THE question hit Anil unexpectedly, and glancing at the girl on the bed, he replied hastily, “No-no, I’m jus de hire car driver who helped she.”
The young girl, who was now breathing evenly under professional care, said with a grateful look in her eyes, “Thank you so much for helping me, I was so scared.”
“That’s okay, I did wuh I coulda in that situation.”
“You did the right thing,” the nurse told him, “The fear could have raised her blood pressure and caused complications like fetal distress, seizures, dizziness and stillbirth.”
Anil and the girl looked at the nurse, stunned.
“Damn, that’s serious!” he expressed.
The girl started to cry, overwhelmed by the reality of what could have happened to her and the nurse comforted her, “Just relax, you’re here now and everything would be fine.”
The cousin hadn’t arrived yet and she reached out her hand to Anil, feeling at that moment he was her only support, “Please stay a while longer.”
He looked at the nurse who nodded her approval and he asked the girl, “Is there anything I can get yuh in de meanwhile?”
“No, thanks, I’m fine for now.”
Anil sat next to her bed, and after she had composed herself, she said to him, “I’m Amber.”
He smiled and said, lightheartedly, “Well, now I know your name, I’m Anil.”
The nurse looked at them and said to herself, “Not sure if the father is in the picture but this looks like a Lifetime story, two strangers and an unborn baby.”
Amber’s cousin arrived at that moment, short of breath and stumbling over her apology for leaving Amber alone.
“Take a deep breath,” the nurse advised her, “And calm down. A stranger helped her and she’s fine.”
“Thank you so much,” she said to Anil, “I truly appreciate your help.”
“Don’t mention,” he smiled, and to Amber, he said, “Ah gon leave now, you take care and hope everything goes smooth wid de baby.”
As he left, the nurse stated, “Not the father, yet he shows so much care. The world needs more men like him.”
Anil got into his car, leaned back and took a deep breath.
“Man, what a day! Never thought ah woulda encounter such a situation.”
It took him a little while to gather everything that happened that morning and put them all together in a file in his mind so he could regain his full focus on his work.

Three weeks later, he was at the park on a warm, sunny morning waiting for passengers and sharing light “gyaffs” with his fellow drivers when Fat Man arrived at the park.
“Travellin’, bro?” he called out to him.
“Nah man, I ain’t travellin’ wid you.”
“Damn, lost a regular traveller there,” Anil said a little regretfully.
He didn’t allow that to bother him much for these things come with the job. As he stood by his car, he heard a soft familiar voice behind him, “Good morning, son.”
It was Amber’s grandmother, a happy smile on her face.
“I wish to thank yuh,” she said, “For what yuh did for meh granddaughta. She want you to know that she doing good and the baby is a girl.”
“Great,” he responded, “Happy tuh know she doing good.”
“Yes,” Grandma said, “God is great.”
“She must be really pretty,” Anil remarked.
“Yes, a cute bundle of joy and…” Grandma paused a little then continued, “When yuh have the time, yuh can visit them. They are living with me.”
Anil took her address that was in Palmyra village and said as three passengers boarded his car, “Ah gon see when I can.”
Three days later, coming back early from town, he went to see Amber and her baby late in the afternoon. Grandma had a cozy little house, a splendid flower garden with brilliant blooms and a variety of fruit trees.
“You have yuh own lil paradise here,” Anil complimented her as he was welcomed to her humble home.
The baby was playing quietly in her crib and Amber came forward to greet him. She was quite a beautiful girl with a simple look and warm smile, something he hadn’t noticed when he had helped her.
“You look different,” he said with a hint of humour.
“Of course,” she laughed a little.
He handed her a bag with gifts for the baby and said, “I’m not sure if I shopped de right things.”
“Thank you, whatever it is, she will love it.”
She picked up the baby from the crib, so he could see her and asked him, “Would you like to hold her?”
“Not sure ah know how.”
“Here,” she placed the baby gently in his arms and as he looked at her cute face, she laughed, making a sweet baby sound. Somehow at that moment, Anil felt a blessed connection to this sweet child that he was a stranger to.
“She is really adorable,” he said to Amber.
The baby whom the mother had named Annalisa, eventually fell asleep, her little fingers wrapped around his.
“I think she knows she’s in safe hands,” Amber said with a pleased smile.
“After the baby was settled in her crib, Grandma came out of the kitchen with a small platter of homemade pastries and a mug of cherry drink.
“Have some refreshments,” she said to Anil.
“Thanks, dis looks good.”
After a short while, he asked Amber, “So what do yuh plan on doing now?”
“I have an option to go back to school, but later, for now, I have to find a job, can’t put too much strain on Grandma.”
“Umm, and de father?” he asked, somewhat cautiously.
A shadow flashed across her face and she answered quietly, “Nothing to look forward to. He didn’t want me to have the baby in the first place.”
There was a short silence, then Anil said, “Sorry to hear dat.”
She got up, walked to the window, looking out at the approaching dusk and sighed deeply, “I made a mistake and I have to figure out now what to do with my life so I can support my child.”
“And yuh parents?”
“They are not talking to me right now and I guess I deserve that for not listening to them.”
“Damn, you in a real situation,” Anil stated, “But on de bright side, you have your loving grandmother and your little princess.”
“And God, who did not turn his back on her,” Grandma added, “He sent an angel in her life.”
Anil smiled, not sure about the angel thing but not wanting to doubt Grandma’s belief. He spent a while talking with Amber and learnt she was ambitious and had been studying to graduate in business management but lost focus when she allowed love to dictate her life. The pain and regret in her eyes and the fact that she was young and literally alone with a baby touched him in a way he never thought it would have.
He left that night after giving her his phone number and told her she could call if she needed help for anything or if she needed someone to talk to. And before he got into his car, he turned to look back and saw her standing at the door with Annalisa in her arms, watching him leave.
“She really needs something better in life, I wonder…”