One Last Chance

And Then...

The house sat quietly in the suburbs, the mango tree swayed lightly with the wind. The neighborhood was asleep while the stars watched over the little blocks. In one of the rooms in the Englot house, three furry babies slept cozily with each other in their big bed.

All seemed peaceful before a loud cry pierced the night, followed by the other. Tofu and Gyo barely raised their heads, their ears twitched in annoyance but they were long used to the commotion.

In the master bedroom, the baby monitor echoed the sounds of babies crying. The women groaned in exhaustion, still tangled in their own cuddle before the little wife pushed the other woman away.

“Fa….” Charlotte mumbled.

“I got it ….” Engfa yawned and tried to blink her eyes open but she couldn't. This was already the second time their babies cried tonight. Without opening her eyes, she navigated her way to their nursery, her footsteps having its own navigation installed.

When the nursery door opened, Engfa was blasted with the babies’ cries in full volume. She rubbed her eyes and with practiced ease, heated up Char's milk in the corner before quickly tending to the twins.

First, she picked up Emma, then Chalisa carefully in each of her arms and bounced them. Nonetheless, they kept crying and wailing their little arms so she had to put down Emma for their safety.

“Shh, shhh, shhh. Mae is here, Cha cha. Mae will feed you first, okay? Can you hold on for your nong, Emma?” Engfa bounced and coaxed.

Charlotte dragged her feet into their nursery and without another word, reached into the crib and carried Emma into her arms. “Mummy is here, sorry mummy is late. Shh, shhh, let's feed you now.”

She sat down on the rocking chair in the corner, pulled down the flap of her maternity pajamas to feed her baby. Her eyes lazily looked at her wife who was sitting next to her in a similar rocking chair, feeding Lisa with a bottle.

Their babies are almost eight months old now. Time flew when you were in a constant cycle of nappies, feeding, crying, playing and generally making sure everyone was alive. At first, Engfa wanted to solely be the person who got up in the middle of the night to feed the girls. But after just a night from bringing the girls home, she quickly realized it had to be a teamwork with twins. It was impossible to soothe and feed two babies at once.

Engfa turned her head and caught her eyes, both of them were too tired to hold a conversation but their eyes showed their support towards each other. Their tired but matching smiles were their lifeline in this new phase of their lives.

They quickly realized how hard it was to be mothers even after all the classes and preparations. Nothing prepared them for the absolute mental load on top of the endless physical ones.

Their babies cooed and Charlotte felt her daughter slowly relaxed into her sleep. She sighed and gently stroked her soft cheek. She smiled tiredly and whispered,  “Sleep til the morning this time, little girl.”

Engfa carefully laid down Lisa in her crib before taking Emma from her wife's arms and laid their second baby back into bed. She hummed softly under her breath and patted their little sleep sacks.

Charlotte leaned her head onto the cushion, her body was about to go back to sleep as well as she listened to her wife's beautiful music. Soon, she felt strong arms pulled her into a standing embrace and guided her back into their own bed. She snuggled into the warmth and fell back asleep.

The couple basically passed out, their body unconsciously waiting for their daughters’ next cry to indicate the morning had come. However, it felt like they had slept for a long time without interruption.