Ella stayed in the hospital for another week. She took the pills every day and as promised, they took away her negative emotions but also everything else too. She no longer needed my hugs or any kind of comfort and she lost interest entirely in talking to me or even seeing me. It seemed Luca could no longer entertain her and most of her time was spent either asleep or staring vacantly at the wall. Whilst there were no more tears or nightmares, a smile rarely graced her lips either and even less often a laugh.

When the Doctor's deemed her healthy enough for our children to come and see her, she seemed happy enough but she didn't hug them as tightly as she used to and she just smiled and nodded as they spoke to her. When Cato asked her how she was, she couldn't answer. When Lili presented her with a beautiful quilt she had knitted with her Grany, she told her it was pretty but her smile was meek and subdued.

I tried to explain to them why their Mother was like this. Why they didn't really have her back yet. Even Cato, the eldest, didn't quite understand and each and every one of them was quieter and calmer when I put them to bed that night.

I held her hand as we left the hospital but she only gripped as firmly as she needed to stay upright and when we got home, she just sat where I placed her on the bed, without saying a word until she eventually fell asleep.

Every morning and night for another week I brought her a glass of water and handed her a pill. I felt a pang of guilt everytie I watched her swallow one.copy right hot novel pub