails, shrieks, clings onto him with all her might, their tears mixing whilst they kiss each other wildly, desperately, two young people crushed by the weight of calamity. Time stands still whilst they weep together, but eventually the cries subside, tears run dry, desperation turns into utter sadness. Richard looks at his sweet wife. He has come to really love and care for her, however independent she might be! He had been insanely happy during the wedding, eager to pack his bags and move in with his dearest Tabitha. Now all that seemed a dream, and the awakening had been abrupt and rude, shattering the dream, leaving just a faint memory of it.
“I’m sorry, my love, my sweetest Tabitha,” he whispers, his throat sore from crying, “I’m so, so sorry, more than I could ever express. I’m so sad on your account, having married a useless husband…My greatest wish was to provide for you, to take care of you the way you deserve…” He can’t speak anymore, his throat closed up, tears, new tears finding their way down his face.
Tabitha shushes him, putting a shaking hand on his lips. “Shhhh, my beloved, shhhh, Mr Handsome. I still love you, like I promised, ‘In sickness and in health’, and nothing will change that.” She swipes at some tears that managed to escape her eyes. “I love you, and to me you will always be my own special Mr Handsome. We will get through this, we are still together, you will still have good moments, as well as…as…” her voices quivers and almost breaks, but she won’t allow it to, “it won’t be easy, I know that but together we will make it, I promise!”
That was yesterday, and Tabitha still means it. The thing that almost hurts the most is the fact that not only does he regularly turn into a useless pink blob, he is also unable to give her any children. Not only are they unable to bear children naturally, Richard suffering from Llama Flu also excludes them from adopting children! The grief over that was almost Tabitha’s undoing. When her Uncle had explained the infertility issue, Tabitha had taken it quite calmly. In fact, she had thought by herself, “Oh well, there are other ways of growing a family. Surely it’s just a sad consequence, but not totally the end of our large family dreams.” Turns out that she was wrong. It was the end of her large family dreams, any family dreams in fact.
The most hurtful in the whole thing had been Chris’ remark the following day. It was that remark that made her flee to the safety of the bathroom, and open the floodgates of her heart. Chris had looked at her sad face, and remarked, “Seems like you needed those prayers after all! Seems like you can’t even get married without a little extra help. On the other hand, maybe if you hadn’t relied on your God, this might not have happened…!”
She had been so shocked, so utterly speechless, that all she could do was stagger to the bathroom, and lean against the wall, carefully avoiding all mirrors. Now she is here, in this bathroom, worn out, alone. She carelessly wonders what time it is, she does still have a job, after all! She sighs, nothing makes sense. Was Chris right after all?
Tabitha sits up straight, remembering the despair her Aunt Guinevere had been in, and how she had overcome all that. She was the one who had brought God into Tabitha’s life, and Tabitha would cling to Him now, in her despair.
She leans her head on her knees, wondering if she would ever feel a semblance of happiness again. Would she ever smile again, properly smile that is? Soon the wedding reception will be here, she will have to wear her special gown, smile, greet guests…Could she cope with their pitying looks, their whispers or well meaning advice? Part of her shakes and trembles, and shrieks ‘No’, but then, from deep in her heart, she hears the tiny whisper, ‘Yes, yes, you can do it, you’re not alone, not ever! Not on top of the mountain, not in the deepest valley. You will never be deserted, you will never be forsaken. You will be carried through the hardest parts of life. Never will you be alone!’
Tabitha sighs, it’s not going to be easy, but it is going to be possible. She needs her friends, their kindness and sympathy, and Richard? He needs her too, he needs her to be strong and brave and to love him through this deepest of valleys! She can do it, yes, she can do it!. Now…what about shoes…and jewellery? Should she wear makeup…or not…? No time to lose, the reception will be here before she is ready at this rate!