Shawna gripped Aneela’s hands in her own, and Aneela smiled
her gratitude, even though Shawna couldn’t see her face. Unable to bring a baby
of her own to the birthing bed, Shawna had set aside her own sorrow to share the
bed with Aneela, providing comfort and support until the baby was born.
Jobina moved to the head of the birthing bed to fuss over
Aneela, and Shawna waved her away. “Enough, aba Jojo, let her be. How is the
baby? Why does it not come?”
Jobina tsked and pushed Shawna’s hands away, checking Aneela’s
heartbeat and eyes. She smiled to the laboring woman and said, “The baby is
doing fine. She will come when she comes. You can not rush her any more than
you can rush a man to do your bidding.”
The women laughed, catching her phrase. One called out, “You
can rush a man to bed, aba Jojo. That’s how we end up here!” They laughed
again. Another said, “I remember when my bébé was born, he was so stubborn and
would not come for three days. Do you remember, aba Jojo?”
Jobina nodded, and the women took turns sharing their
birthing bed tales. Aneela wondered why any of them thought she would want to
hear them right now. What was it about a pregnant woman that inspired mothers
to share the intimate details of their own birth stories? She shivered, and
Shawna rubbed her shoulders, whispering in her ear, “You are so brave. You’re
doing a great job, Aneela-ser. My heart-child will come soon, and we will
celebrate—after you sleep! Pay them no mind. Rest now, and be ready for the
next one.”
Aneela nodded gratefully and dropped her head against Shawna’s
shoulder, half-listening to the women’s tales. They were comforting, in a way
she hadn’t expected. Growing up as the only girl-child among the Prince’s servants,
Aneela was more comfortable with men’s rough and ready ways than the mysterious
and intricate politics among the women. She had not wanted to leave, even when
she became old enough to attract the men.
It was Shawna who decided it, the night she pulled a drunken
soldier off of Aneela and knocked him on his backside, dragging the crying girl
back to her own room to clean her up and calm her down. Aneela never left. But
she still found the other women more intimidating and mysterious than the men.
As she learned her way, she had made friends over the past
two years, and she was grateful for their support around the birthing bed. She
looked over to Sofia, who gave her a warm smile. Aneela rolled her eyes and
Sofia laughed. She proclaimed loudly and often that she never wanted to lie on
the birthing bed, but she was the first to arrive after Jobina was called.
Aneela worried that their friendship would suffer after the baby came. Seeming
to read her mind, Sofia leaned forward and took her hand from Shawna.
“Have you decided on a name for my heart-child, Aneela-ser?
I can’t wait to snuggle her close—and hand her back to you when she needs
cleaning up!”
Aneela laughed and nodded. “I do have a name, and she will
be the first to hear it,” she said teasingly.
“As it should be,” another older woman chimed in. “When aba
Jojo lays the child in your arms, you must call her name to draw her soul from
the other world and bind her to you in this life.” The women murmured
agreement, and Aneela nodded again. “Yes, aba, I will do it.”
Jobina returned to the foot of the bed. Aneela felt the
waves of pain radiating from her core once more. Her grip tightened on Shawna’s
fingers, but no matter how tight, Shawna never pulled away or complained. The
women sensed the change and hushed in expectation. Aneela could feel the warmth
of their love and encouragement, even as she struggled against the pain.
“Try not to fight it, Aneela-ser. I know it’s hard, but try
to relax and let it carry you. The baby will come. You don’t have to do
anything to make it so. And you can’t stop it. Relax, and let the baby come. We’re
all ready to meet her!”
Aneela grunted. “Me too, aba. Me too.” She cried out, a long
ululation torn from her
Jobina hissed and they all stilled. Aneela arched against
Shawna until Jobina cried out, “The baby comes! Get ready! The baby comes!”
The women joined hands around the birthing bed. They swung
their hands up and down, chanting the sacred tones their mothers handed down. Aneela
felt another great wave of pain, but with this one, she felt herself flow into
it, down into her belly and out through the women surrounding her. Her head dropped
back and she sighed as Jobina called out, “Here she is! The baby is come!”
Shawna whispered into her ear, “Now, Aneela-ser. Now! Call
your baby to you! Call her by name”
Aneela roller her head, too exhausted to lift it. She couldn’t
see Jobina wrapping her baby in the new blanket Sofia had made. She croaked, “Carina,
my bébé, come into my arms! Come live this life as the child of my body and my
heart.”
The women’s chant took up the name. “Carina! Carina!”
Jobina lay the bundle on Aneela’s chest, and Shawna lifted
Aneela’s arms to wrap around it. Aneela looked down into her baby’s eyes and
smiled.
Dogs in house:
|
Houdini, Brindle, Bacon
|
Music:
|
Albinoni, “Adagio in G
Minor”
|
March word count:
|
6160
|
Hi Margaret! I'm needing to get back into writing everyday, as I've not been sleeping well, so I thought I'd try to join you here.
ReplyDeleteThis one went in a weird direction, but I wanted to avoid strictly human connotations to "birth". And my, you can write a lot in 15 minutes! This is actually a good 40 for me, although including several baby-led interruptions.
Prompt: Birthing Day
H'kvn clutched the tattered ticket tight to its abdomen, elbow spikes extended in an unconscious protective cage. It scuttled across the street, dodging low-flying messenger copters and the autobus it had just exited returning to the air. The building's edifice was stone: grey and sparkling, surprisingly cheery in the midst of what H'kvn had always thought of as the dim, dusty city centre. But the sun shone as bright in downtown as at home, and the low buildings and wide streets let far more reach the ground than H'kvn had imagined. Perhaps it was a sign.
H'kvn found the main entrance, framed by a stone rendition of an outsized nest-hole frame. A steady of stream of others flowed inside, dressed or with carapaces painted in the fashion of the city. It joined the stream to scuttle inside, then froze, taking in the sudden relative dark and the unexpected airy reaches directly above.
"What is your business?" A uniformed, mature male said, uncurling an antenna to nearly reach H'kvn.
"I'm here for a birth," it said, using midlimbs to pry the ticket from its recalcitrant forearms and poke the crumpled plastic through its elbow cage.
The male briefly touched the ticket with his antenna. "Well," he said, "I suppose everyone is entitled. That way." He waved with his midlimbs and turned away.
Anne, thanks for joining me! I confess, I've probably been writing more like 30 minutes, especially when I feel "on a roll" with a storyline. Maybe I'll add a note to the bottom about how long I write on each prompt.
DeleteYou do an excellent job creating vivid, non-humanoid lifeforms! It made me realize I am very human-centric so far. Good challenge for me to address. I like the condescending tone of the male at the end!