The most intense moment for the pregnant couple has come. Lisa gripped her husband's palm while holding her breath. Tears were dropping on both of their cheeks as the procedure happened.
Then, in a blink of an eye, something changed – sadness and depression took over the stressful environment. Everything turned silent. The doctor raised his eyes and looked straight into Lisa's confused eyes, His face was serious and cold:
"Mrs. Hall, I'm afraid..."
The couple's eyes stared back at the doctor, begging him to keep speaking. He coughed a bit and then kept talking:
"...Your unborn baby... is dead."
Lisa's eyes widened with horror. Their first instinct denied what they just heard, hoping the doctor was playing a vicious prank on them. The doctor, however, kept his severe look:
"The umbilical cord curled around the infant's neck, causing slow strangulation. It wrapped too tightly to untie. Nothing we could do.
I'm sorry..."
Silence fell. Lisa and her husband, George, digested the tragic truth. A few moments of intense silence passed, and Lisa burst into heartbreaking cry. Her crying and pain was the first to come and the hardest to bear. In one second, her life turned upside down – her greatest dream faded.
George tried to choke his tears down, unsuccessfully. He gripped Lisa's hand tighter and closed his eyes, as if he was wishing to be instead of the unborn baby.
Instead of me. My expected breakthrough into the world was taken from me. I wanted to be there with them. If I were there, the devastated couple, my almost-parents, would win the happiest day of their lives. Instead of moving on and taking my place in the afterlife, I stayed there, without anyone in the room aware of my presence, a soul with no body to inhabit. I stood by Lisa and George, so close... and yet so far. I reached my hand for them and when the warm feeling of their skin was not there, sadness took over me as well.
I began to cry without a sound. If only they knew I was there, by their side...
I stood there with them, all night long, watching them grieving over me.
I stood there and watched how the countless attempts of doctors and nurses to solace the grieving couple bore no fruits. The moments turned into minutes, and the minutes turned into hours. It was after midnight when George fell asleep in Lisa's arms, both their cheeks smeared with tear trails. I stood by the bed and watched, a dead guardian angel, and shared their grief.
That night I made a decision. My goal, though seemed unreachable, will give the couple the happiness they deserved so much, and most of all, impose justice. I will be born... and I will be the one to make it happen.
Three long days passed. Lisa got the time she needed to heal from the disastrous birth experience. Her rest, however, wasn't peaceful.
George opened the car door and helped Lisa on her way out. Lisa never managed to recover entirely – she was shaking and weak and her face was pale, as if she could faint out any moment. George held her hand and escorted her to the front door of their house.
George opened the door and they entered. George carefully helped Lisa lay on the sofa, then rushed to set fire in the fireplace. When Lisa felt the soft and cozy texture of the sofa, she immediately let go of the remnants of strength that has been holding her. George covered her with a blanket and went to the kitchen to make some warm tea. I stood by the window and watched Lisa cuddling up in the blanket, trying to block the cold from reaching her weak body.
I wanted to call out for her, but she would never hear me. George soon returned with two warm cups in his hands. He put one cup on the cold table and took his seat by Lisa. I remained stiff in my spot.
