Don't really have time to write. Just gonna post my 1914 word essay. Tragic story.

The Experiment

"That's strange. Jack normally starts bawling at this time of the night."
"Maybe he finally decided to let us have some rest for the first time in two months. Come on, let's spend some quality time with each other, okay?" Alan coaxed, stroking his wife Anne's hand. But before he knew it, Anne jumped out of bed, her eyebrows suddenly furrowed. "Something's wrong. I know it." She rushed out of the room, into the next, and within seconds, a scream pierced through the house. Alan, who originally sank back into bed awaiting the return of his wife, sprang from the bed and raced to his wife's side.
"He's … he's not breathing! Not moving! Drive to the hospital now! Quick!" she squeaked.
The entire journey to the children's hospital was filled with silence, yet within the panicking parents, no peace could be found. Thoughts clashed in their minds, and all they could hope for was a chance for their only child to live.
Would Jack survive? Yes, yes, Alan and Anne both silently willed.
Would he die? No, that could not be possible, not after they had gone through so much to have this baby, after the doctors had already confirmed that Anne could no longer give birth.
Upon entering the hospital, Anne sprinted to the first nurse she saw, Jack beginning to turn cold in her arms. "Save my baby!" she pleaded. "He stopped breathing just now!"
"Follow me. I'll get your baby to a doctor right away," the nurse instructed. Alan caught up with the two women, and they strode down a corridor quickly. Just then, a middle-aged doctor started walking towards them, and he was stopped immediately by the nurse. "Doctor Conners, their baby isn't breathing. It might be SIDS"
His eyes widened, and he instructed the nurse in a stern manner, "Get the baby into the emergency room now."
Five minutes later, Alan and Anne paced about at the entrance of the emergency room. There was nothing they could do, but wait, and hope for the best. "We've got to calm down. The doctors know what to do. Jack will be okay," Alan reassured his wife.
"Calm down? How can I do that? The nurse said he had SIDS! I don't even know what that is!"
"Anne dear, just listen to me okay? Sit down. Everything will be all right."
An excruciating fifteen minutes later, Doctor Conners finally emerged from the room. Alan and Anne searched for a sign of hope in his eyes. Any sign.
There was none.
Instead, he looked gravely at them and said, "Mr. and Mrs. Smith, we've confirmed it. Your baby had had SIDS, or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. I'm sorry, we tried our best."
"How could he die? You're lying to me!" Anne shrieked hysterically as she scrambled onto her feet and shook Doctor Conners hard, but inside, she knew that all her hopes, every bit of it, was gone.
"Anne! Calm down! I'm sorry, doctor," Alan started. Doctor Conners gave him a sad nod and turned around to leave. Anne collapsed into a heap, her heart shattered with sorrow and guilt. "How could I just let him die? Why didn't I check on him earlier? Or notice anything wrong? Why did Jack have to die?" she blamed herself harshly. Alan knew that Anne was completely inconsolable. He got down on his knees and hugged her tight, whispering comforting words into her ears.
That day, the hospital was a graveyard for the Smiths.
Three days passed, and the life in the household seemed to have vanished completely. Anne hardly got out of bed, and Alan never left the house too. His boss had kindly let him take two weeks off to spend time with his wife and to prepare for the funeral. Why weren't we given a chance? Alan thought miserably. I'd give anything to have Jack come back to life. Anything at all...
A ring of hope sounded through the house. "Hello?... Yes, I am. Are you serious? Yes, yes! We'll be there. See you at four." Click.
For the first time since Jack's death, Alan smiled. "Honey! Listen! We're going to have Jack back again. All we have to do now … "
"Don't lie to me! You said everything would be all right. You promised, but he still died! I'd like to live the rest of my life in peace."
"No! Wait! I know we may have lost him, but I promise. This time, you won't be disappointed. Trust me. Please." Anne looked at her husband in the eye, and asked a last time, "Really?" With a confident smile, Alan took her into his arms and replied, "I promise."
At four o'clock, the Smiths were seated in an office, and facing them were two very serious-looking men. The discussion between the four carried on for two hours, and by the end of it, the couple that exited the room were a complete contrast from that of the previous days. The weariness and sense of loss had almost disappeared, replaced with a new hope and joy. They still had to wait, but this time, Alan and Anne knew the wait would be worth it.
Time passed.
The scientists had worked painstakingly every day for the ten months. Now it was finally time. For a miracle.
Once again, Alan and Anne travelled to the scientist's laboratory, this time hoping to return home as a complete family. On the way, a wave of apprehension swept over Anne. Will this really work? Am I ready to set myself up for more disappointment? What if something goes wrong? She wondered.
Upon reaching the office, they met the same scientists, but instead of the grim faces that existed previously, the scientists were actually grinning. "Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Smith. The whole process was extremely successful. When we compared him with the photograph you provided, they looked exactly the same. You may bring him home today," Mr Andrews informed the couple.
When Alan and Anne set their eyes upon the cloned baby lying in the cot, their eyes were filled with tears of joy. Suddenly all doubts that ever existed seemed to vanish instantly. This was Jack: her child. Anne picked him up and cradled him, whispering, "Jack, you've finally returned to me."
"As we told you before we began the cloning process, this is our experiment, before we open this technology to the rest of the country and of course, start charging money for it. Take this baby as our present and blessings," Mr. Reagen said.
"Thank you. Thank you so much!" cried the couple in unison.
The Smiths returned home that night, and their house was once again filled with life and energy. From then on, there would be no more complaining of waking up late at night to attend to Jack's needs. Their happiness was now complete, and that was all that mattered.
The experiment of two brilliant scientists had become the life and final piece of the jigsaw puzzle in a family. Everything seemed perfect. What could possibly go wrong?
Every month, the scientists called the Smiths to check on the progress of the baby, and good news never failed to reach them. The couple would describe in explicit detail something new that Jack had learnt to do, and the excitement in their voices was evident each time.
One day, when the phone rang, Anne rushed to it and picked up the receiver eagerly. "Hello? Mr Andrews!... Yes, Jack's been absolutely wonderful!... No, nothing's wrong with him. In fact, he started talking yesterday. He called me 'Mummy'! Can you believe it?... No, there really isn't anything abnormal; he's developing very well. Oh! He's crying now. I have to go. Goodbye, Mr. Andrews!... No, there isn't any mistake at all. Goodbye." Click.
Back in the laboratory, the figure of Mr. Andrews crumpled in his chair. Why wouldn't she listen to me? Mr. Andrews thought to himself miserably. This has been a terrible mistake. How could I have allowed such a thing to happen?
Two weeks passed, and the scientists had made numerous futile attempts to warn the Smiths about Jack's fate. Even a personal visit to the Smith's residence could not send an urgent message to the unsuspecting parents. Now, the news would come to them hard. Very hard.
One fateful day, Jack suddenly started sneezing. Little did Alan and Anne know that this was the beginning of the end.
The trip to the doctor's proved to be useless. The medicine did not seem to helping at all. In fact, Jack's illness got worse and worse each day. Finally, the couple had to send him to the hospital, and they also called on the scientists for help. However, instead of the reassuring words they were hoping for, the two men started panicking, each too afraid to break the news.
"We, " Mr. Reagen started. "We tried time and again to tell you. It happened to the animals we experimented on recently. There is a problem with the production of new cells. All the body systems, they will shut down one by one. I'm so sorry, we tried to tell you. "
"How can this be? He's already more than a year's old. There was nothing like this before! How could you do this to us?" Anne cried, overcome with grief, almost to a point of hysteria.
"I know nothing we say now can take away the pain that this is causing you, but when we chose to clone your baby, it's because Doctor Conners told us how much your baby meant to you. All we wanted to do was give you a new hope. We never meant for this to happen. We're really sorry," Mr. Andrews explained apologetically, tears glistening in his eyes.
The next two months were torture for the Smiths. Day after day, they watched Jack slowly slip away, at the same time enduring excruciating pain as his body got weaker. Yet all the parents could do was to wait for the day Jack breathed his last. For once, they even wished he would go soon, so that he would no longer face so much suffering.
The day came.
Alan and Anne stood at the side of the cot in which Jack was lying. Anne wept openly, unable to bear the sight of her baby strapped up with tubes. Suddenly, for the first time in days, Jack opened his eyes. The life in him was almost gone, and he seemed to be fading away, but something seemed different. He was trying to say something. Anne quickly pressed forward to listen, and just in time, she heard the faint utter of his voice, "Mummy". His last word.
Tears of joy and sorrow filled Anne's eyes once more, and this time, Alan joined in. The constant high-pitched note indicated that Jack's heart had stopped beating. Another tombstone was laid that day in the same graveyard, with the name Jack Smith carved on it.
Were the two years with Jack worth all the pain they had to go through again? The Smiths were inclined to say no, but yet they could not. Every precious moment spent with Jack was worth everything they felt, and even more than that. Nothing, including death and pain, could take away everything shared between the parents and the child.
Was the experiment a failure? Technically, probably yes, but it also taught the Smiths the value of life, its fragility and vulnerability, as well as the meaning of hope in someone you love.
This love: irreplaceable.