«What was your gynecologist thinking?!» the doctors shouted during the birth of the 56-year-old woman..

Forgive me, Lord, for telling to refuse the children, it’s a big sin, I know. But at the moment, they’ll be better off in state care, and then maybe some childless couple will take them into a foster family. I’ve heard it happens, they take even sick children.

Gail whispered words of repentance silently. Gail Matthews kept her word, organized Claudia Thompson’s funeral. The whole town buried Claudia, many loved and respected her, knew what happened.

Because of that, the bitterness of loss became even heavier. Only Claudia Thompson’s family wasn’t with her in this mournful moment. Daughter Irene came but stayed apart and was afraid to approach the coffin to look at her mother’s dead face.

She didn’t approach, didn’t dare ask forgiveness for her misdeed. And Mike wasn’t at the cemetery at all, continued to be in happy oblivion. He relapsed into times when he and Claudia were young, and little Irene just started school.

The cemetery silence was broken by a mournful women’s wail. They wailed in all keys in polyphony, wailed and a few minutes later fell silent, humbly bowing their heads, the funeral procession of the town cemetery moved back to the town. Only one person stayed at the cemetery and sobbed aloud at the freshly dug grave.

It was paramedic Lucy, who discovered Claudia Thompson’s pregnancy. She blamed only herself for her death. Didn’t oversee, didn’t track, sent to the city for ultrasound on an old machine, which might have given wrong readings, didn’t see the pathology in the children.

«Oh, Claudia Thompson, Aunt Claudia, what have I done to you? Forgive me if you can, I’ll pray for your forgiveness on my knees all my life. Though your body is lifeless, your soul is alive, and it hears me,» Lucy begged, and tears streamed down her cheeks like hail. And then it dawned on the girl.

She shuddered with her whole body, then raised her tear-filled eyes to the gloomy sky and said again like a vow. «Claudia Thompson, I really want to atone for my guilt before you and God. I dream of doing what you couldn’t — raise and bring up the children you bore.

I don’t know why, but I believe they won’t perish, won’t die. They’ll live for themselves and for you, I promise, and I’ll do everything possible to keep the promise.» Lucy didn’t expect such words from herself.

But they came not from the head, but from the heart. Therefore, the words she said were the most sincere and real. For a long time, Lucy couldn’t tear herself away from the grave, stand up and go with everyone to the town.

Only when heavy rain started, she, soaked to the skin, returned home. You don’t throw around such strong promises. If you vowed, you must fulfill.

To do otherwise is to not respect yourself. And Lucy decided to start implementing the plan immediately. Nothing can be hidden from people in the town.

And Lucy, of course, knew what happened to Claudia’s husband Mike. The next morning, as if on wings, she rushed to the maternity hospital, where she ran head-on into Irene, who had just written a statement refusing her mother’s children. Lucy couldn’t hold back her emotions and right after Irene burst into the office of the maternity hospital head Helen Sanders…