Ayinah

She has to be strong right now. She needs to.

No, she wanted them to see that she is brave, but deep inside, she is crying; it's tearing her apart.

In the next few hours of her life, she will no longer feel her baby in her womb. It will be out of her body and will soon be far away from her. She will never be able to even glance at it. 

She called Andreas when she felt the contractions were even more painful than the one a few minutes ago.

She knows Thorne is just in the other room, but she can't ask him to help her. She was paid to give him a baby, and it's not his job to help her bring her lying in clinic that she and Andreas have booked an appointment for her giving birth.

Upon reaching the lying-in, she came out of the car immediately. She cannot ask Andreas to help her because he was parking the car. 

Their midwife friends have been anticipating her, so they are waiting for them to arrive. 

When she saw her walking towards them, she asked Thorn to carry her inside. She has no energy to say no because it's really painful every time the fetus rolled in her belly. 

He put her down in the bed where the midwife instructed him. 

"Ayinah, are you ready?" asked her doctor.

"I'm ready," she replied, wincing in pain. 

"Push!" ordered the midwife.

After the third push, she brought the baby out of this world. She heard her baby cry, but she never looks at it. She never even tries to hold it; even her heart is aching to hold her baby. But if she will, it will only break her already broken heart. She just cried in silence. She changed her mind too. She told Andreas that she will not bring any pictures or anything that will remind her of her baby. He instructed him and the doctor what to do after she gave birth. She thought she was strong enough that she could handle it. But she can't.

She heard the nurse announce to the two men outside that it's a baby boy. She gave birth to a baby boy. Her tears are falling nonstop.

"Shhh, don't cry; it will not be good for you," comforted the midwife who happened to be their friend now, Andreas and her. 

She knew too what's at stake in this drama. Well, she assured her that they understood her decision very well. There was a life that needed to be saved.

That's why she's thankful that she met Andreas; he introduced her to all his friends on the island. 

"I'll leave you for a while. I will give them instruction on how to look after the newborn baby," she whispered in her ear and came out from the curtained division. 

She could hear the two men were talking about the baby's name. Then she heard that he named the baby Tyrone; she broke down, but she covered her mouth with a pillow. That's the name she chose if the baby is a boy and Tyra when it's a girl. 

It was Andreas who told him to give that name. Why? What for? He can give a name for his son by himself, not the one she picked up. 

Even she tried to control herself not to cry, but she has abundant tears in her eyes, and it cannot be controlled.

"By the way, Andreas will get all her things in your place tomorrow," she could hear their midwife's friend talking to him.

"I will ask Nanay Sol to pack it," she heard him reply. the midwife after a few moments of silence.

"Great! You can bring the baby home now. Just call me if there's any concern. Andreas can drive you home," the doctor told him.

"How about Ayinah?" he asked about her.

Did he think about her well-being? 

"She's staying here until she regains her strength for the flight," the midwife replied.

She could hear his sigh. 

"How much is our charge?" he asked.

"It's covered. Don't worry. Just take care of the baby as much as she takes care of him in her womb," the midwife replied.

She wanted to stop her midwife friend from talking because it would make her cry even more. She heard the car revved outside. That means Andreas is taking them back to his villa. 

She thanks God when they finally left the clinic. 

The midwife draws away the curtain.

"Enough crying," she told her.

"I can't stop it, Lucy," she replied, sniffing.

"You have to if you want to go to Italy with Andreas," Lucy replied.

"Thank you so much," she said.

"You're a nice and kindhearted woman I have known. You helped us a lot here, you know. It's sad when you finally leave us here, but we know that your future is somewhere out there. Your mother must be so proud of you," Lucy said, wiping her tears.

"I will always remember the best time I have here, being here with you all. If God willing, if I have a chance to come back, I will come and visit you all," she said.

"You must. The whole church will miss you. You better take a rest so you will regain your energy. If you're strong enough to travel, I will let you go with Andreas, but if you're weak, you will be stuck with us here," the woman said.

"In that case, I must rest so I can regain my energy," she replied.

"I will wait for Andreas before I close the door. Denise is already out at their house," Lucy said.

---

The next day, she woke up feeling light. No more bump. She controlled her tears not to drop.

"I'm glad you're awake," Andreas greeted her.

"What time is it now?" she asked.

"It's already ten in the morning, and I have collected your things from the villa. And as per your instruction, I left all your memories in there," he said.

"Thank you! Hope you understand. I know that you have made your efforts for those photos, only to be left behind," she said.

"Hey! No problem; I understand. The original is with me, and if the time comes that you are ready to see it again, I will show you. But the other things that you have made with your hands, we don't have a duplicate of them," he said.

"That's okay; that's for the baby," she replied.

"Where's Lucy?" she asked when she noticed that her midwife wasn't around.

"She's out somewhere maybe; I only saw Denise here," he replied.

"Maybe at home. Or in the hospital doing some rounds," she said.

"Maybe she's like you too, that is always busy," he said.

"And you," she replied.

"Hi-5's not belonged," he said, lifting his palm.

She hit his palm.

"So what do you think? When can we travel?" he asked.

"I'm feeling better now. I don't know if Lucy will allow me to travel," she replied.

"I think it's fine; you have medicine, right?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied.

"Well, we have to wait for Lucy's instruction; it's better to be safe than sorry," Andreas said.

"Okay, let's wait for her," she agreed.

Luckily, there's no other patient in the lying-in owned by their friend Lucy. They can stay there for how long they want to. Mostly mothers gave birth in hospitals in the area; some are giving birth at home because they avoid costly payment.

While they were talking, Lucy came in with food in her hands. It's almost twelve already.

"Andreas, I didn't know that you were here. I only buy for two," Lucy said, putting the foods on a table. 

"Not a problem; I can order food later; besides, I only had my breakfast before I came here," Andreas replied.

"I think it will be enough for us; see, it's a lot," Lucy showed the food. 

For a woman like her, yes, it's more than enough; she can only eat half of it.

"I think Ayinah and I will share so that you can have this one box." Lucy offered him a box of food. 

"Yes, we can share," she agreed with Lucy.

The three of them eat the food that Lucy had brought.

"By the way, I didn't see Denise," she said.

"Don't worry, I sent her a message to check on the new mother in station three. 

After their lunch, Lucy examined her.

She told her that she's allowed to be with Andreas only on the next day. Though she's strong, she doesn't want her to catch a bacteria.