Andre was worried about his wife. She had been up for weeks obsessing on the idea of having children. And not just any children, but children that were stolen from her: She was convinced that eighteen years ago her eggs had been harvested from her body and implanted unwittingly in another woman.

He paced the kitchen floor. “I’m worried our conversations the last few weeks haven’t been a good idea. Yes, I want children, but I never meant to make you sick. Somehow, it’s made you paranoid and now you’re refusing to take your meds.”

“But I already have children!” She took a sip of coffee from her mug.

He was overwhelmed with guilt. A month ago, he had raised the idea of having children. They were finally financially stable, and it seemed like the perfect time, with him being promoted to CEO of his company and Kyla, his wife, ready to take some time off from her very successful floristry business.

On top of that, Kyla was great with children. He’d never met a more nurturing, caring compassionate soul. The only child of her parents, she was not blessed to have nieces and nephews of her own, but she was the best aunt and adopted mother to a ton of neighborhood kids. It wasn’t rare for her to treat these kids to the local ice cream parlor or to babysit for their parents for free when they needed a date night. It wasn’t rare for her to volunteer at the local library, teaching preschool kids to read or to volunteer at the local daycare. She simply loved kids, and they adored her also.

 “You’ve got to believe me! Someone stole my eggs. I know they did.”

HE DOESN’T BELIEVE YOU KYLA! BUT IN TIME HE WILL!

He stopped pacing. “Do you realize how preposterous that sounds?”

“But it happened. The voices say you don’t believe me, but in time you will.”

He’d humor her. “Okay, how did it happen?”

TELL HIM ABOUT THE APPENDECTOMY.

“Eighteen years ago, I went in for an Appendectomy. That’s when they did it.

He crossed his arms. “Who?”

She took a sip from her mug, and then placed it in the sink. Turning around she said, “The doctors. They placed me under anesthesia and while I was unconscious, they took my eggs. Now Lord knows how many children I have walking around.”

AND YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW THEM!

She shook her hands in the air. “And I don’t even know them!”

“You think while the doctor operated on you, they harvested your eggs and—”

“Yes! And they implanted them in Lord knows who! I could have half a dozen children out there!”

He wrapped his arms around her. “I’m worried about you, Kyla. You’ve been up for days. Listening to voices. I think it’s time you go to the hospital.”

He’d been trying to admit her for the last few weeks now. But it was nearly impossible in New York state for a schizophrenic to be admitted involuntarily unless they were a threat to themselves or someone else, and Kyla was none of these things.

TELL HIM THERE’S NOTHING WRONG WITH YOU!

She shook his hands off her. “There’s nothing wrong with me! I’m as healthy as can be. I’m not sick. I’m not insane. I just have voices talking to me.”

“And that doesn’t strike you as odd?”

WHY WOULD IT STRIKE YOU AS ODD? WE’RE YOUR GUARDIAN ANGELS.

“No, because they’re here to help me. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t have found out what that corrupt doctor did.”

“What evidence do you have of this?”

“I told you. My evidence is the voices. They tell me.”

“But you can’t trust those voices.”

YOU CAN TRUST US!

“Why not? They’ve been right about everything. Why would they be wrong about this?”

“I’m telling you they’re wrong, Kyla. Name one thing they’ve been right about.”

WE KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU, KYLA. WE’RE ALWAYS RIGHT.

“Well for one they know everything about me. 

Isn’t it true that when you were SEVEN YOU SNuck A FROG THAT YOU GOT OUT OF A NEIGHBORHOOD POND INTO YOUR BEDROOM FOR TWO DAYS THAT YOUR PARENTS KNEW NOTHING ABOUT? AND ISN’T IT also TRUE YOU WEREN’T ALLOWED TO HAVE PETS SO YOU HID HIM, IN A SHOEBOX, ON YOUR BEDROOM CLOSET SHELF? ISN’T IT TRUE THAT HE DIED TWO DAYS LATER?

Oh, my Goodness! How’d you know that? It still amazed her, how the voices knew everything about her.

“They just proved it, right now. They know everything. They know about a pet frog I once had. No one knew about him, not even my parents, because I hid him. I’m telling you; they know all my deepest, darkest secrets. Things that no one else would know, but me and—”

“That’s because they are you, Kyla. The voices are you. You’re sick and if you would just take your medication, you’d realize that fact.

YOU’RE NOT SICK!

“I’m not taking my medication and I’m not going to the hospital.

HE’S TRYING TO SILENCE YOU! HE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO FIND YOUR CHILDREN!

“The voices say you’re just trying to silence me. To stop me from finding my children.”

“And how do you expect to find these children that you speak of?”

REMEMBER WHAT WE TOLD YOU ABOUT 23 AND WE.

“The voices say that my kids may have profiles on 23 and We. I’ve already submitted a DNA sample and sent back my kit in the mail to them four weeks ago. It should only be a matter of days before I get the results. I’m hoping to connect with my kids that way.”

Andre drew in a slowed breath and exhaled. “If that’s what you think will give you the answers you need then by all means, I support you and think 23 and We is a good idea.”

Hopefully, once Kyla found there were no matches, she’d abandon her delusions about her eggs having been stolen and give up on searching for her supposed children. And maybe then she’d accept admission into the hospital.

#

Kyla was excited. The results of the 23 and We test came via email the next day.

“It’s here!”

Immediately the pair logged into Kyla’s 23 and We account and scanned the results. And then there it was. A match. And not just any match. But a match for a biological daughter. Her name? Ruth Lawrence.

WE TOLD YOU, YOU HAD CHILDREN!

She lifted her head high above her neck and thrust out her chest in pride. “I told you!”

“But I don’t understand. How could this be?” He rubbed his chin. “Wait click on her profile. See how old she is.”

“It doesn’t list an age.”

“Well, is there a way to send her a message? See if you can connect with her to see if she was born around the time, you had the surgery.”

HER AGE DOESN’T MATTER. WE WERE RIGHT.

“What does her age matter? The voices are right. This proves I have a daughter. And Lord knows how many others.”

He scratched his head. “There’s got to be some reasonable explanation.” 

SEND HER A MESSAGE. IT’S TIME YOU MEET YOUR DAUGHTER.

“And I am sending her a message. I want to meet my daughter. Not only was my body violated and robbed of its eggs, but I was also robbed of knowing my children.

#

That night, Kyla could not sleep. The voices whispered in her ears.

I am Dr Gorganstop, the surgeon who operated on you when you had your Appendectomy. You and I have telepathic powers. You and I are rare souls for only a few people on earth have telepathic abilitIes.

When you came in for surgery, I knew it by the diamond-shaped birthmark ON your eye that you had these powers. Anyone with the diamond-mark under their left eye has the gift. And my team, a secret society of scientists, known as the Diamond-Marks, are running a secret social experiment.

My team and I planned the whole thing out from the beginning. It has been myself and my team whispering in your ears the last few weeks. It’s all been a set up. To torture you. To take your EGGS AND make you aware that you have children out there that you will never meet.

I forbid you to connect with Ruth or any other child of yours. If you do, I will kill you, your daughter Ruth Jenkins, and any other children you may have!

Your husband works for us. He is a spy, an implant there to murder you, should you even try.

Have you ever wondered why he has the same mysterious birthmark?        

Her heart pounded in her chest. Her husband: a spy? Tears poured out of her eyes. It had all been a set up. The last few weeks she had thought the voices were her friends. Now she was fast learning that they were her enemies. Enemies, sent to torture her. And that her husband was a part of the plot. She turned over in bed and tried to shake her husband awake. “Andre!”

There was no reply.

She shook him more fiercely until his eyes snapped open.

There was a blank look on his face. Pulling back the sheets and squinting his eyes, he mumbled, “Kyla?”

“Please, Andre, tell me you’re not a spy.” She was trembling. “I can’t take it anymore!”

He blinked a few times, then rubbed his eyes. “Kyla?”

He’s a spy. he’s one of us, just look at his face.

A soft gleam of light illuminated his face from the glow of the moon, which had cascaded into the room through semi-sheer curtains from the window. There under his left eye was the tell-tale birthmark.

 “You can’t, and I know why. Just look at your face. You’re one of them. You’re a spy and you’re helping them keep my children away from me. You have the birthmark. You’re a part of the diamond-mark crew.”

Andre sat up. “I’m what?”

“You’re part of the diamond-mark crew.”

“Kyla, I was sleeping. And I have no idea what a diamond-mark crew is. And I know you don’t believe me, but no one stole your eggs. Not me or anyone else.” He held her hand. “Please, now, just close your eyes and try to get some sleep.”

“But I can’t. The voices won’t let me. They said you’ll kill me if I tried to look for my kids and—”

“Kyla, calm down.” He took a breath. “Look, I think you need to go to the hospital. You’re getting paranoid, and I’m worri—”

The phone on the nightstand began to ring.

“It’s 2 am in the morning,” Andre said, “who could be calling now? I hope it’s not an emergency,” he said as he lifted the phone.

“Hi, can I please speak to Kyla Jenkins?”

“Uh, yeah sure, may I ask who’s calling?”

“I’m Ruth Lawrence. I saw we had a match on 23 and We. I think we might be related. I’m calling from Australia.”

“It’s 2 in the morning here Ruth, but I’m sure she’d love to talk with you. Maybe you can help us clear some things up. Here, I’ll put her on the line.”

HE’LL KILL YOU! HE’S A SPY I TELL YOU!

He tried to hand the phone to Kyla, but she pushed it away. “I can’t talk to her. You’ll kill me if I do. The voices threatened me. You’re a spy, I know you are.”

“Do you mind if I talk to her then?”

Suddenly the voices were silent. She waited for them to threaten her, telling her that her husband wasn’t allowed to take the phone call, but they did no such thing. For the moment the voices ceased.

She nodded. “Okay, go ahead.” She got up from bed and excused herself to go to the bathroom.

“Kyla’s not feeling well at the moment so she can’t speak to you now, but she has requested I speak with you instead. I’m her husband. Andre Jenkins.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Andre. I apologize for calling you so early in the morning. It’s already 4 pm here. I’m sorry, I got so excited when I saw your wife’s message along with the 23 and We results, Once I saw she left her phone number I wanted to call right away. I was so eager, I forgot about the time difference.”

“No worries.”

“The results came back that I’m your wife’s biological daughter, but I gotta ask, was your wife ever adopted by chance?”

#

Kyla somehow managed to fall asleep.

Meanwhile, Andre continued to talk into the early hours of the morning with Ruth.

It was quite a story. Turns out that his wife had a biological twin sister she never knew about. But her sister knew about her. Both had entered the foster care system as newborns, and then later were adopted by separate families.

Ruth was kind enough to text Andre pics of Kyla’s, now deceased, twin sister. Her name had been Marilyn and she was a spitting image of Kyla.

Ruth had been Marilyn’s only child.

Before she passed away five years ago from throat cancer, she made her daughter promise that she would find her sister. Marilyn had done some digging herself, but all her attempts were fruitless.

“My mother was schizophrenic, too.”

“Excuse me?”

“Your wife… I overheard her earlier when she wouldn’t come to the phone. She sounded paranoid. And her voice. It reminded me of my mom. She was sick, too. Your wife, does she have schizophrenia, by chance?”

Andre’s mouth fell open. He was rendered speechless. How did she know this? But seconds later, he was able to recover himself. “Yes,” he stuttered, “she… she does. And it hasn’t been easy for us these last few weeks. I’ve been trying to get her to the hospital, but… but she refuses.”

“Can I speak with her?”

“She’s uh… sleeping. But even if she were awake, I’m not sure that would be a good idea. She uh… thinks that if she speaks to you, I’ll uh… kill you and all her other kids she’s delusional about having.”

“Did the 23 and Me test make her sick?”

“No… I can’t say that. But it did worsen her symptoms. She thinks someone stole her eggs sixteen years ago and implanted them in someone else. And she thinks you are one of the children resulting from that crime.”

“I want to help. Maybe if you show her the picture of Marilyn that I sent you. That’ll pique her interest toward the truth.”

He swallowed. “Okay it’s worth a shot.”

#

The next morning Andre showed Kyla the pictures.

“Who is that?” she said, looking down at the screen of Andre’s phone. “She looks like me, but I’m telling you Andre, that’s not me. I’ve never taken this photo.”

“That’s because it isn’t you.”

He filled her in on the conversation he had with Ruth last night.

“Oh, my goodness! A sister! And a niece: that’s so amazing! If only I could have met Marilyn before she passed. But I still have a niece and I can’t wait to meet her! I’ve always known I was adopted, but never did I imagine I could ever have another family out there!”

“You sound better today.”

“Yeah, I took my meds before I fell asleep, last night when I went to the bathroom. The voices were harsh last night, and I know how sedating my meds can be, so I decided to swallow a couple pills before bedtime, in hopes that I could escape the voices through sleep. I’m less cloudy now.”

Andre nodded, urging her to go on.

“Look, I know that I lost it for a while these last few weeks, but I hope you haven’t changed your mind about having children with me. I’m extremely thankful. I just gained a niece, for heaven’s sake, but I want our family to grow even more with children of our own and—”

Andre smiled. “I do too!”

“I just want—”

“I said, ‘I do too!’ ”

“What did you say?”

“I said I still want to have children with you.”

“That’s good. Because last night when I took my pills, I also took a pregnancy test. It was positive.”

– Samara Doumnande