Chapter 12: 012 Sanatorium
Translator: 549690339
The number of times Olivia Taylor visited her mother increased as the chief physician urged her to do so more often.
This was good news because, according to the doctor, her mother's sickness had improved significantly due to the doctor's efforts and Olivia's companionship. At the same time, the doctor suggested that Olivia should visit her mother more often, as targeted stimulating treatments might be even more helpful for her mother's condition.
Olivia prepared some items from her childhood and stored them in the trunk of her car. These were all precious "treasures" from her childhood, holding different meanings and memories. This time, she wanted to share these with her mother.
A child of a business family rarely has a happy childhood.
Most of the happiness in her childhood was spent with her mother.
Olivia drove, her thoughts already with her mother. She recalled the time when her mother first entered the sanatorium, which could be said to be the most difficult and lowest point in her life.
Fortunately, the Perkins family offered a helping hand to her at that time.
Back then, her father left a suicide note and jumped from the top floor of a building, abandoning his wife and daughter, leaving them to face a cruel life together. The sudden death of the company's leader not only brought huge trouble to the company but also added more sorrow to Olivia and her mother's lives.
Ordinary and miscellaneous matters didn't count for much; company affairs could be handled through standard procedures. However, her father's death brought not only pain and sadness but also overwhelming panic about their debts to their family.
If Luke Perkins hadn't stepped forward as her father's friend to help their mother and daughter, Olivia couldn't imagine how she could face each day.
She thought about these things until she finally arrived at the sanatorium.
She registered at the front desk, and soon after, a nurse wheeled an elderly woman out from the courtyard. Olivia went up to meet them.
The nurse greeted Olivia familiarly, "We've just been sunbathing—today's weather is great."
Olivia nodded in gratitude, took the wheelchair from the nurse, thanked her politely, and then crouched down to look at her mother's face.
Olivia's mother spoke first, reaching out her hand, "Olivia."
Her hands were covered with small pinpricks and bruising, signs of years of injections. The well-cared-for appearance of earlier years had long disappeared; her mother's skin was wrinkled and no longer had the smooth, fair complexion she once had. However, when the touch reached Olivia's cheek, it still felt warm and provided a brief moment of peace and happiness.
"You've gotten thinner. Are you too tired lately? You need to take care of yourself and eat more. Don't ruin your body just for the sake of your figure," her mother said.
Olivia felt her nose tingle but smiled nonetheless, "Mom, I'm doing well. I'm eating well and sleeping well, don't worry about me."
Despite Olivia's reassurances, the person who always worried most about her was still her mother.
No matter if her mother was sick, or trapped by her own inner shackles.
Olivia clasped her mother's hand, noticing that the hospital wristband with her mother's name, Nancy Talbot, was slightly worn. The name was somewhat blurred, but the serial number was still intact.
Nancy Talbot was her mother's name.
Olivia felt a sting in her heart as she remembered her mother's youthful spirit and energy. Both her parents were experts in pharmaceutics, and it wasn't until she was born that her mother gradually stepped back to focus entirely on taking care of her.
It wasn't until Olivia started studying pharmaceutics in university that she began to see her mother's name listed as the first author on many academic papers. This made her feel even greater admiration for her mother.
Olivia held her mother's hand tightly,
But noticed a chain wrapped around her wrist, with a cross pendant attached. As Olivia wondered, her mother stroked her head and said, "Recently, the church has been re-opened, and some priests have come. We go there to listen whenever we're free."
A church... Olivia followed her mother's words in her mind.
The sanatorium was built on the site of an old church. The location became increasingly far from the city center due to urban planning. There were hardly any residents in the vicinity, and the old church was indeed in disrepair. It was eventually abandoned by the municipal government.
Later, it was purchased and turned into a sanatorium, with the church becoming part of the scenery.
Although not officially open to visitors, people were allowed to enter the church. Over time, some organized groups also came to pray, and now that the priests had arrived, it looked like it would become a formal church.
But Olivia didn't know her mother believed in this.
In her memories, her mother was always strong and magnificent; perhaps she needed spiritual support because of her illness and treatment here.
Olivia felt a sudden sense of guilt.
Taking care of her mother should have been her responsibility, but she left her mother here alone...
She stood up and pushed her mother's wheelchair around the courtyard, listening as her mother talked about her experiences at the church.
"Let your mother communicate with you; this is also a way to exercise her thinking. Try to guide her and follow her lead, but don't intervene too much." This was the chief physician's advice to Olivia, so she let her mother speak without stopping her, even inquiring for more details.
This scene was peaceful and heartwarming.
Olivia didn't want to recall the days when her mother first moved into the sanatorium.
At that time, her father had just jumped to his death, leaving behind an inheritance she didn't value and her mother as her sole support.
When her mother learned the news of her father's death, she fainted and remained unconscious for three to four days.
When she woke up, she no longer recognized anyone.
She didn't recognize her colleagues or the people at home, and sometimes didn't even recognize who Olivia was.
Initially, they tried standard treatment methods, but her mother managed to evade the nurses' supervision and secretly slit her wrist in the restroom. If not discovered promptly, Olivia might have lost her last remaining relative in this world.
This incident prompted Luke Perkins to intervene and send Olivia's mother to the sanatorium, where Olivia officially joined the Perkins family and became one of their members.
Latterly, she became a true member of the Perkins family when Tobias Perkins married her.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone