Thrown Into A New World: Let The Punishment Begin!

There was silence in the tent as everyone held their breath after the physician and his helper left the stage.

They could see Theo's shoulders trembling and his hands clenched into tight fists.

Though he was standing sideways towards them, his single action of rubbing his face on his sleeve was enough to express what he was feeling right now.

Hilda gripped her mother's fists as she could not understand what was happening but she could sense that something was not right.

She felt sad when seeing the woman laying on the bed and the man who appeared to be crying as he stood at a distance away from her.

___

Back on the stage, Theo wiped his face dry and put on a brave face before entering the room.

His eyes lingered on his wife who was asleep due to the fatigue of the high fever but he had to wake her up.

"You need to have this medicine." He uttered while trying hard not to let his voice tremble.

Damona feebly nodded as she tried to sit up, accepting his help she drank the bitter liquid he held to her mouth.

The husband then was careful as he laid her back in bed and sat next to her.

{Theo spent the rest of the night by her side as he continued to pray and fret for her health.}

The audience too was hoping that nothing bad would happen to this couple to whom they had gotten attached in just a matter of an hour.

{With the next sunrise came a pleasant surprise for Theo!}

The scene showed Theo kneeling next to the bed as he glanced up when the sun's rays entered the room through the window.

His first reaction was to check on his wife which he did by placing his palm on her forehead.

The joy that appeared on his face did not need any words to show that there was good news.

{Theo chose to stay with his wife the entire day and the only time he left the house was when he went to inform his boss, Mr. Irv that he could not come to work today.}

When Damona opened her eyes, it was well past her usual timing where she would visit the market.

However, she was bewildered when she saw fresh vegetables on the table.

Theo had just turned around and found his wife awake so he ran towards her.

"How are you feeling now?" He investigated while looking at her all over.

Damona's pale face had a soft smile as she held his hand and nodded her head.

"Much better. But those…" She glanced at the table and her eyes were fixed on the basket of vegetables.

"The neighbors helped us." Theo revealed and was grateful as he had no clue what to do.

{Theo then with the help of the lady next door, cooked his wife a healthy meal while she continued to rest in bed.}

The lights dimmed and brightened repeatedly now, displaying various events of the day while the husband took care of his sick wife.

The wives in the audience all nudged their husbands when they saw how caring Theo was to Damona while all the husbands grumbled that Theo was putting unrealistic ideas into their wives' heads.

Mr. Thomas too received a glare from his wife who pointed her chin at the sickly woman in bed who was being pampered by her husband.

While the audience was interacting with each other, the voice was once again heard.

{Four days passed in the blink of an eye and Damona began recovering.}

Soothing music was played as the scene showed Damona getting back to her feet, though feeble, she returned to her daily routine.

This meant that it was the end of Theo's duty at home.

The man looked extremely reluctant but under his wife's coercion, he returned to his job which he had not done in the past few days.

{Three days passed with everything returning to normalcy.}

This evening, Theo was seen returning home a little later than usual as the crowd at Irv's Tavern had increased due to the weekend rush.

As he received extra money for this, he decided to make up for the time he had stayed at home and agreed to work for longer.

However, when he was close to his home, he found that there were many people in and around the house.

The audience watched as Theo hastened his steps towards his home and the quick pace of the music accompanied his steps.

"Damona?" He called out as he entered the house and his heart sank when the first person he saw was the physician from last time.

The next thing that met his eye was the crowd that surrounded their bed.

The air was eerily silent in the tent as Theo tore through the crowd to reach his wife who must be laying there.

However, his frightened look faded when he saw that his wife was gazing back at him.

Along with him, the entire audience heaved a sigh of relief when they saw her alive.

"What's wrong?" He questioned when Damona's eyes filled with tears which had been absent until now.

The neighbors who now stood in a corner remained silent and looked away, unwilling to witness this sight.

Damona bit her lip before she clutched her belly and sobs filled the room.

"Theo… Our baby… It's gone!" She cried out in despair when she finally found the solace she had been looking for all along.

These words weighed down like a heavy mountain on Theo's head as he dropped to his knees before her.

The spectators gasped at her outburst and silent sobs could be heard which resonated with Damona's cries.

Damona was alright and Theo had returned to work after making sure of it so why did this tragedy strike this happy couple?

{While Theo was at work, Damona had expressed pains in her abdomen and their neighbors were kind enough to fetch the physician for her.}

The solemn voice of the narrator was heard while the audience was trying to make sense of what just happened.

{The physician who rushed with his lady helper checked on a weeping Damona who was now laid on the bed as she clutched her belly, appearing to be protecting it.}

The maternal instincts of the women in the audience could understand this emotion that Damona was experiencing right now.

{A miscarriage…}

He uttered as his voice faded away, bringing a new scene on the stage.

The neighbors along with the physician had left and it was only the devastated couple who remained in the silent room.

Watching her friend crying on the stage, Hilda too shed innocent tears even when she could not understand this part of the story.

The scene ended with Theo hugging his wife as they both mourned the death of their child they had yet to meet.

Not only the women but the men were also affected by this scene as death was painful to everyone especially if it was of someone they had been desperately waiting to meet.

The stage went dark and as the voice began speaking, different scenes appeared on the stage in quick succession.

{The next few months were painful for the couple who had lost their child.}

{Theo and Damona had begun leading monotonous lives as though the joy had been snatched away from them after this incident.}

{Each day became a burden for them and every time they looked at each other, they recalled the death of their child who did not have the fortune of seeing this world.}

On stage, Theo and Damona were seen looking into their own bowls of food as they ate in absolute silence.

They no longer fed each other nor smiled gently at each other, there was only pain and sadness when they looked into each other's eyes.

{The happy couple was no longer happy now due to this one incident that had impacted their lives immensely.}

The husband was seen leaving for work but his wife was no longer at the door, waving him goodbye.

However, just as Theo had turned away, Damona appeared at the window and gazed at her husband longingly.

{They still loved each other dearly but each time they gazed into each other's eyes, all they found was self-blame, guilt, and sadness.}

These words echoed in the tent as they reached everyone's ears and even their hearts.