Liam reminded Lara of her days when she was at her lowest.
After she transmigrated into a novel she had no clue about, she felt that she was way more mature than her peers.
This made her socially awkward and isolated from others.
And people in the area talked.
What else can people do other than talk about others’ flaws?
And they would talk about her right in front of her, letting her hear everything.
“Did you see how gloomy that child is?
Poor Mrs Bella,” a neighbouring aunty would gossip with another aunty across the road.
“I heard she can’t speak or hear at all.”
“Is that so?” The aunty would reply to the neighbouring aunty.
“Yeah, I can vouch for that.
One day I was passing by their house and accidentally bumped into that child.
What would a normal child do?
Cry, isn’t it?
You know what she did?” The neighbouring aunty paused for a suspense effect.
“What?” The other woman would ask, begging to spill whatever the neighbouring aunty had stored for gossip.
“She just looked blankly at me and turned her head away.” The neighbouring woman said, as if she just spilt the hottest scandal of the century.
“What!
No way.” Fellow listeners tuned in to join the gossip.
“I am telling you.
That child is not normal.
Poor Mrs Bella, raising such a child in this old age.
She could have just given up the child to an orphanage and lived her old age in peace.
“The neighbouring aunty said.
“You vixens, soul-eating monsters.
How dare you let your filthy tongues loose in front of kids and spew nonsense in front of them!” Isabella or Bella, would roar from her kitchen and come to the front gate door to confront the women.
Suddenly, Liam would sit next to her and play with her, while Grandma Bella dealt with those women.
“You are the one who told Grandma about those aunties, isn’t it?” Five-and-a-half-year-old Lara would ask in a monotnous tone.
“I did.” Five-year-old Liam would smile brightly.
“Why?” Lara would ask him again, without missing a single beat.
“Because Granny asked me to protect you.” Liam would say cheerfully.
Lara would shake her head in disbelief every time and would say, “I can protect myself.”
Liam would pout and say, “But I promised,” and whine until Lara agreed.
“It’s been a long time since we saw each other, Lara.” Liam smiled and nudged Lara on her shoulder.
“It has been,” Lara replied bluntly.
“Around 7 years, right?
How have you been all this time?” Liam tried to engage in a conversation.
“Fine.” Lara replied curtly.
“Not much of a talker to me, I see,” Liam said and looked away to hide his awkwardness.
Lara thought for some time and asked, “Do you know what the meeting is about?”
Liam was surprised by Lara initiating the conversation.
He immediately replied, “I can’t say that because I myself really don’t know what the report is like.”
“Hmm,” Lara replied.
“Still useless and still a looker.
Look at all the nurses who are oogling him and staring at me as if I stole their husband.
What a nuisance!
How did I even fall for such a guy in high school?
Must be those goddamn teenage hormones.” Lara thought to herself.
They soon reached Liam’s professor’s cubicle.
On the door of the cubicle, a name placard was attached.
It read:
Dr Connor Jones
MCh (GYN ONCO), MS (OB-GYN), MBBS.
Lara read the tag carefully and entered with as much strength as she could muster.
Liam knocked on the door thrice and asked, “Professor, may I come in, Professor?”
“Come in.” A deep old voice said from the other side of the room.
Liam opened the door carefully and peeked in.
“Sir, I have brought Miss Collins.”
“Oh, come in, come in,” Dr Jones said warmly.
Lara entered the room hesitantly and looked at the old, wrinkled man.
He looked like someone nearly of her grandmother’s age.
“Ah yes, Miss Collins.
Please be seated.” Dr Jones pointed at the chairs in front of him, across his desk.
Liam dragged out a chair for Lara and went to stand beside Dr Jones.
Lara sat on the chair and said, “Thank you for treating my grandmother without the upfront payment.”
“Haha, your grandmother is a real strong woman.
While she was awake, she was adamant about getting the surgery done first and then paying.
All the nurses were so fed up of her stubbornness that they let her get the surgery first.
Maybe that’s why she could survive for so long.” Dr Jones looked at her above his crescent moon-shaped reading glasses.
Panic started to hit Lara.
Going into an oncologist’s room is generally not good news.
And when the oncologist himself gives vague answers, it’s an internal tsunami alarm.
“What’s wrong with my grandma, doctor?” Lara asked carefully.
Dr Jones took a deep breath, and “She is…
battling stage three uterine cancer.”
Lara gave out a wounded breath.
It felt like her soul got shattered into multiple pieces.
“Cancer?” She thought, “Why is everything about Lara Collins so similar to my past life?”
In her previous life, her grandmother too was battling stage III cancer.
If only she had gone to meet her grandmother back then.
If only she had spent more time with her back then.
She couldn’t even find a single duo photo in her adulthood.
She didn’t feel like she was returning to her home on the day of the funeral.
Everything just went like a blur for her.
Trying not to cry, Lara asked, “Can she be cured from this stage, doctor?”
Dr Jones checked her initial reports and diagnosed her grandmother.
With the most soothing tone, he said, “Possible.
Highly possible.
There are many ways to recover from this stage.
We can go for surgery, or chemotherapy, or radiation therapy, or immunotherapy, or we can do it all together.
It all depends on how much it has metastasised after we do a better biopsy and some scans.”
Lara released a breath of relief.
“She can get cured at this stage too.” She thought.
All the kinds of therapy methods Dr Jones recommended were out of her insurance coverage.
She never thought that cancer could be the untimely disease that could strike them.
Thinking about the medical bills, Lara asked, “How much can the bill come to?
Any estimate you have in mind, doctor?”
“Umm.
It’s difficult to say right away.
After the scans and checkup, we can say an estimate.
But it will be tentative, as it would vary on the kind of treatment and time process.” Dr Jones said.
“Just tell the estimate of the estimate, doctor.
I need to save up money accordingly.
Our insurance will not cover any recreational medication or treatment for cancer other than the preapproved drugs by the insurance company, doctor,” Lara said, eyes filled with tears that threatened to drop anytime.
“It can come to around $84,000 to over $160,000.” Dr Jones said very carefully, as if he were diffusing a time bomb that could explode at the slightest mistake.
“Ok.” Lara said as her head spun at the figure.
“Ok.” She said again as she was processing the figure.
“Ok.” Lara finally said as she braced herself for the future that she could see coming in her way.
“Please continue with the treatment as you decide.
I’ll try my best with the funding.”
Dr Jones saw the young woman’s dilemma and determination.
Then he looked at his prodigy student, Liam Cornwells.
Liam was clutting his hands tightly, with eyes burning with determination to do something.
Dr Jones thought for a while, calculating the odds in Lara’s favour, and said, “Don’t worry, Miss Collins.
Liam and I can help your grandmother set up for welfare support.
Your grandmother should be eligible for at least one of them.”
Lara calculated the logistics of the finances she owned and needed to earn to keep herself and her grandmother afloat while the treatment goes on.
Thinking about it gave Lara a shudder.
The only quick way to earn money she could see for herself was by joining a boring 9 to 5 corporate job and taking a lot of loans.
She had to give up on her musical career, or take it as a second job.
And if, any welfare support could help her somewhat financially, then the loan amount would reduce, and she would have less burden in her bank account.
After all, she didn’t have a decent mortgageable property to get a good loan.
“That would help a lot.
Really a lot.
Thank you, doctor.” Lara said and clasped her hands in prayer in respect.
“I am just doing my job, Miss Collins.
I will contact some of the NGOs I know personally and apply for government aid from the hospital.
I want you to take rest and stay healthy for your grandmother.
You have to be her support system at this point in time.” Dr Jones said and held her hand, soothing her and giving her strength to fight.