Highfall by Ani Alexander Read Free Book Online

felt permanent pain.  Her soul was aching, her heart was broken and her life had no meaning any more.  The process of getting over it, hadn’t even started, because Annika realised that it would never end.
     
    Stefan called her every day, but she didn’t answer her phone.  Only once did she answer it, to tell him she was leaving the country for ever, that she did not want to say good-bye in person and that he should not try to find her.
     
    After that, she changed her number.  It was officially and totally over.  At least for the record...
     
    Annika did not leave the country, of course.  She was desperately trying to regain her self-composure and get herself back on an even keel and make sense of her life, and she did her best not to think about the lost baby.
     
    Nevertheless, she spent ages imagining whether it would have been a girl or a boy.  After she had convinced herself that it was a girl, she tried to imagine what the baby would have looked like, what Annika would have called her and what colour her eyes would have been....
     
    Annika's thoughts made her pain stronger, her sadness was unbearable and life was miserable.
     
    She cried rivers.  She cried for Stefan and for what they had had together and how they had lost it all.  She cried for the emptiness she felt inside.  And she cried for herself – the happy young woman who in a fraction of a second had become lost, crushed and destroyed.
     
    Annika spent weeks crying the sorrow away.  Her eyes were red and swollen most of the time. At some point she even wanted to die...

 
    12
     
    Sadly troubles never come alone.  It seems as if they call out to each other and gang up at the same time in a person's life.  And in most cases it is at the least expected moment.
     
    Annika's and Stefan's town had a famous gipsy mafia honcho, who called himself King Chicho. He ran everything and everyone in town and spread trouble.  Everybody tried to avoid him or, in case that first option was not possible, to please him.
     
    Annika had never heard of him since she spent most of her time either at work, or with Stefan and his drug buddies.  Even Stefan didn’t know about King Chicho since drugs had kept him so high he was completely out of touch with reality.
     
    One day this King's wife had some problems with her health and turned up at the hospital where Annika was working.  Worse still, the woman came in when it was Annika’s shift and Annika had to examine her.
     
    When Annika entered the room she saw that the woman looked like a gipsy and was behaving very strangely but she paid no attention.   A patient is a patient no matter where she’s from, who she is and what she does in life.   Everybody is equal in the face of disease.
     
    When King Chico’s wife saw Annika, she looked her up and down with a scornful expression on her face, then stood up, extended her hand to be shaken and introduced herself
     
    “Queen Selka,” she announced with a voice full of dignity and pride.
     
    Annika thought the woman had either to be crazy or else she was pulling her leg, so she replied with equal dignity and pride
     
    “Princess Annika,” which she found amusing.
     
    “What?  Are you mocking me?” the woman cried at Annika, snatching back her hand, turning all red and storming out, mouthing angry words in a foreign language that Annika did not understand.
     
    Annika stared at the closed door, thought for a few seconds and, not finding any logical explanation, decided to forget the whole story since she did not want to spoil her mood over such a trifling incident.  She did not realise then that not only would the incident not be forgotten but that it would also determine Annika's future career.

 
    ****
     
    A few hours later the director of the hospital rang Annika before her shift was over and asked her to come and see him.
     
    “Hi,” Annika entered the room with a big smile on her face.  It was amazing how she could keep her