The Girl Named Mirage

Nicolo Esquibel walks out of the mansion because of a heated argument with his grandfather.

” What the hell is he thinking? ”

He muttered to himself annoyingly.

” Sir Nick, wait. Please. ”

Cris Adams, Nicolo’s right hand man follows him in a quicken pace cause his boss’ strides were long and quick.

” Go back, Adams. I want to be alone. ”

” But, sir. Your grandpa will kill me if I go back without you! ”

” Huh! That’s absurd. Stop poking my conscience, you fool. I don’t have one. ”

Adams paused. He can’t help but scratch his head. He knows it’s just a bluff but Don Augustus Esquibel scares the wits out of him whenever he’s angry. And Sir Nick always makes him mad as hell.

‘ Do I sin so much in my past life to suffer like this? ‘

Before he realizes it, Nicolo was out of his sight.

” Sir Nick! Where are you? Please go back with me, you know how scared I am of your grandpa! ”

Nicolo gets out of the forest and heads to the shore. He can still hear Adams pleading but he didn’t bother. He needs to calm down and relax for a bit. He needs some quiet time. He walks slowly and absentmindedly. Just looking at the vast ocean wherever his eyes are able to reach. He heaves a deep sigh and looks down at his feet. Out of frustration he kicks the sand.

” I will never do what you want! You annoying old man! ”

After he spoke those words he turned his back and headed back to the forest but then something caught his eyes. Or rather someone?

” Holy sh*t! ”

He ran as fast as he could and reached the woman that she saw lying on the shore. And what makes him more surprised is the baby beside her.

” What the hell? ”Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

The woman is lying on her side and her arms wrapped around the baby. It seems like she’s protecting the baby even though she’s unconscious or already dead. Blood stains on her face and neck were visible and on the sand too.

Nicolo didn’t waste his time and shifted her body to lay her on her back and check the baby’s heartbeat and breathing first. He exhaled a sigh of relief when he confirmed that she’s alive. He removed his hoodie jacket and wrapped the baby. He was glad that she’s alive but she’s running a fever.

” Poor angel… ”

Then he checked the woman. He can’t hear her heartbeat. Her pulse is so weak she’s barely breathing!

” Oh dear. Don’t you dare do this to me. ”

He started CPR. He pumps on her chest at a steady pace and breathes air on her mouth then checks her heartbeat.

” Come on! Live for your baby! ”

As if shouting will wake her up while he tries his best to revive her. He continued to do the resuscitation for 30 minutes and then..

” Sir Nick! ”

Adams came running. The baby woke up and started to cry.

” Mommy! Mommy! ”

” Pick up the baby and bring her to the mansion, she had a fever! Quick! ”

” Ye-yes Sir! ”

Without asking questions, Adams picks up the baby.

” Goodness! Hey, can you hear me? ”

The woman opened her eyes and met Nicolo’s worried gaze.

” My… baby… ”

And then she closed her eyes again. Nicolo checked again if she’s still breathing.

” She’s just unconscious. ”

She picked up the woman and they headed to the mansion in the middle of the forest. The baby’s still crying.

When they’re almost reaching the mansion, a man with ashen hair stands outside the door. His aura speaks of high authority. His sharp eyes contained hundreds of questions at the sight of Nicolo and Adams but he stepped out of the way.

” Bring them to the guest room. Mrs. Powell, please prepare the first aid, hot water and dry towels! Quick! ”

The two gentlemen pass through the Don. The Don’s strict features soften at the sight of the baby.

‘ Poor little soul… ‘

But a cold wave swept down his spine as his gaze reached the mother. He literally stiffened. His body can’t move from an utterly shock. He blinks to make sure that his eyes are not playing tricks on him.

‘ Wilhelmina…? ‘

When Don Augustus recovers from his bewilderment, he follows the lot to the guest room. The woman is lying on the bed while the baby is being taken care of Mrs. Judy Powell, the mansion’s caretaker. She already stripped their wet clothes and wrapped them in a robe.

She’s trying to feed the baby with cow’s milk in an open cup. Well, where can they possibly find a feeding bottle and formula milk here in the middle of the forest, located at the end of an island, isolated from everyone? It’s all they have right now and fortunately the baby takes it without a fuss. She must be really hungry.

On the other hand, Nicolo checked the woman’s head injury.

” The cut is too deep and there’s swelling. She needs craniotomy. And I guess she also lost too much blood ”

” Adams, get the chopper right now! ”

” Yes, Don Augustus. ”

Adams fished his phone out of his pocket and called the pilot. Then he called the nearest hospital on the island.

” Sir Nick, the chopper is ready. ”

Nicolo then again carried the woman in his arms. Followed by Mrs. Powell with the baby. Don Augustus talks briefly on his phone before following them.

After a 15 minutes flight they arrived at the hospital. They quickly get the mother and the baby to undergo different tests to know their current condition.

A nurse came to register the patients.

” Let’s talk about it later, please. ”

Don Augustus kindly declines the registration process as they don’t know what really happened.

” Don Augustus. Sir Nick. ”

Adams calls out to get their attention after the nurse leaves.

” I found out that a ship traveling towards this island sank last night because of the heavy rain and the poor condition of the ship itself. There were 17 casualties and 5 were still missing. But among the missing passengers, there’s no one that fit the description of the woman and her baby that we found. There’s 3 men and 2 women that’s still missing. One is a crew and the other one is a single woman with a fake contact number and address. And all the children have been rescued and identified so there’s no more missing. ”

” So if they’re not passengers, do you think their victims of human trafficking? ”

News about human trafficking are up on every news channel in and outside the country. Even on different social media platforms.

Don Augustus’ brows furrowed, thinking deeply about what might really happen.

” Excuse me, you’re with the patients? ”

” Yes Doctor, how are they? ”

Nicolo’s answer brings back the Don from his deep thoughts.

” The baby suffered from hypothermia. We just need to increase her body temperature to make her feel better ”

That makes sense. They must be in the water for too long.

” However, the mother’s condition is beyond our hospital capabilities. We’ve treated her wound but that’s all that we can do. ”

” What bullsh*t are you talking about? ”

” Sir Nick, please calm down. ”

” We understand you, Sir. But we really can’t do anything about her condition in our hospital. She needed a blood transfusion because of blood loss and we don’t have her blood type on our blood bank and I don’t really think we can find a donor because it’s really rare. ”

” What’s her blood type? Rh- ? ”

They were surprised by the question from Don Augustus.

” Is that so? I’m willing to be a donor. ”

The doctor turns his gaze from Don Augustus to Nicolo.

” I’m glad to hear that but that’s not the end of our problem. She needs to undergo a craniotomy and no one in this hospital has ever done that. We don’t even have the specialized tools to be able to do the operation. But if she can’t undergo the surgery, the swelling and the internal bleeding may cause her death. ”

They fell silent. The doctor excuses himself. Nicolo faced the wall of the hospital’s corridor and pressed his head against it. Don Augustus massaged his temple while his back was leaning on the wall opposite the direction of Nicolo.

” What are we going to do now? ”

Adams’ question is everyone’s question in their mind.

” Gramps, let’s take her to Travis. ”

Don Augustus heaves a sigh.

” I guess it’s our only solution. Adams, get the private plane and tell Attorney Mendez that I also need him here. Now. “