Chapter 56: STRANGE SICKNESS
Erika froze still when she heard what he said, "WHAT!!"
"She is dead", he repeated and this time the tone of his voice reduced.
Erika looked at Ethan who was also looking at her with a worried expression because of the the way she screamed.
"Uncle David, can we please meet and talk instead? Is today convenient for you?" She asked and he said yes then Erika sent a message of where they should meet and she hung up on the call.
"What happened?" Ethan asked worriedly.
"Grandma Elizabeth is dead. Uncle David said she is dead", she replied and tears started falling from her eyes. "I am going to see him now so that he can tell me more".
"Hold on, am coming with you", Ethan said and grabbed his things before joining her.
By the time they reached the restaurant that they were supposed to meet, Uncle David had already arrived and was waiting for them.
"Am sorry we kept you waiting", Erika apologized and sat on the seat that Ethan had pulled out for her.
"No, you didn’t. I just arrived", he responded.
Erika nodded and called the waiter to order. "So Uncle David, how and when did it happen?"
"It happened a year after you left the mansion. Grandma suddenly went sick", he replied which made Erika frown.
"But grandma was very healthy when I left, how did she suddenly go sick?"she asked. When she was living with them, she made sure that grandma Elizabeth took her medications right and she was a healthy, strong woman too.
"That was also the same thing I thought. She might be an old woman but she was quite strong for someone her age. The whole felt strange to me", the man responded.
"What do you mean?" Erika asked.
The waiter arrived with their order and he placed it properly on the table but non of them bothered to touch the food as the tension was way high up. Butler David began with folded hands,
"It happened all of a sudden when we were having breakfast. She started coughing and nearly fainted". It was evident on his face that he was also in shock.
"She nearly fell but I was able to catch her. After that day, she kept complaining of headache so we had to take her to the hospital. The doctor said she was thinking too much and asked if she was stressing too much about something but grandma Elizabeth does not work. Ever since you left, she had gotten quieter and only spent her time at the garden, taking care of the flowers".
Uncle David stopped for a moment to let the information he uttered zinc in and he also use the chance to grab a glass of water to quench his dry throat.
"Then what happened?" Ethan asked this time and the uncle faced him. He noticed that he and Erika must have an intimate relationship because of his gesture earlier. He was happy for Erika because she was able to meet someone who would love her and cherish her.
"The doctor prescribed some drugs for her to take and I made sure to give them to her at the right time. I made sure to never miss a day until she bounced back. She became as active as she usually was and everyone was relieved until....." he paused because he didn’t know how to complete the next sentence.
"What happened?" Erika questioned, feeling scared for what she was going to hear next.
Uncle David braced himself and continued,
"She started vomiting blood. She got tired more quickly and whenever I brought food up to her room to eat, she would say she didn’t have an appetite?"
"What?" Erika subconsciously muttered as she placed her hands on her chest, while Ethan leaned her body to rest on him. He might not have any relationship with Butler David or grandma Elizabeth but he was going to help Erika get through this moment. The old woman was a special person she held close to her heart and she must be in pain knowing that she was no more.
"One other day, I got up early in the morning to go make breakfast for her. Even though she didn’t eat much, I still prepared because she had to take her drugs. But when I went to her room, she hadn’t woken up yet. I tried to wake her up several times but there was no sign that she was waking up".
"I panicked and called the doctor to check up on her. The doctor came over and checked on her, she said that Grandma Elizabeth’s vital organs were damaged and she needed to be admitted in the hospital as soon as possible", Uncle David continued.
Erika heart sunk, she held Ethan’s hand tightly as tears rolled down from her eyes.
"She doctor informed us that she needed blood transfusion and everyone gave their blood. She stayed in the hospital without any movements. I made sure to check up on her everyday. I went there one time to see how she was doing. When I went inside the room, I heard the continuous beeping sound coming from the Holter monitor and when I looked at it, it only showed a straight line indicating that there was no more heartbeat."
"I panicked and quickly called the doctor and she came and checked her pulse but there was still no heartbeat. After several failed attempts to revive her, the doctor announced Grandma Elizabeth dead", Uncle David concluded as he teared up.
More tears flowed down from Erika’s eyes after uncle David was done. Ethan handed her a glass of water, she took it and drank it. It helped to calm her down.
"But what did the doctor say that caused her to have those symptoms?" Ethan asked uncle David.
"She wasn’t able to spot it. Several tests where conducted to know what it was but it was never discovered", Uncle David replied.
Erika looked at Ethan in confusion. The sickness was never found out? How is that possible? Erika asked herself.
"Who were there at the hospital when grandma Elizabeth was admitted?" Erika asked uncle David.
"The whole family members were present", he replied.
Erika nodded and thanked uncle David for coming. Erika wanted him to take her to Grandma Elizabeth’s grave but she believed that Mary would be looking for him any moment now since it was already late so she asked him to write down the address instead.
"Thank you", Erika thanked him once more and he left the restaurant. The food that the waiter brought several minutes ago had already turned cold. Erika asked for it to be packaged instead. She didn’t have any appetite after what she heard from Uncle David.
The food got packaged and was brought back to them.
"I want to go and see her", she said. Without being told, Ethan already knew whom she was referring to.
"Alright, let’s go".
