The nurse took Emma and Sarah down a hallway where there were several chairs along one wall. She asked them to be seated until a counselor was available to talk to each of them.
Emma and Sarah each sat on a chair. They avoided looking at each other. Sarah kept moving around on her chair. Out of the corner of her eye, Emma noticed that she was clenching and unclenching her hands.
Finally, Emma turned and said to Sarah, 'You seem to be really nervous. I know that I am. Maybe if we talk about why we are here, it will help both of us.'
Sarah nodded her head in response as Emma said. 'I really don't want to get an abortion. My boyfriend doesn't want to get married. He certainly doesn't want to be tied down with a child. He says he will leave me if I don't get an abortion. Also, I have just been promoted to a new position where I work and I can't get a leave from work.'
'Neither do I. I believe that the moment a baby is conceived, it has a spirit. So to me, abortion is murder. 'My boyfriend doesn't want to get married, either. He wants me to get an abortion too. If my parents knew I was pregnant they would be upset and disappointed. I don't want them to know about my pregnancy and abortion. It seems I don't have much of a choice-except to get an abortion,' replied Sarah, in a low voice as she tightly clasped her hands together. While Emma and Sarah were talking to each other, two little spirits were also talking to each other. The first little spirit, Sarah and Chris's child said, 'I have a father he's only seventeen. He thinks he's a man, but that cannot be. A man does not walk away from his family. He takes responsibility for his actions. I have a mother; she's only sixteen. She thinks she's a woman, but that cannot be. She isn't old enough to take care of herself or me. She is scared of the future and what it will bring. So they have decided to get rid of me. Oh, how I wish they had waited until they were adults to conceive me! Then I could live and we could be a family.'
The second little spirit, Emma and Jake's child said, 'My mother is an executive secretary. She can't interrupt her career to take care of me. Today in America, businesses aren't very family friendly."
"My dad wants to continue his bachelor life. He doesn't want to share responsibility. So they have decided to get rid of me. I guess they don't care about family, but I just want to live.'
I WANT TO LIVE
'I want to live
I want to live
I have places to go
And faces to know
I have talents to give
I want to live.'
"I want to feel April showers
and smell the sweet spring flowers
I want to spend lazy hours
watching fleecy clouds drift hither and yon
in a summer sky."
"I want to walk through autumn leaves
orange, gold, and red
And listen to their whispering voices
as they drift from overhead.'
"I want to catch the swirling snow flakes
tossed by fierce winter winds
And watch as the water freezes
in the rivers and the lakes.'
"I want to live out the seasons of my life
Spring, summer, fall, and winter
But ah! It isn't to be
For you can't be bothered with me.'
"I want to live
I want to live
I have places to go
And faces to know
I have talents to give