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The Voice Of Dead Silence
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SHATTERED DREAMS... THE SECRETS UNFOLD 2 ~ 3rd person
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Tiesha hears a bang on the other end of the line, immediately holding it away from her ear since it was so loud. It stopped and then she listened for a reaction on opposite ends. She heard slow, heavy breathing moments soon after.
�We have a child... ??? �
She sighed in relief. He said �we�. She smiled, almost laughed. He didn�t say �I�, he said �we�.
�Yeah, a daughter. Jasmine Ren�e.�
�Dorough?�
She grinned ear to ear. �Yeah... Jasmine Ren�e Dorough.�

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2 months later - at a hospital
Howie coughed pretty violently. He hated it when that came to pass. When he settled down, he laid back onto the hospital bed trying again to rest. He sighed and looks at the table next to him to see a small mirror he had failed to pick up for weeks. He was afraid. Afraid of his reflection. He retained his bravery and decided that maybe it was time to face reality.
So he picked it up. He turned it towards himself and gasped as soon as he seen what he has become. Overly pale and dreary looking. His facial skin seems to have been sulking into his skull making himself appear deadly. Exactly his fear. But there was nothing he could do to change that. He was now expecting his daughter to arrive in less than two hours to meet for the first time face to face.
I hope I don�t show my excessiveness of fear, he thought to himself. I also hope that I do not scare her either.
Again, he sighed. After spending so much time at the hospital, he had grown to dislike the silence and stillness in the room. He hated to be alone which was why he began to actually look forward to having company... even if it was with someone he had never met before.

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Jasmine still wondered why her mother wanted her at the hospital. She remembered her saying that she�d be meeting someone she had wanted to know her whole life. It wasn�t until they had walked into the entrance before Jasmine realized just whom her mom had been speaking of.
�Mom?�
�Yes, hun.�
Her breathing rapidly progressed as she began speaking, �Are you taking me to see my father? My real father?�
They stopped briefly before the reception desk. Tiesha was about to respond but a nurse behind the desk spoke first.
�May I help you?�
Jasmine stepped back in surprise as she heard her mom respond, �What room is Howard Dorough in?�
�What is your relation? Only family is permitted to visit during visiting hours.�
�I�m the mother of his child, mam.� Tiesha said taking offense to her words then repeated, �What room is Howard Dorough in?�
�I apologize, miss. He is in Room 183 on Floor 2.�
�Thank you.�

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Jasmine had no idea what to expect when she walked in the room. After all, she was only eight years old. But being without a dad and living in a dangerous neighborhood had brought her to her senses, to maturity at a young age. As soon as Tiesha walked her daughter into the room, she had walked out after the man nodded his approval of her leaving.
�I�m going to the cafeteria to get a cup a coffee,� she said before she left the room. �You two stay here and get acquainted.�
It was then Jasmine panicked. What was she going to say? What was she going to do? Before she could think about it, the stranger had already started speaking.
�You�re Jasmine, right?� he asked. She nodded. �I�m Howie... your dad.�
�Father,� Jasmine corrected. �You were never my dad. If you had wanted to be my dad you wouldn�t have left my momma!�
Howie shook his head and thought that Tiesha must not have told her the whole story. He was going to have quite a hard time with this girl. Already he knew that Jasmine had gotten her hard-headedness from her mother. He smiled to himself.
�Hun, I never knew about you... I wasn�t told until a few months ago.� Howie tried to explain.
Her face surely didn�t hide her feelings and she was furious. �Liar. Liar, liar, LIAR!�
�Jasmine, how ---�
�NO!� she yelled angrily flinging herself about stomping her feet. �I don�t want any explanation like my mom always give me. I�m tired of explanations! All you had to do was just be there for us and you never were. I hate you! I HATE YOU AND I WISH YOU�D DIE!�
She ran out of the room slamming into Tiesha on her way out.
�Leave me alone!� Jasmine yelled as she continued running. Tiesha knew she was just going out to the car and was glad she left the doors unlocked. She walked into the room to find Howie in tears.
He looked up at her. �She hates me...�

SEVEN     FIVE

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