First Time!

By Bandaru Vaathsalya Sree

Sita was taken into the labor ward. This was her first time. As a girl she always feared labor. She knew that the child will be fine but it was the pain that she was afraid of.

Besides being consoled by her husband, her heart was racing as fast as a horse. Her feet and hands were cold and numb. All that she could feel was the baby inside her. She closed her eyes and tried to gather courage. Moments of these nine months were flashing before her. How she and her husband longed for a child! How she herself longed to be called ‘Mother’! She had crossed all complications only for that. Now was time to cross one big fear.

She sighed and just then the nurses entered the ward. They sat around her holding her hands and feet. Sita felt a bolt of pain and something moving inside her. The pain only kept increasing every second. One of the nurses said, “It is happening. Try to stay calm my dear!”

Sita’s hands and legs were now shaking. The pain was too much for her. She gave out a deafening scream. The nurse holding her hands tightened her grip. Despite Sita’s agony, the nurses do not seem to give any reaction. Then suddenly, in a blink of an eye, all the pain ceased.

“That’s how it will be like. Like the happy and fearful moments you had in this nine months. The pain comes and goes.” Said the nurse smiling at her. Before the words could even fall in Sita’s ears, the pain started again. She could feel movement inside her again. This time it was vigorous. She was breathless. All that she could feel was the pain.

Watching Sita struggle, one was the nurses started wiping the sweat of her forehead and kept on telling that it was alright. She didn’t know that Sita wasn’t listening to her. She was slowly losing consciousness. The nurses were starting to get worried.

One said, “You cannot give up now. You have waited and carried your child for so long. These few minutes are nothing, dear. This is for YOUR CHILD!”

The words were rotating in Sita’s mind. She felt weak. Finally after about half an hour of this torment, the pains stopped and one of the nurse was holding something in her hands. She looked at Sita and said, “You have done it.” Sita closed her eyes falling asleep.

By Bandaru Vaathsalya Sree