A Mother

“Congratulations Mam, you have a beautiful baby boy” The weary-eyed nurse smiled as she placed the baby into the hands of his mother. “Thank you” The mother smiled. She stared at her baby, though he was not fully cleaned yet, she held him closely within her arms for a brief moment, which for her felt as though the world had stopped. A tear rolled down her cheeks, and she began whispering softly into her baby’s ear. He miraculously stopped crying for a few seconds as if recognizing and listening to her voice. “Even if I have to shift the universe or alter faith itself, I’ll make sure no harm comes to you. I promise.” The baby’s eyebrows relaxed for a split second, quick enough for only his mother to notice, but then his lips began to quiver, and he burst into tears. A nurse gently grabbed him, pulling him away from his mother, in order to get him fully cleaned in time to be given back.

7 months later

“Come on Abby.” Cody whined from the bottom of the stairs. Abigail quickly tied up her hair and then rushed out of the master bedroom and down the stairs. “Woh, easy.” Cody stretched his arms up, catching her before she tripped on the last step, then quickly opened his arms, embracing her to soften the blow of her momentum. “Thanks,” She grinned, then straightened herself out and gave her husband a peck on his cheek. She then turned and crouched down in front of the car seat beside him which held their sweet bundle of joy. “Hello there.” Abigail dangled her finger in front of little Joshua. He watched with a smile, cooing as he grabbed his mother’s finger. Abigail giggled; she could never get tired of it. “You know we’ve been waiting for a long time.” Cody pretended to yawn, “You have two men now waiting on you, so you have to be quicker.” Abigail smiled then stood up. She reached up and let her fingers slide through Cody’s soft, golden blonde hair. “I have one man here,” she winked, “but, over here” she crouched down again, “I have a little boy.” She gently rocked the car seat, causing Joshua to release a burst of laughter. “Yes, you do.” Cody crouched beside her. He smiled at Joshua, “it’ll be you and me bud, exploring the world and going on adventures, facing whatever dangers the world has to throw at us. Of course, we’ll let your mother tag along…for now” he winked. But his wink turned into an over exaggerated wince as Abigail gently shoved her elbow into his side. “Okay, Okay.” He turned to face her. He smiled, “we’ll reconsider the duration,” he kissed her on the cheek. Abigail rolled her eyes, “There’s no need for consideration, you both are stuck with me for life.” Cody released a soft chuckle, “Why do you always do that?” He tried hard to squint back his tears. “But you know what, I love it when you do that.” He smiled softly and then kissed her again, this time on her lips. They both stood up. “It’s finally time to go,” Cody stretched his arms up into the air. “Do we have everything?” he asked once more. “Yes, yes, we do-” Abigail stopped, then her eyes widened, “I forgot the car keys in the kitchen!” She quickly turned in the direction of the kitchen and dashed off.

Abigail flipped the light switch on and walked past the kitchen aisle. “There it is.” She spotted the keys on the countertop, beside the toaster which was right underneath the kitchen window. She quickly walked over and grabbed the keys. “briiing, briiing.” The house phone just beside the toaster instantly began to ring, and Abigail peered over, squinting her eyes before leaning forward to read the numbers. “565-983-7224” she arched her eyebrows, not recognizing the number. “What’s taking so long, it’s only a key.” Cody’s voice came from the foyer. “Coming!” Abigail yelled back, picking up her feet. On her way out, she turned back to look at the phone one more time, then shrugged and continued on her way; whatever it was, it could wait until they got back from their first family vacation.

2 months later

The rain hit the window pane with tremendous weight, so powerful it woke Abigail. She slowly rolled over on the bed and sluggishly opened her eyes. The room was dim, no light entered in apart from the moonlight that shone through the window, distorted by the raindrops on the outside of its surface. The room was nearly quiet; the irregular sounds of raindrops was the only sound that echoed through the house. Without touching her head, Abigail could feel her hair dishevelled. “Whehhhh.” She heard Joshua’s sharp cry. “Cody!” She quickly placed her hand on the bed beside her but instantly flinched, withdrawing her hand as soon as she felt no body. “Oh, right.” She softly whispered to herself. She stayed there, motionless for a few seconds before pushing the duvet cover off and stepping out of bed.

Abigail walked quietly through the halls of the house; the floors creaked with every step, synchronizing with the unpredictable rhythm of the rain. Abigail reached the stairs and carefully walked down. She looked down at the silent foyer, taking in the coldness of the main level and listening to the pounding of the rain against the front door. “BRIIIIING, BRIIIIING.” The kitchen phone rang; it was louder than Abigail last remembered, probably because the house was quieter than it was back then. She swiftly tiptoed to the kitchen, picking up the phone just in time. “Hello,” she said in a fragile voice that she didn’t recognize. “Hi there, my name is Jonathon Crayder, I’m calling from Malwilkie Hospital. Am I speaking with Mrs. Woodheart?” a young male voice spoke from the other end. “Yes, this is Mrs. Woodheart.” Abigail responded. “Great!” The voice cheerfully continued, “We’ve been trying to get a hold of you for the past 2 months.” Abigail inhaled quietly, “I’ve been on vacation,” she finally spoke. The speaker was silent for a second, and then Abigail noticed an evident change in the tone of his voice. “Your attendance is required for a very important meeting with Dr. Wilsburough, it is a matter that cannot be discussed over the phone. Will you be available to come in this Friday at 4pm?” He asked. “Yes,” Abigail responded immediately, as if in a hurry to put down the phone. “Great, I’ll let Dr. Wilsburough know.” Abigail could hear him typing, “and one more thing, it is recommended that both you and your husband be there. Have a good day.” He ended. Abigail froze, unable to speak, but thankful the man ended the line fast before she had the opportunity to speak. She put the phone down on the countertop then stood there silently, letting the sound of the rain engulf her and the darkness in the room accompany her.

2 days later

Abigail sat quietly on the bus. She would arrive at the Hospital in two minutes, so she gazed outside of the window and let her mind wander to memories that felt like only yesterday.

“Cody!” She pleaded, “it’s too dangerous, you can’t even swim!”

“Nothing will happen,” he had reassured her.

“No, I have a bad feeling about this.” she protested.

However, his confidence and childlike smile eventually won her over and she let them go.

The bus arrived at the hospital and Abigail stepped off and began walking inside. The antiseptic odour that she smelled for 9 months hit her as she passed the front desk and headed down the hallway where the doctor offices were located. Soon she arrived at a door that had the name “Dr. Wilsburough” written on it. Abigail loosened the scarf around her neck and took a moment to double check each letter. She then knocked gently. “Come in,” a low gravelly voice called from within. Abigail opened the door slowly and stepped in. But she stopped in her tracks as she noticed a couple already sitting in chairs opposite the doctor; a teary-eyed woman stared petrified at Abigail, while a man with a grave look on his face had one arm over the woman’s shoulder. The doctor peered over his glasses. “Oh, I’m sorry,” Abigail’s voice was shaky as she retreated. The doctor waved his hand in the air, “oh no, it’s ok. Come in, have a seat” he pointed to the chairs directly opposite him that were a few inches from the couple. Abigail shut the door behind her and quietly walked in, sitting down on one of the two empty chairs. The woman kept peering at Abigail. Abigail adjusted her scarf slightly, trying hard to avoid eye contact. “Mrs. Woodheart.” The doctor got right down to business, “What I’m about to tell you won’t be easy to digest, '' He clasped his hands together and stared at her from behind his glasses. “I would formally like to apologize on behalf of the hospital. There’s been a tremendous accident in the protocols of what needed to be done on the day of delivery.” Abigail’s eyes were now glued on every word the doctor was saying, and as he spoke an overwhelming feeling of fear washed over her and tugged at her heart. “The tags,” the doctor continued. “The tags on your babies were mixed up that day.” He took a moment to glance from Abigail to the woman and then back. “The hospital is aware that this might cause tremendous emotional and psychological effects, but we are willing to do everything in our power to secure the health of your babies and yourselves in the process that must follow next,” he sighed, “Legally we must switch the babies back.”

Abigail sat silently, unable to move. The other woman released soft cries, but the red streaks underneath her eyes were evidence that this was not the first time she was hearing this news. About 5 minutes of silence passed before the sudden cry of a baby broke through the atmosphere. Abigail watched as the man pulled a baby from a car seat she hadn’t noticed was beside his leg. The woman instinctively grabbed the child; her touch was enough to instantly quiet the baby. The woman rocked the child, gently patting him on his back for a while, until she noticed Abigail staring. The child had Abigail’s chestnut hair and Cody’s smile, and the woman softened her eyes as if reading Abigail’s mind. “Maybe we could make this work,” The woman smiled meekly. The man nodded in silent agreement behind her. Abigail remained quiet for another minute, causing the woman to smile nervously at her husband. “We can’t,” Abigail finally spoke. The woman turned her head back to face Abigail, the look of brokenness painted on her face. “Why not!?” The doctor interjected, “As I previously stated Mrs. Woodheart, the Hospital is more than willing to provide any support within our power to resolve this dilemma.” Abigail continued to stare at the baby, “We were on vacation, my husband and I, with our baby.” The woman rapidly stilled and listened attentively. “We were supposed to come home together but,” tears began welling up inside Abigail’s eyes, “There was a frozen pond…” Abigail's voice broke, “I warned him not to skate there…” The woman’s eyes got wider. “They died a month ago,” Abigail broke out into tears. The woman’s eyes were filled with warmth for a split second, wanting to reach out, but then reality forced its way in and fear instantly flashed across the woman’s eyes and she pulled the baby tightly to herself, causing him to immediately cry. The man opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. While the doctor just sat with a grim look on his face, too ashamed to utter a word.