Seeing the dept of her son's anguish tore at Ryan's mother's heartstrings, as she sought to mend the tattered remain of their family. Since she was left with only one option, which propelled with a burning desire to bring her son's happiness back, she embarked on a mission to find the elusive Ciara.
Despite the trepidation gnawing at her, she knew she had to begin her search, in the last place she wished to return to; the hospital she employed Ciara.
All of this would have been avoidable if only Ryan did not propose for a divorce, Ciara would still be his wife and she herself wouldn't be facing the humiliation of going back to the hospital.
Ryan's mother couldn't help but wonder if at all Ciara would be ready to give her audience. Thinking it through, part of it all was Ciara's fault, she shouldn't have left, even with how Ryan threatened her with the divorce papers.
On second thought, Ciara must have had her concrete reasons for leaving without traces, disappearing into the dark night -maybe all of it was only Ryan's fault.
*******
Months later, Ryan's motherfound herself standing before the hospital's huge building. Fighting back the acrid bile of anxiety, Ryan's mother stepped into the sterile confines of the hospital's reception and with no much time to waste, she went straight to the doctor's office.
Dr. Williams regarded her with cool curiosity in his eyes and his arms folded across his chest. "What is it you want to know about Ciara?" Dr. Williams inquired, an eyebrow raised in bemusement.
Ryan's mother was all too aware of how she was perceived already; a desperate mother clinging to the one person she believed could help her unravel the mystery caused by her son.
"Any thing about her that you can help me with, I need to locate her urgently." She told him, pleadingly. "If possible, I won't mind if I get to meet her now."
"She's not a nurse here anymore." Dr. Williams explained in the best, calm way he could muster. "She resigned shortly before marrying your son. I'm sorry I can't reveal any more information than that. It's not professional for me to disclose staff details, past or present."
Ryan's mother sighs, her patient wearing thin. "I understand that doctor, but Ciara left Ryan not more than two months ago! She signed the divorce paper and disappeared into the night without no trace. I need to know why. I need to know if she has anything to do with what's happening to Ryan."
Dr. Williams gritted his teeth, pausing to consider his next words carefully. "Mrs Lerman." He finally replied. "My involvement in Ryan's case was strictly professional, I cannot and will not offer you any information about a formal staff member."
Ryan's mother did not know how long she's going to continue to persuade Dr. Williams before he could agree to give out the information she required from him. Even with how pretty closed they are, she is aware that it is not professional to do so, but it's all about her son. Notjust Ryan's happiness alone, but that of herself too -there is no way she's going to be well if her son isn't.
Dr. Williams can't just pretend not to know some little information about Ciara. At least she would have put her residence address in her file, and that's the most vital information she needs about her. Knowing where she lives would have solved half of the problem, but Dr. Williams seems to be hard to get -a very hard nut to crack too.
"You should know where her residence is." Ryan's mother said, earning a big frown from the doctor. "That would be a huge favor if you can tell me where she stays. I won't bother you anymore afterthis, I promise."
Ryan's mother felt extremely bitter, she could not imagine herself stooping so low to beg the doctor and to crown it all, Mr. Williams did not seem to be the ready one to help her.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Lerman." Dr. Williams turned down. "I can't give out even the tiniest information about Ciara, not even where she stays. The only thing I can say is, she lives here in the States too. If you are lucky enough, you might run into her someday."
The States is a big place on its own, and Ryan's mother did not even know where she would start from if she started looking for her in such a big city like London. It won't be a good idea -no, it was never a good answer from the start.
"You know London to be a big place, Mr. Williams." Ryan's mother said, swallowing hard on nothing. "There's no way I could ever find her if I started looking for her unless there's a divine intervention."
"That's the little I could say about her." Mr. Williams replied with a straight face, showing no facial expression at all. "And I think I have helped you a little, too. It's nice meeting you once again after all these months, Mrs. Lerman."
She needs no one to interpret his last few words to her. In his words and phrases, he's already bidding her a farewell and asking her to leave his office.
Ryan's mother stared at the doctor, she seemed to be lost in her world and her heart already aching too. Since the doctor is not even ready to adhere to her, no matter how much she continues to plead for a lifetime, she realized there's nothing more she needed to do at his office and also his hospital too -after all, he already asked her to leave.
Defeated and heavy hearted, Ryan's mother left the hospital. It is not just Ryan's health that she is concerned about now, but the unraveling of the family as a whole. The disappearance of Ciara had left an irrevocable fissure in every fabric of Ryan's life, and she felt powerless in the face of this.
As she thinks it through, she was unsure of how she's going to break the news to her son. 'How is Ryan going to react if he finds out his mother couldn't even help him out in her little way as she had promised?' She asked herself, heaving out a heavy sigh.
"How am I going to break such news as this to him...？" This was the question she kept asking herself and for the first time, Mrs. Lerman seems to have failed to do something that was in her reach...