The Magic of Stars

“You’re a survivor because everyday you make a choice not to be governed by their harsh words or actions. No one has the right to take away your happiness”-Assunta Harris, A Sheep Amongst Wolves.

My wife sits on the hospital bed getting more and more pale by the minute before screaming a little. Her eyes widen at the pain and she holds her stomach like it’s more than anything she cares about in the world. Her big belly starts to wiggle a bit before she faints. I yell for the doctor and he comes in looking worried.

“We honestly can’t find anything wrong with the pregnancy except for the fact that your baby is somehow chewing the inside of the womb trying to get out. I’m afraid we’re going to have to do a C-section.”

“What is that?” I say scared for her and for the baby.

“This baby is somehow slowly killing your wife. She’s going to chew her way all the way out of your wife’s stomach and if she does that, she will kill your wife. So we have to cut a “C” below her stomach and grab the baby before that happens. This is going to get dangerous and hopefully we can spare both of their lives. I’m going to need you to leave the room while we work, please.”

I slowly back out and watch as they put medicine into Ivy and how her body shook with horrible tension. Once I was out, a nurse shut the door and I was left to wait in the hall, on the ground, praying that they would both make it.

A few hours later, the door opens to show Ivy sitting up and awake, but pale still. Ivy was always a deadly shade of pale, but somehow she got worse as she was ready for birth. I went straight to her and hugged her tightly, letting her know that I love her no matter what. She smiled at me and that’s when I noticed the baby was gone.

“Where’s the baby? Did she make it? Is she okay?”

“Calm down Nathan!” She said laughing. “She’s alright. The doctors are making sure she’s got no problems and she’ll be back right here with me and you. Don’t worry about a thing.”

I calmed my breathing and waited for my baby girl to come back. My very first kid! A girl. I couldn’t wait to meet her.

A nurse came back holding her gently in a blanket and passed my baby to me, but not before the baby bit her hand and was doing something to the blood. I took her away from the nurse fast and watched her run into the bathroom to clean up. I unwrapped her enough to see her face and when I did, I realized just how small she was. She was barely bigger than my hand and it scared me to death.

“Did you see how small she was?” I ask Ivy.

“Yeah. The doctor says that she doesn’t seem very fragile, but she’s pale and she’s really small. Small enough that she should be dead, but she’s not. He thinks it’s weird, but he’s not saying much on the matter except to be careful because the baby has sharp teeth. And weird eyes,” she adds.

I looked into the baby’s eyes and saw that they were an amber color with some red and almost dropped her. “What’s wrong with her?” I ask.

“I don’t know,” replied Ivy. But her eyes showed that she knew something and it was a secret.