Hamlet and Ophelia: Modernized

Hamlet and Ophelia: Modernized 

Short story created from the play Hamlet

     The town has banned the relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia for a reason unknown to the couple, but that hasn't stopped them from being together. They're very much aware of the consequences that can happen and choose to take the biggest risk of their lives. One night, they go out for dinner in a town far from theirs. Ophelia states that she has "big news" for Hamlet.
     "I'm pregnant." She says quietly.
     "What? That can't be. We were careful." says Hamlet.
     They know that they can't share this "exciting" news with anyone. If Ophelia chooses to keep the child, the kingdom will ban her from ever becoming Queen. But if she chooses to abort it, she knows neighbors will find out and she will be forever judged for her decision. Days go by and their secret seems to stay hidden. Their families are close friends and decide to catch up on life over dinner one night. Their secret comes out.
     "Ophelia my dear" says the Queen, Hamlet's mother. "Follow me into the kitchen, will you?"
     "Yes your majesty" says Ophelia as she follows. "Is something wrong?"
     "Oh Ophelia, the servants were cleaning your room last week, and they found this" the Queen says as she holds up the test that Ophelia took.
     Immediately Ophelia starts crying and the Queen throws her arms around her, assuring her everything will be okay.
     "I have a plan" states the Queen. "Here. Take this." handing her a wallet full of money. "Take this and he will meet you at your destination when you're settled."
     Ophelia says nothing. She takes the wallet, hugs the Queen goodbye and leaves to pack her things. Knowing Hamlet was the father, the Queen gave them both money to run far away from the kingdom hoping this would temporarily solve their problem.
     Ophelia finds a nice little family home past the woods, in a small village. It's nice and undersized, there's no need to have a car. If anything, she'd buy a bicycle. But she even ponders that idea since it is a little village.
     She decides it would be best for her to go out and try to make new friends. To her surprise, no one notices that she's from the kingdom. She's walking around in the market when a young lady comes up to her, introducing herself.
     "Hi!" She says welcoming. "I'm Anna, you look new." Noticing that Ophelia has a confused look on her face while searching through fruit.
     "Oh, hi there" Ophelia says shyly. "I'm Ophelia, and yes indeed I am confused. I can't decide which fruit I want."
     The ladies continue to talk about fruit for minutes, then decide to walk around the village together. Interested in learning more about Anna, Ophelia invites her back to her new home for tea and cookies.
     They sit at the kitchen table, gossiping about the latest village news. Ophelia tells Anna about Hamlet and how he's supposed to come be with her. Talking about him, she realizes she hasn't heard from him in days. She knows she can't have contact with the kingdom, she can't send a carrier pigeon looking for him. 
     More days have gone by and Ophelia still hasn't heard from Hamlet.
     "What if he doesn't come?" she says to herself, pacing in her tiny living room. "He never wanted this. He's the Prince, in line to be the King. He never wanted to leave the kingdom. He's not coming. I just know it."
     Panicking, she reaches for the phone to call Hamlet. Suddenly, she hears a knock on the door and sees Hamlet standing there. She opens the door and cant't resist hugging him.
     "I thought you weren't going to come!" she cries out.
     "Ophelia, I would never let you do this on your own." Hamlet says, trying to calm her down. "I'm sorry it took so long, I had to take care of a few things before I left. Claudius thought it would be a good idea to "bond" with me. Yeah, no. You don't get to bond with me after you've killed my father just to get a stupid crown. Don't worry though, all is taken care of. And hopefully he never tries to contact me again."
     "How's my father? How is Polonius? What about my brother, Laertes!?" Ophelia cried
     "They're very well, they miss you and want to know the real reason why you had to leave. My mother tried telling them you got a job offer in the big city and you had to leave right away. They're not dumb enough to believe that though." Hamlet replies. "Your father loves you very much. He just wants the best for you."
     "I know, but I cannot disappoint him with news like this." Pointing to her stomach.
     They finish that conversation, get Hamlet settled into their new house and start to relax. Then came the conversation that neither one of them wanted to have.
     "So....what are we going to do?" asked Hamlet
     "Well, I thought maybe we could keep it" says Ophelia "Your mother gave both of us money, more money than we'll ever need. With that money we could raise this child and have some left over for us to spoil ourselves."
     They knew if anyone found out how much money they really had, they wouldn't be accepted into their little village anymore. The village is small, and many people there don't have much money. So they decide to put most of their money into savings, knowing no one would find out about it.
     The seasons have changed from Spring to Summer and the couple is happy with where they are, finally. No sneaking around, no lying to their families. Though they have no contact with their families for the time being, they feel it's for the best and all they can do it be happy. For weeks they work on their future child's bedroom; painting, arguing on the color, putting together the crib, and setting up the toys. Though they don't know the gender of the child, they eventually decide neutral colors- green and yellow.
     The next few nights seem to be sleepless for the soon-to-be mother. She calls the doctor, thinking something is wrong.
     "Come in after lunch and we'll check everything out." says the doctor.
     Though he doesn't need to, Hamlet goes with her for support.
     "Well, Miss Ophelia, it turns out the baby is ready to come out." he states.
     "What?! No! This can't be right. We're not ready for it." Ophelia cries "Go back in. Go." she tries telling the baby.
     "Ma'am, that sadly won't work. Your baby is ready to come out. Its been in there long enough." the doctor tells her. "Nurse, please prepare a room for this family."
      Again, Ophelia freaks out. She's not sure why though, they've been preparing for this child for months. They're ready. Within just a few hours, their baby has arrived. A boy. Hamlet takes one look at his son and tears stream down his face. He has a son. They have a son.
     "Hamlet." Ophelia states "I want his name to be Hamlet."
      Honored, Hamlet agrees and hugs his family.