Uncle James didn't say a word, but his gaze was fixed deeply on Jhuni. Slowly, he calmed himself, taking a few steady breaths before sitting down. "Ruth's surgery is only three days away, and we can't leave for Ghanaland without ensuring someone would care for her in the meantime."
Then I spoke up. "She could stay with Pastor Andrew after the surgery. Her condition wouldn't allow her to be in a place of chaos. Ghanaland wouldn't be a safe place for her recuperation at all."
Uncle James nodded in agreement. "Go on and make dinner. I'll show Jhuni to his room." Uncle James replied, and they both stood up. I nodded and headed toward the kitchen, quietly closing the door behind me.
Earlier at the hospital, I took the amulet from uncle James' pocket. It's wrong to do that but I know teven though Uncle James agreed on us going to Ghanaland, he wouldn't let me do anything Jhuni said. I slowly took it out, my fingers brushing its cool surface. I turned off the kitchen light. Instantly, the amulet began to glow, casting an ethereal light in the dim room.
A strange pull tugged at me, and without thinking, I closed my eyes and gripped the amulet tightly.
The world around me blurred, and suddenly, I found myself in a different time.
A young, handsome man in a traditional pattern clothes stood before a small hut, golden amulet wrapped around his arm. He paced anxiously, then froze at the sound of a baby's cry. He rushed inside the hut and knelt by a small, bloodied infant lying in a bed. With a look of pure love and tenderness, he gently stroked her bloody, swollen cheeks.
"You are so beautiful," he whispered softly. "You shall be called Anna."
He looked up at the woman beside him, his eyes full of gratitude and unspoken love as he kissed her sweaty forehead. "Thank you, my love."
The woman, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears, smiled warmly and nodded. "Anna suits her. It's a beautiful name."
The man came closer and hugged his wife.
Suddenly, the amulet burned my palm, pulling me back into reality with a sharp gasp. I winced, releasing it immediately. It dropped to the counter with a soft clink.
Staggering, I held my hand, feeling a strange weakness seep into my limbs, like something vital had drained from me. My breath came in shallow gasps, and before I knew it, tears spilled freely down my cheeks. I couldn't tell if it was the pain from the burn or the overwhelming emotion from the vision, but something inside me cracked.
And yet, at the same time, something else… awakened.