Waiting for God

The taxi came to a stop at the mouth of the street. The middle-aged couple alighted from it and made their way into the midnight darkness of the seedy tenement cul-de-sac. They had never set foot in this ghetto jungle before, and hope to never once they conclude their business here. They held each other’s hand while walking intensely.

The house they sought was near the end of the street; the building’s address was barely legible on the soot-stained wall. An old woman sat near the cracked pavement waiting for them as she had promised when they talked hours ago on the phone. The couple drew closer and introduced themselves. The woman stood up without a word and entered a dark doorway leading into the building. The couple followed behind.

The doorway led into a decrepit, filthy corridor and opened into the backyard. They continued past a dirt-filled alleyway, and then the old woman led them into the doorway of another tenement building. They went up a stairway to the second floor before the old woman stopped beside a door.

“Have you decided which you want to have?” the woman addressed them. The couple shared a look, then the wife answered for them.

“We would like to have a boy.”

“Last time you mentioned a girl.”

“Yes, but we thought about it and decided on a boy. Someone to carry on the family name.”

“Boys are a bit expensive. Two hundred thousand.”

The husband extracted several bundles of money out of his pocket. “I have it all here.” He handed the money to the old woman.

She tapped on the door, which then came open. “Both of you wait here,” she said before slipping inside and shut the door.

The couple stood there for what felt like eternity. The woman leaned against her husband who hugged and kissed her, comforting her against the weight of choice that brought them here. They waited in fear, expected people to suddenly appear and expose them for the clandestine activity they were partaking in.

The door opened, and the old woman came out carrying a cloth-wrapped bundle in her arm, which she presented to the couple. The wife opened the cloth to appraise the sleeping baby huddled inside, stirring in his sleep. The husband fiddled the baby’s hands and was rewarded by its feeble response.

“If this one isn’t enough, you can always come back for another,” the old woman said jovially as she led them out of the building. “If you desire twins, we can accommodate, too. Even triplets; that too can be arranged.”

They returned to the front of the former building, and the wife turned to the old woman and asked: “Do you mind telling me what happens if nobody shows up to buy them?”

The old woman turned hostile and cold. “Nothing happens to them. They simply wait for God to show up and claim them. Good night.”

She turned and returned into the building. The husband hugged his wife as they strolled back the way they had come, bearing a new companion in their arms to stem the pain of bareness. The world felt different for them as they waited for a taxi to ferry them home.