As the sun rose, Melissa still holding on to the handkerchief, sat on the couch in the living room blankly looking out the window with no strength to go on. They said past twenty four hours there was no hope of finding the child, and now her son was gone.
How was she supposed to live without him? She wondered briefly closing her eyes.
"Melissa, you have to eat." Sitting beside her, Mark spoke with a steaming bowl in his hands.
"I'm not hungry, just take it away." She responded not looking at the person beside her.
Many had tried, even her weak aunt, but she didn't eat or drink anything.
Looking at the stubborn woman, Mark felt more helpless. Taking her now cold hand in his, he forced her to look at him.
"I know you are worried about our son, I'm worried too Melissa, but we have to stay strong. You have to eat so you can be strong enough to take care of Tommy when we find him." He touched her cheek wiping the silent tears.
"Will we find him?" She asked between sobs as he hugged her close to his chest.
"Shush, I promise we will. Please eat." He soothed her and as she calmed down, he fed her the porridge despite her asking him not to.
"I can eat by myself, go answer the phone." As his phone rang, she took the bowl from him.
Looking at the name on the screen, Mark excused himself.
The chief of police had called him earlier about a dead body he was going to confirm using Tommy's picture, and though he had not told melissa, he really hoped it was not their son.
He couldn't lose his son, not when he had just found him.
Now looking at the call, Mark felt like the walls were closing in on him opting to step outside.
"Hello is it him?" He questioned, then listened intently as a smile formed on his face.
"We have to go to the hospital." Rushing back to the house he told Melissa startling everyone.
"What? Did they find Tommy?"
"It appears so."
The chief of police had asked them to go to the hospital.
Apparently, some village women had found a boy at the river bank when they went to get water in the morning. Though the boy was unconscious, and in bad shape with a wound on his head and injuries all over his body, he was still alive.
At first, they thought he was dead but when one woman got the courage to touch him, she realized he was barely breathing. From the village, they rushed him to the clinic where an ambulance was brought to get him to the district hospital.
With the news of the missing child all over the social networks, one of the attending nurses recognized Tommy, and the hospital inform the police.
When Mark, Melissa, and her aunt got to the hospital, the doctors had finished operating on him and transferred him to the intensive care unit.
"Doctor, how is my son, can I see him?" All the way to the hospital Melissa had been worried.
Her three year old son had spent the whole night out in the cold, hurt and lonely. How did he survive all that, she couldn't stop asking herself afraid of the state she would find him in.
"Ma'am, your son will be okay. We just did a successful brain surgery."
"What? Oh my God, will he be okay?" She asked placing her hand on her chest. The police had briefed them of the injuries he sustained falling into the river but she didn't think it was severe enough to need brain surgery.
"Yes he will be okay, he is a fighter. Though he had bruises on his feet and arms, he will make a full recovery but we have to closely monitor him for the next twenty four hours in the intensive care unit."
"Why? You said the surgery went well?" Betty inquired feeling as anxious as Melissa was.
"Yes it did but it's best to closely monitor him." The doctor explained all that had to be done and when they could transfer Tommy as Mark requested.
"Thank you, doctor, can I see him?" Melissa asked trying to hold herself together.
"Yes, the nurse will take you to his room. He is sedated for now, but he will wake up after two to three hours. Not more than two people should be in the room at a time though." The doctor informed, then instructed one of the nurses to take them to the patient.
"Thank you doctor." Thanking the doctor, Melissa briefly looked at Mark, then followed the nurse.
"I'll join you. Mr Johnson, don't you want to see Tommy?" Betty turned to Mark who had been standing there quietly as the doctor explained Tommy's condition.
"I'll talk with the police first and make arrangements for Tommy's transfer aunt, please keep Melissa company. I'll join you soon, excuse me." He said then walked away dialing his phone.
He had just learned of his child's existence, and with all the activities after his kidnapping, he didn't know how to react. He felt relieved his son was found and safe but also he didn't know how the boy would react to him as his father. Mark felt scared of Tommy not accepting him as a father. Since he was not there from the day he was born and didn't protect him from the bad guys, he felt Tommy would be drowne back.
After watching Mark leave, Betty joined Melissa and the nurse. Before going to see Tommy, the nurse directed them to put on some protective clothes so as not to contaminate the room.
Though Tommy was stable with minor injuries, they needed to cautiously monitor him closely.
Walking into the room, tears welled up in Melissa's eyes when she saw the white bandage on her little boy's head with the beeping machines around him monitoring his heartbeat.
"Oh aunt, what did those people do to my poor son? Look at all the injuries on his body. It hurts that I can't do anything to take his pain away." She sobbed uncontrollably holding his little chubby hand.
"Calm down honey. What matters now is the fact that he is with us. The wounds will heal eventually." Betty tapped her back comforting her "We should be grateful he is alright dear." She said as Melissa calmed down.
"Thank you aunt." Wiping her face, she leaned on her aunt's hand placed on her shoulder thankful to have caring people in her life.
"Don't thank me. This is partly my fault, I was not able to protect him."
"You have taken care of us all these years aunt, I'm grateful for that. With Tommy it was just an accident, I can never blame you." Melissa hugged her as Mark walked in.
"I'll go call Lisa and everyone who has been helping us look for Tommy to inform them that he has been found." Betty excused herself leaving them to have some time alone.
"Thank you aunt, I'll stay and wait for Tommy to wake up."
"He'll be so happy to see you dear, he had missed you so much." She smiled nodding at Mark as she walked out.
Keeping Melissa company, Mark stayed in the room after ordering his assistant to drive their aunt home to take some rest. He had also made arrangements to transfer Tommy to their family hospital in the city, and though the kidnappers were not apprehended, he was happy to have found his son alive and well.
"Hey, thank you for helping me find Tommy, and for not being mad since I didn't tell you about him sooner." She walked to Mark and embraced him.
He was a pillar in her life, always there offering support in every way.
"Don't thank me, I'm his father and the two of you are my responsibility. I'll take care and keep you safe always." With his hands on her waist, he spoke gazing into her eyes keeping her in place as she tried to step back.
With their gazes locked, Melissa bit her lower lip trying not to lean in as she desperately needed to feel his lips on hers.
"Mum! Mum?"
Hearing the soft voice, Melissa stepped from Mark's embrace turning to her son.
"Swill, you're awake! How are you feeling?" She sat before his bed taking his hand in hers.
"Mummy, my head hurts. I hit my head when I fell running away from those bad guys. Where is grandma? Is she okay? I got away so I can go to grandma, I didn't want her to get worried about me." Tommy spoke looking around then stopped when he saw the man behind his mother.
"Grandma is okay son, she got worried when you went missing but she is okay now, and mummy is so proud of you." Melissa smiled, then noticed his gaze fixed on Mark. "Honey there is someone here to see you." Stepping aside, she made room for Mark beside the bed.
"Dad!"