The Last Embrace 352 Swift Death Or Prolong Agony?

One week later.

It's now Ben's turn to go home.

Jessy went to the human's living quarters, she knocked before entering the room. When she pushed the door, Ben was sitting alone on the bed, since he was the only occupant left in the room.

"Hi, Ben!"

"Hello, Ma'am Jess!"

"Are you excited to go home?"

"Yes, very much!" Ben said, then his face turns sad for a moment.

"Why you look sad? I thought you're excited to go home tonight?" she asked.

Ben took a deep breath. "I been gone for two years and I have no idea if my wife who was suffering a breast cancer still alive today?" he said teary-eyed.

Jessy was silent for a minute or two. When she visited Ben's family on the address that he had written on the index card, he saw Ben's wife lying in the bed, crying and writhing in pain. Now she understood why that woman was crying because she was suffering from breast cancer! And according to her research online, breast cancer was one of the most painful types of cancer out there and if not treated at an early stage can spread to the brain. "I visited your house yesterday and I saw your wife in one of the rooms of the house..." she said.

Ben's face lighted up. "How is she—?"

Jessy sighed for a moment. Would telling Ben that his wife was in agony when she saw her can cheer him up? The answer would be no, but she has to tell him the truth. "She's writhing in pain..." she answered in a low voice.

Ben's face was on the bridge of crying. Tears rushing on to his eyes. "I see..." he was glad that his wife waited for him until today so that they can see each other again.

Jessy shifted her attention to the ceiling. The pain she saw on Ben's face was too much. "Does your wife undergoes chemotherapy or any types of medication?" she asked even though she knows that breast cancer patients who undergo chemotherapy have slim chances of surviving because chemotherapy is a deadly treatment itself that can produce many side effects on the patient's body.

"The first and second year she did chemotherapy, b...but the medicine and chemotherapy were getting expensive we stop it, my wife insisted we stop it because we can no longer afford it and our debts are mounting...so...she just endures the pain each time besides we also have two children..." his voice trailed off, remembering how hard it was for his family to cope with the house expenses and medical bills when he vanished two years ago.

"S-so, your wife was just waiting for the time that she will die?" she asked.

"Yes..." Ben nods his head and the tears fell from his eyes.

Jessy bit her lip, so sad.

"How about my mother and father?" Ben asked.

Jessy saw Ben's mother and father, they seem to age well. "Your parents are healthy," she replied.

"And how about our twins...my two daughters?" he asked again.

Jessy smiled. "They're adorably pretty and going to school..."

Silence engulfed them for a moment.

"My wife wanted to end her life a few times...she even wanted me to buy her a poison or something....she just wanted to die because it's very painful...she doesn't want to live anymore and I keep asking for God's mercy to heal my wife every day but he never answered my prayers, he turned a deaf ears about my wife's illness," there was much bitterness on his voice.

Jessy stared at his forlorn face, she can feel the weight of the world pressing on Ben's shoulder. It must be very hard to be on his shoes seeing his wife always in physical agony every single day unable to do anything to alleviate her pain.

"I'm so sorry about your wife's condition, Ben," Jessy said sincerely. "How much do you love your wife?" she asked suddenly.

Ben looked at her with a puzzled expression. "Of course I love my wife..." he responded.

"What's painful—seeing her in pain every day but alive? Or... much better that she will just die immediately and goes to heaven so that she can finally rest in peace and no longer suffer from her physical pain?" she asked.

"That's a very tough question to answer, Ma'am Jess," he murmured. Right now he wanted to cry hard, remembering his wife's suffering every day, it's like deadly torture to him.

"For example, I am a Genie on the bottle and I will give you only two wishes...first wish...your wife will continue to live for years until your daughters turn 18 years old or... the second wish...she will die on the day you will return home, choose your wish, which is which you like best to happen to your wife?"

Ben was silent for a long time. What is it that he wanted for his wife?

"If I am selfish I would rather want to see my wife alive until my daughter turns 18 years old but my wife would have to suffer terribly and it's something that is both torturous to me and her. My wish is that I would rather have my wife die and rise to heaven and rest in peace because it's something that she has been wishing for since she suffered breast cancer," he gave his honest answer.

Jessy nods her head. "So, it's death that you are seeking for your wife—are you sure?"

A single tear fell from Ben's right eye. "D-do you think...I'm a bad person? Do you think I'm a cruel husband because I wish my wife a peaceful death?" he asked feeling ashamed of himself for thinking such cruel thoughts on behalf of his sick wife.

"No," Jessy answered by shaking her head a few times. "In the first place, your wife was asking it for herself. You're not going to kill your wife and besides were just talking about a possible scenario for you to choose from. No harm has done yet. We have to accept the fact that many people are suffering from terminal illness all over the world and some illness has no cure only death is the answer. For these people, death is their final cure and living is the ultimate torture. Some people are lucky though, they're illness has cure but others are not so lucky. How I wish your wife belongs to the lucky ones...but she is destined to die sooner or later. It's comforting to know that you and your wife have agreed on something that it's better for her to rest in peace than suffer any longer," she said.

She patted his shoulder. "Life is tough, Ben. You have to be strong for your wife and your twins...but even if God seems to be not answering your prayers right now...one day your wife's suffering will end and your suffering will end too," she said sympathetically.

Jessy shifted on her feet moving to the door. "Let's go now, Ben. Time for you to go home," she said in a low voice.

Chapter end

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