WrongSufferedAtHands

18.

A wail would break through her lips every time she experienced contractions in her stomach, the aching flowing from her back to her abdomen; the pain had been subtle for a few days but had become terrible with the passage of time.

She snarled as she heard the elderly woman scream yet again. She struggled for a minute to rise to her feet as her face twisted. She limped out of her room, feeling her joints throb and her eyesight becoming hazy with each step she set on the tiled floor.

She found Soraya lying on her bed with her face towards the wall when she arrived.

"This is my third time paying you a visit, but you haven't responded in any way." She made an effort to appear serene despite the cold beads of sweat trickling down her temples.

The elderly woman did not say anything as she faced the wall in silence.

"Ami Jan, this is my final visit because you won't speak to me after summoning me here." Afiyah struggled not to raise her voice in response to the anguish in her head.

As she ambled back to her room, she bowed her head, thoroughly dejected.

Following Hareem's instructions, she paced back and forth. In order to make her labor quicker, she was urged to stroll. She paced in her room expecting Hareem would come and comfort her. Affan had a key to the home, so she remained in her room when the horn beeped. Even when she heard Hareem talking to Affan as they reached her room, she remained silent.

"Could you just hold on a bit longer?" While Affan went to visit his mother, Hareem questioned her as they were sitting on her bed.

"I suppose." She was genuinely trembling, her pupils were dilating, and she was sweating profusely.

"Could you walk a few more steps across the garden? You'll benefit."

The feeling of her throat and parched lips drying up caused her to swallow as she agreed. She walked the garden outdoors with Affan seated on the bench, and Hareem was at her side. She was aware that Affan was staring at her as she walked with her stomach clenched.

She came to a halt; her legs quivering from the sudden surge of pain that made her feel as though a bone had broken inside of her. Her legs surrendering and her knees collided with the ground as a wail oozed from her lips.

She cried, shrieking, mewling whenever she perceived the pain grow rapidly to her bones. The doctors seeping in one by one and checking on her, she was devastated wishing to get rid of the torment. When the doctor drew the curtain and the nurses encircled them, she knew Hareem wouldn't let go of her hand.

"It's about time, gather the equipment."

While she was writhing on the stretcher, she was able to hear the doctor. Her legs were being forced open, and hands were covering her entire lower body.

She was urged to push, so she did, using her willpower to carry out the action. With the force she exerted on it, her teeth would clatter, and she worried that she may crack them.

It was happening, "Almost there." Hearing what the female doctor would say led her to believe that it will be delivered soon and in some way. But as the excruciating pain became lodged in one spot, her expectations were dashed, and she felt the doctor's handling of her come to a standstill.

"It's stuck!"

The moment she blinked open her eyes and watched the doctor reaching for something on the table, her pupils started to swell with tears.

"We must cut; the infant is trapped and at risk of dying! Cut!"

"Inject her."

When she witnessed one of the nurses groping her wrist and inserting a needle into her veins from a massive syringe she had never seen before, she was unsure of what to do.