Winter Swan

When Silje opened her eyes, she was still in the same moving car.

It felt like a dream as she saw the dark fur trees passing by out the window. People were walking on the streets covered in snow just like any other days, but to Silje, it seemed different somehow.

Tik tock tik tock.

She could hear her watch and with every tick, her body felt a sharp pain. She tried to move her arms, but they would not listen to her.

"…!"

She could not even move any of her fingers. She also couldn't feel her body at all.

Laughing at her discomfort and confusion, Ingrid laughed at her.

"Hahaha, hahahaha…. Haha."

Ingrid continued to laugh, making Silje remember where she was. But before she could do or say anything, Silje lost consciousness again.

Grenchen Hospital.

Silje saw where she was, but she was still helpless. Quickly, Ingrid's bodyguards grabbed Silje's body and dragged her through a white hallway. The smell of disinfectant was sickening.

Silje could barely move. She became temporarily colorblind and all she could see was black and white. Her eyes still blurred, she went in and out of consciousness constantly. She felt numb but somehow, she felt pain everywhere. Weak like a newborn kitten, she could not even move a finger.

"Do not move. We already gave you anesthetics. So the more you try to move, the weaker you will become."

Ingrid warned her coldly, "Do you understand? The more you struggle, the harder it will be for you."

Everything was white.

Silje felt like she was abducted by aliens for a strange experiment. Ingrid was right; she was becoming weaker and weaker. She was like a fly caught in a spiderweb.

After a short silence, Silje gritted her teeth not to moan when Ingrid spat out her words.

"I knew it, you dirty whore. We tested you while you were out, and I was right. Nine weeks pregnant! I knew it the moment Kail brought an Asian bitch to my home. Bastard."

Nine weeks pregnant.

Silje was shocked. She couldn't believe it.

In her body was another life. A tiny baby.

How could she have not known?

Silje became pale. The time they spent at Kail's summer cottage near the lake…

But why didn't she know? How could she be so stupid? How could she be so careless? She didn't have her period for a while now, but she didn't think much of it. She just thought she missed it.

Silje blamed herself, biting her nails till they bled. It was all her fault and now, it was too late.

Ingrid was looking down at her smugly, letting her know that Silje lost this war. When Ingrid gestured, people in green scrubs came in and placed Silje on the OR table.

"You stupid bitch. This is the price you pay for being ignorant. When you wake up, it will be all over."

Silje's eyes started to feel heavy again and Ingrid continued, "A mixed-race baby in the Bruntland family? I will not allow it."

The people in scrubs poked Silje's arm, and with that, she lost her consciousness again.

"Did we get all the necessary paperwork and signatures for this procedure? It is an abortion for a teenager after all."

"Who cares? She is apparently the hospital chairman's patient, so it doesn't matter. Everything has been approved and we just have to do the surgery."

Dreamily, Silje could hear quiet classical music. She also could smell skin burning.

She opened her eyes when she heard the people in scrubs talking. They were laughing and chatting as they moved their hands quickly on her.

Suddenly, Silje realized that she was lying on a surgery bed. She could feel the coldness between her legs.

"NO!"

Silje screamed and flailed around, but nothing happened. She realized that she had no control over her body and that she hadn't moved at all.

The doctors and the nurses continued without interruption.

When she woke up again, it was all over.

***

Where was she?

She was confused when a voice inside her head whispering.

'Don't worry. You are in your bedroom. You can open your eyes if you want. Nothing has changed. Nothing has happened.'

The small voice inside her tried to reassure her.

Nothing changed?

Silje did feel a little better. Her body still felt very heavy and she was covered in warmth.

She felt comfortable.

Should she not open her eyes?

Should she not wake up?

With her eyes closed, she felt like she could see the beautiful sun. It felt too unreal.

Her inner voice whispered again, 'If you remain here, you will be safer. It might be better for you, yet do you still want to wake up?'

Her instinct warned her that as soon as she opened her eyes, it would be a bloody hell for her. She should stay here where she could remain painless and safe.

But if she insisted on waking up and returning to reality, then all she had to do was open her eyes…

'Even if I stay here, it won't be over. Kail… I have to pay the price for my choice.'

Leaving the beautiful warm sun, Silje forced her eyes open.

Greeted by the blindingly white walls and the smell of disinfectant, Silje heard the voice of death.

"Are you awake?"

Silje slowly turned around to find Kail's stepmother Ingrid coldly glaring down at her.

This woman had done this to her. Silje felt sharp throbbing pain all over. She felt like her body was burning from inside out. Silje wanted to scream and swear at her, but she remained quiet.

Ingrid crossed her arms and said to her, "You are finally awake. You have been out for a very long time, but whatever. Now, listen carefully to what I'm saying. I knew this was going to happen. That bastard Kail… He thinks he is so much better than me, yet he gets a young girl pregnant. A high school student four years younger than him!"

With disgust, Ingrid continued, "Bruntland will not allow a mixed-race child to be brought into the family. Especially not from a whore like you. As the female head of the Bruntland family, it is my duty to protect our family's integrity. Your womb has been scraped clean, so be thankful."

Ingrid glared at her and added, "You shouldn't feel bad or angry. You should be glad that you didn't bring a useless and lowborn baby into this world. You need to smarten up now, girl. And it seems that Kail won't let you go easily, so you need to move far away from here. He can be incredibly obsessive. If you are willing to leave Norway, I will give you the money to…"

Suddenly, Ingrid's face turned into that of a shock.

It was because Silje threw a glass at her.

Crash!