Whispers of the Unborn

by Isla de Cruz

Rosy sat on the creaky wooden chair, the dim light flickering above her. The small, hidden clinic smelled of antiseptic, but it lacked the sterile cleanliness of a real hospital. She knew this place was illegal. Abortion was against the law in the Philippines, but desperation had led her here.

Her mother paced the tiny room, her arms crossed tightly. “We can’t let people find out,” she muttered. “What will the neighbors say? What will our family think?”

Rosy swallowed hard. She was only sixteen. A baby would change everything, her dreams of college, her future, her family’s reputation. And the father? He had disappeared the moment he found out.

The so-called "doctor" arrived, an old man with weary eyes. “Are you sure about this?” he asked, his voice low.

Rosy hesitated. She placed a hand over her stomach, wondering if the tiny life inside her could hear her thoughts. But fear won. Fear of judgment, of disappointment, of a life she wasn’t ready for.

She nodded.

The man sighed and pulled on a pair of gloves. The rusty medical tools glinted under the weak light. Mia’s mother squeezed her hand as the procedure began.

Pain shot through her body, but the real pain, the one she would carry in her heart, was only beginning.

Outside, the world continued, unaware of what had just happened. But deep inside her soul, a whisper remained, too faint to be heard, yet too strong to be forgotten.