I froze. I stared at the photo, stunned. A delicate little figure, eyes not even open yet. So soft. So fragile. And then the stench hit me. A metallic tang, sharp and thick. Blood? Suddenly, horrifying images flashed through my mind—images that didn’t belong. That same soft pink baby, torn apart by countless sharp teeth. Her cries silenced before they could even begin. Her blanket soaked red. It was as if a blade was being driven into my chest, not once but over and over, slowly scraping through bone, tearing at the rawest parts of me. Every cut slow. Every wound dripping. I jolted, breath catching in my throat. In the distance, I heard a faint moo. Childish. Innocent.
The calf had stumbled into a mud pit again. I bolted.
Without thinking, I raced toward it, scooping it into my arms and holding it close. “It’s okay, baby. Daddy’s here. Don’t cry. You’re safe now.”
But Ginny came storming after me, her eyes wild with fury and heartbreak. With all her strength, she slapped me across the face.
“Tom, don’t you dare push me any further!”
The blow cracked across my cheek, splitting my lip and making my ears ring. I bit my tongue so hard I tasted blood. But I didn’t care. All I could see was the calf—trembling, scared, hurt. I did what I’d done before. With practiced ease, I opened another wound on my wrist, letting the blood flow.
“Don’t cry, baby,” I whispered as the calf nuzzled closer. “Drink this and everything will be alright…”
“Oh my God!”
Gasps rang out around me. Ginny stared at me like she’d just been struck by lightning.
“Tom—what are you doing?!”
“All I did was send you and the baby here for a one-month break. Was it really that unbearable?” Her voice cracked with a mix of rage and disbelief. “Did it hurt you that much—to the point where you can’t even tell humans and animals apart? You’d go so far as to harm yourself, just to disgust me?”
Furious, she lunged and grabbed a fistful of my hair, yanking it hard. The pain shot through my scalp and something cracked sharply in my neck. But I didn’t flinch. I couldn’t feel a thing.
I just sat there, cradling the little calf, gently feeding it my blood while stroking its back.
“It’s okay, baby,” I murmured. “Daddy’s here. Don’t be scared.”
And then, after a brief moment of silence, Ginny let out a cruel, bitter laugh.