Labors of Love and Pains
Ellie was sitting at a corner of the jail room, curled up and staring blankly at the wall of the room, as if there was something special about it. She felt blank and helpless and at the same time, she hoped for a better future. It had been two months since she had been in prison, still hoping that her beloved lover would come for her, but he seemed not to be forthcoming. The thought of Edward having abandoned her and their unborn child kept on railing through her mind, but she waved it off, each time it did. She didn’t want to believe that and kept on assuring herself that, Edward would come for her, if not for any other reason but for the sake of their child. And then, a day came, when everything changed and she lost the hope of a better tomorrow.
That day, she had her breakfast as she had normally did, but some hours after having had the breakfast, she began to feel discomfort. She had felt a tightening sensation in her lower abdomen, but she didn’t think much of it, as she had thought she was having an indigestion. The pain continued to intensify as each minute passed, with her feeling a dull ache in her lower back. The tightening sensation she had felt in the early hours of the morning continued, with it coming and going in a rhythmic pattern. She continued to ignore the pain, thinking it would stop soon, while carrying out her normal routine at the prison. Hours went by, with the pain intensifying. She kept on managing herself, hoping the pain would subsidize soon, but she was wrong. Then, the night came. By this time, she had become weak. She sat on the floor of the room and rested her back on the wall, with her face contorted in pain.
She clenched her fist, trying to swallow the pain and afterwards, rubbed her hand on her belly, trying to soothe the pain. As the pain intensified, she closed her eyes tightly, with her breathing becoming shallow. In no time, sweat beaded on her forehead and she began to shift positions, trying to find relief. When she couldn’t bear the pain anymore, she yelled out in pain, which caught the attention of the wardens and other inmates. Seeing she was in pain, she was quickly rushed to the hospital, with her exhaling forcefully, trying to ride out the wave of pain.
Sophia on the other hand, was also feeling the same pain as that of Ellie. It was her expected day of delivery and there was no doubt, that her baby was in a hurry to come into the world. Edward, realizing that his wife was about going into labor and birthing his child, quickly rushed her to the hospital and coincidentally, it was the same hospital Ellie was rushed to. The two parties arrived at the hospital at the same time. Ellie was rushed into the emergency room in a stretcher, while Sophia was rushed into a private ward, getting her prepared to go into labor.
Upon the doctor examining Ellie, it was discovered she was also going into labor.
“Miss, based on our assessments, there are signs that your baby may arrive earlier than we had anticipated. This would mean a premature birth, which occurs before 37 weeks of pregnancy. We’re closely monitoring both your health and the baby’s, and we’ll do everything we can to manage the situation. If the baby is born early, we’ll be prepared to provide the necessary care to ensure the best possible outcome for both of you.” the doctor announced, facing Ellie, who pain was evident on her face.
“Going into labor? But I am just 7 months gone. How is that possible?” Ellie managed to say amid-st her pain, clenching her hands tightly on the bed rail.Exclusive © content by N(ô)ve/l/Drama.Org.
“That could be caused by a lot of factors but nevertheless, you will be watched for sometime and if need be, we will have to deliver you of the baby tonight. I think that will be best for you and the baby” the doctor advised and the only thing Ellie could do was to nod her head, as the pain had began to intensify the more, making her unable to probe the doctor further. She was placed on drip and under close monitoring but it was as if the drip she was placed on worsened the case, as the contractions became worse and she felt her life being sulked out of her. Sophia too was having a serious contraction, with Edward by her side, assuring her that everything would be okay. Hours flew by, with Ellie’s and Sophia’s contractions, heightening. Ellie couldn’t bear the pain anymore. She had begun to feel weak and felt like she was going to give up a ghost anytime soon, but nevertheless, she stayed strong for her child. She was never going to give up on her child, even if it meant, losing her life in the process.
While still enduring the pain she was going through, Ellie’s water broke and she began to bleed. Upon seeing this, Ellie called the attention of the midwife to it, who went in search of the doctor. Upon the doctor getting to Ellie’s space and examining her, he discovered that her cervix had begun to dilate and had effaced, signaling that the baby would be popped out anytime soon. The doctor immediately ordered the midwives to prepare the delivery room, as she was ready to go into labor. The instruction was hurriedly carried out, after which, Ellie was rushed to the delivery room on a stretcher, with her yelling in pain, as the contractions increased. As the pain increased, Ellie’s fear also did. She was scared of the outcome of delivering her baby prematurely and had wished for Edward to be there, to support her. Just as she thought about that, a man passed her by, as she was being rushed to the delivery room. The smell of the man caught her attention, as it felt familiar. The smell was the same as that of Edward’s. Even amid-st her pain, Ellie managed to lift her body up from the stretcher she was lying on, trying to catch a glimpse of the man who had passed her by, but he was nowhere to be seen. Ellie had thought she was mistaken, but her heart kept on telling her, it was Edward who had walked passed her. Indeed, it truly was Edward who had walked passed her. Edward was headed downstairs, on his way to his car, to get something he had mistakenly left there. He didn’t know he had passed by Ellie and if he did, he wouldn’t have recognized her, as he had lost his memory.
When Ellie was finally wheeled to the delivery room, she was quickly placed on the delivery bed, as the amount of blood coming out of her uterus had increased, making the doctor and the midwives scared that the baby might be in danger. Ellie also became restless and scared, upon hearing the whispering of the midwives that she might lose her baby. Her baby was the only thing that could bring her lost joy back to her life and so, she tried her best and pushed harder, with all the strength left in her, to make sure she birth her child safely. But no matter how hard she pushed, her effort seemed not to be enough, as the baby wasn’t close to coming out. She kept on pushing with all her strength, but it got to a stage when she couldn’t anymore. She was so weak and fragile and couldn’t let out a push. At that point, Ellie had begun to close her eyes, as if she was about falling into a deep sleep, which made the doctor anxious and uncertain of the safety of her and her child. Realizing they had to prevent her from falling asleep, the midwives and the doctor, did all they could to make her stay awake and kept on encouraging her to be strong for the sake of her child. It was as if the statement of the doctor triggered a part of her memory, as all the painful memories of the past came rushing back to her. She remembered her little princess, Ivory, and how her dead body was laid and covered up, on the stretcher in front of their house. She remembered the trauma she had gone through after losing Ivory and which she never wished to go through again. The memories of her happy moments with Edward came rushing to her, like a tide of waves and it was then she realized, she had to keep and safeguard the only part of Edward left with her. With that, she clenched her fists, as if she was summoning her courage and strength and then finally, let out a heavy push. As Ellie pushed for the last time, Edward who was on his way back to Sophia’s room, after getting what he needed from his car, felt a sharp pain in his chest. It was as if his heart was being ripped apart. He rested on the wall, to support himself and prevent himself from falling, as the pain intensified. This lasted for some minutes before he finally regained his strength. After the pain had stopped, he headed for Sophia’s room, without thinking much of what had happened to him briefly, as he had thought it was just an aftermath of the accident he had some months ago. But he never knew that was because his other half was in pain, trying to birth his heir. On getting to Sophia’s room, she was nowhere to be found, only to be informed by a nurse upon him asking, that she had been moved to the delivery room as she was on the verge of giving birth. Luckily for Ellie, after the huge push she let out, her baby popped out of her body. Ellie’s vision became blurry and she couldn’t see clearly. She began to lose her consciousness and the only thing she heard and saw before losing her consciousness on the bed she was lying on, were the cries of her baby and one of the midwives, holding him in her arms. The events that occurred after that, were unknown to Ellie.