//------------------------------// // Alone... // Story: The Long Road: Spiral // by pabrony //------------------------------// “Babe, the only way they could get the bleeding stopped…” Sunny swallowed hard before finally dropping the bombshell. “They had to do an...emergency hys-hysterectomy. I'm so sorry.” “A…?” is all that emerged from between my lips. My vision became nothing more than a blank stare, focusing on the wall behind her. I was frozen in place by the shock. It was so severe that I barely felt the dampness of Sunny's cheek rub against my own. “Twi?” Sunny said. I couldn't respond. I wanted to, but my brain wouldn't let me. “Twilight? Please don't be mad at me, babe.” “I’m not,” I barely whispered. “It's not your fault.” Somehow my subconscious managed to return Sunny’s hug but I was still staring at the wall. I tried to reboot my mind by thinking of something else but to no avail. The only thing that I could think was, I'm not a real woman. That one sentence constantly repeated itself over and over. I couldn't cry. I couldn't move. Nothing was working. “I still...love you. Nothing will...change that,” Sunny said through her loud sobs. “Even though I'm...I’m no longer a real woman?” I asked as my brain finally allowed me to cry. “Twilight, you are still a real woman,” she replied. Despite her reassurance, I wasn't convinced. “Sunny, I am not a real woman anymore. I...I can't bear offspring,” I cried. “I always knew that I was...gay, but I still wanted to have…” I paused momentarily to wipe my eyes. “I still wanted to have a child...for the experience. And...and now, I...I…” I couldn't finish my sentence. “Twi?” “Sunny, I understand if you want to leave me,” I said through my tears. “Twilight?” By now my body was shaking in rhythm with my sobs. “Twilight Shimmer! Wake up!” Sunny’s body disappeared when she said that causing me to fall forward onto the cold hospital floor. “Please wake up, Twilight!” “Twilight. Oh, thank Celestia,” Sunny said in a relieved tone. I slowly sat up, disoriented, as I tried figuring out where I was. “Wha-? Where…?” “You're at home, babe,” she said. “I've been trying to wake you up for nearly fifteen minutes.” “But I was in the hospital,” I said, slurring my words slightly. “I swear I was just there…” Sunny held me so close to her chest that I could hear her heart beating. “Twi, that was almost two weeks ago.” “Seriously? It felt so real. I heard the monitor beeping and smelled the disinfectant they use on the floors,” I explained. “Sunny, I felt the tears on your cheek as you hugged me.” Sunny didn't say anything. Instead, she continued to hold my head against her chest and slowly rocked back and forth in an attempt to comfort me. “Sunny?” “Hmm?” “You...you’re not going to leave me?” I asked as a small amount of fear circulated through my veins. “Are you?” Sunny pulled back, lifted my face to meet her gaze and wiped a tear away with her thumb. “Twilight, I'm never going to leave you.” She smiled warmly. “Nothing will keep me from you, okay?” “Even though I can't-” I said before she put a finger to my lips. “Listen, when you were in that accident after our fight, I felt like someone kicked me in the gut. I can't begin to describe the amount of grief that I was feeling,” she told me. “The sight of you in the hospital bed...it paralyzed me.” “What?” “Yes, I was paralyzed from the fear of losing you,” she said before leaning forward to kiss me. “I love you, Twilight. Always have. I don't care what happens, I always will be here for you. Okay?” “Mhmm,” I said as I cuddled back into her bosom. After a few minutes, Sunny broke the silence in the room. “Do you feel up to sleeping in the bed tonight?” I closed my eyes and shook my head. “Why not?” “It's...these casts. They're so rigid and they keep you from sleeping well,” I said, placing my hand on her stomach. “And right now you need as much rest as possible because of…” THE FACT SHE’S A REAL WOMAN AND YOU AREN'T! “Because of, what?” Sunny asked. “Huh?” I said shaking my head. “You said I needed as much rest as possible and then just trailed off,” she explained. After a brief pause, she asked, “Are you okay?” I wasn't sure how to answer that. I felt okay - aside from the slight pain from the broken bones - physically. Emotionally, I was still confused about this whole situation. Mentally, I was, well, shaky. “Babe, are you okay?” she asked again. “Yeah, it's just, well, it's three in the morning and I'm still sort of sleepy,” I lied. Sunny stood up, gently lifted me off the sofa and slung my arm over her shoulder. “In that case, you're spending the rest of the night in bed,” she said with a smirk. “But-” “And that's final.” I winced in pain as I reluctantly hobbled to the bedroom, supported by my wife. “TWI! BREAKFAST!” The cheerful sound of Sunny’s voice and the smell of sausage and eggs filled the house. I stayed in the supine position with my right arm covering my face, trying to put the pieces of last night back together. “Hey, sleepyhead,” Sunny said, causing me to jump. “Sunny! What are-” I shouted as I tried catching my breath. “You didn't answer, so I brought you breakfast in bed,” she said with a warm smile. “In bed? But I thought we agreed to let me sleep on the sofa until I'm healed up,” I asked. Sunny shrugged her shoulders. “Eh, the bed was cold.” She grabbed a sausage link, took a small bite from it and then fed the rest to me. “And I thought you needed someone to comfort you in your sleep.” I felt my stomach sink to my feet. “Wh-what made you think that?” I asked after swallowing the food in my mouth. “Babe, you were crying loud enough to wake the dead last night,” she explained. “You kept shouting, ‘Don't leave me!’, over and over. I had to do something.” I picked at the food on the tray as I tried focusing on Sunny's reassurances. SHE’S GOING TO LEAVE YOU AND YOU KNOW IT! NO ONE WANTS TO BE WITH SOMEONE THAT'S NOT A REAL WOMAN! “Twi?” Sunny said, snapping her fingers. “Huh?” I said, disoriented. “You zoned out for a minute.” A choking wave of fear filled my body. “Why are you leaving me?” I asked as I accidentally knocked the breakfast tray off the bed in an attempt to grab Sunny’s hand. “Leaving…? Twilight, I've got to go to work,” she said, patting the top of my hand. “But...you're coming home afterward, right?” “Yes, I am,” she said. “Promise?” “Yes, Twilight. I promise.”