“You need counselling baby,” Mike said while cuddling Shamiso in his arms. “How will we live our life? We should be planning having babies.”

Shamiso nodded and smiled. “The baby will be a girl and it will look like me, right?” she said.

Shamiso’s smile made Mike flatter. He missed seeing that face, but while he was looking at her, a loud bang came from the door and Mike rushed to see who it was.

“Son-in-law,” Gerald said in a sad voice after Mike opened the door. He pushed Mike out of the way so he could enter their house, then sat on the couch and took a deep breath. He then saw emptiness in Shamiso’s eyes and became even more worried when he did. “How is she?” he asked, but Mike seemed surprised as to who he was talking about. When Gerald saw this, he looked at the bedroom door to indicate he meant Shamiso.

“She is doing fine I think,” Mike said while throwing his head on the couch. Right after that, Shamiso came rushing in looking at her phone. She was so distracted that she didn’t even greet her father as she walked in, and it looked like she just wanted something to get her out of her grief.

“Look, I found pictures of babies, and they look cute,” Shamiso shouted, but she stopped when she saw her father’s sad face. It reminded her of her mother, and even though this made her emotional, she held her tears back.

“How are you?” Gerald asked, even though he knew it was not the right way to ask it.

“I’ve never been better,” Shamiso responded. “Look at these babies,” she continued, jumping from where she was standing in order to show her father the pictures. “I’ll be having my own soon, right Mike?”

While this was happening, Mike just stood there dumbstruck and nodded his head. He knew that Shamiso was using the baby talk to flee from her devastation, and this made him even more worried.

“Look at that nose, so cute,” Shamiso said, chuckling.

When Mike saw this, he pretended to be happy for her. He knew that the sight of a baby could bring joy, and so he smiled and nodded while rubbing his head in confusion. “If a baby could make her forget about the stress of losing her mother, then so be it!” he thought to himself

“You can’t have babies,” Nomatter said with a shaky voice. “According to your test results, your womb is damaged.” She was fiddling with her glasses while she was telling Shamiso her result and, because it was difficult news to be telling her sister, she had a pain in her heart. They had never been close, but she felt the pain as if it was her own.

Shamiso had been trying to have a baby for two years but she couldn’t. She had been trying since she started dating Mike because she believed he was her soulmate. It was now a few months since they got married, and nothing had changed. Nomatter was their doctor, and she had been close to Shamiso since the last time they saw each other.

Nomatter had gone back to work a month after giving birth, but she couldn’t forget the twins she had given away for adoption. With Shamiso now trying to have a baby, she held back her tears and tried to hold herself.

“What do you mean?” Mike asked while holding Shamiso’s hand tightly. He was very devastated at hearing the news, and he looked at her anxiously as she lay on the bed. Nomatter was shaking because her nerves were running short. She didn’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but her profession had never been one with good news all the time.

“You mean I can never be pregnant?” Shimiso asked curiously, causing Nomatter to clear her throat before she looked at them. Shamiso went quiet for a while, contemplating something.

“Your womb is damaged,” Nomatter said again with a shaky voice.

“What can I do to repair it?” Shimiso asked curiously. Her voice was weak and tears were filling her eyes while she rubbed her tummy worried. She felt a hot rod struck in her throat, and she hoped something could fix her womb.

Nomatter removed her glasses and strolled to the window. “Nothing can be done.”

Shamiso couldn’t believe her ears, and she sat up angrily, clinching her fists. Mike stood up helplessly, feeling a chill run through his body. He was at the end of the world of hopelessness.

“You can only adopt,” Nomatter added. Shamiso raised her eyebrows and clutched her abdomen in confusion. Shamiso’s dream was to have her own baby, she never wanted to adopt.

“What?” both Mike and Shamiso said. Shamiso then jumped from the bed because her head was spinning. She felt dizzy, and she held on to Mike’s hand for balance.

“I’m very sorry,” Nomatter said once again.

“What was the cause of the damage?” Shamiso asked, but Mike tried to control her. She wandered around aimlessly in her anger and grief.

“It could be the rape …” Nomatter answered, and Shamiso bit her lips furiously.

Anger was building in Shamiso’s head, and she began feeling really very sick. Her head was spinning and there was a ringing in her ears. Her tears fell in large drops, staining her velvet blouse, and sad memories of the rape came back to her, making her face pale and hardened.

Shamiso quickly grabbed her bag and bolted out of the room, slamming the door behind her. She then ran without a particular direction. Mike was left confused in the room, even though he knew about the rape. He thought she had moved on and was finally at peace. He didn’t like her past coming to hunt her like that, mainly because she was still hurting and she hardly spoke about it. Mike looked at Nomatter, who shrugged her shoulder, then he followed Shamiso out the door.

“I ‘m very sorry,” Nomatter muttered while watching Mike walk out of the door. When he was finally out, she sat on her chair and buried her face in her hands.

“Shami!” Mike yelled as soon as he got out of the room, but Shamiso was gone with the wind and was nowhere to be seen.

Tell us: Do you think Shamiso should consider adopting?