RAINBOW IN THE MIDDLE OF A STORM
1691 Words
Reina stares at Mitsuei then her mother with confusion. She is lost. What could have possibly been wrong when the baby was successfully delivered?
"Why? What is the matter?" She asks, looking at the two pairs of eyes staring at each other with tension.
"Did I say something wrong?"Scared, Kayomi takes a step back towards the wall. She is getting nervous by the overwhelming silence after her sudden question.
"Can someone tell me what is happening?!" Reina demands, reaching her limit.
She did her best. She endured the pain. She pushed for who knows how long despite her body feeling like it would cut itself in half.
But after achieving what seems impossible, they have met another obstacle. And no one dares to tell the person who gave her all even she was on the brink of giving up.
"The baby is supposed to cry once out of the womb," Mitsuei whispers, terrified of where his assumptions might lead.
He looks back at Reina with a sorrowful gaze. The tears he held back earlier are slowly forming in the corner of his eyes.
Reina seemingly understood the implication, whimpers in pain. It didn't compare to the pain she had to endure earlier. The physical pain can be manageable. But this. This feeling of dread is gently taking every inch of her soul.
"No. That is not true." Reina refuses, unable to accept the truth laid out to her. "Tell me that is not true."
Helen gently takes the baby away from Mitsuei. Looking at the boy's pale face and purple lips, their assumptions seem to be true.
She then moves her ear next to the baby's chest. But she hears nothing. She can't even hear the boy's breathing. Nor feel it against her skin.
Helen lowers her head, looking at Reina with pity. She bites her lower lip, unable to tell her poop daughter of what happened to the baby she was expecting with her family.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart," Helen mumbles under her breath. Those words barely left her mouth. She didn't want to say something that could hurt her precious child.
Reina bursts into tears. Her tears, which she believed had dried up because she had cried too much earlier, are now brimming. Her eyelids are already swollen from all of the cryings. It hurts. And infuriating.
Helen walks up to Reina, slowly placing the baby to lay on her side.
Reina can feel herself almost passing out. She is exhausted, confused. But most of all, she is in too much pain. Both physically and mentally.
She couldn't understand what is going on. How did this happen when she has been so careful. Mitsuei made sure of her health and safety above all else. But why did she still fail?
"Why? How can this happen when ---," Reina trails off. She wants answers yet even with knowing the answer, she wouldn't be happy.
Helen hugs Reina as she sobs continuously at her bedside. Reina looks around and sees Kayomi curling in one corner like a traumatized child. She keeps biting her nails while looking into deep space.
Reina looks back at her baby. She gently lands a kiss on his forehead. She closes her eyes as huge tears fall.
Her baby is dead.
Even with the searing pain on her body, she manages to turn around, embracing her child close to her. she could not even feel his warmth. Her baby boy is gone.
Everyone in the room breaks down into tears. Kayomi even tries to get as near to Reina as possible. They required each other's comfort at the very least in situations like this. Mitsuei, on the other hand, is a different story.
Mitsuei stares at the huddled bunch for a long time. They all seem to have accepted the fate of the newborn child.
Without a word, he takes the baby away from Reina.
"Mitsuei, what are you doing?" Reina asks in delirium. She tries to raise from the bed to follow what Mitsuei is doing.
Helen and Kayomi look at Mitsuei with utter confusion as he puts the baby flat on the floor.
Helen rushes to Mitsuei to stop him from whatever he is planning on. Kayomi then assists Reina in getting up from bed since the tired mother stubbornly insisted.
"Mister Mitsuei, what are you doing?" Helen raises her voice, holding Mitsuei by the arm to stop him.
Mitsuei hears nothing. He shoves the hand touching him, his thoughts clouding his sight.
He then gently taps the baby all over its body. No response. As much as he wants to call Yuuma or anyone to help, there is no way someone would traverse through the harsh weather.
He places two fingers just below the baby’s chest. With a manageable amount of strength, he pushes down the boy’s chest. He tries a few times before tilting the baby’s head back.
He gives the baby two soft breaths while carefully monitoring the baby's chest rise and release.
Reina calls out to Mitsuei repeatedly to no avail. He doesn't seem to take notice of his surroundings. He had set his mind to what he is about to do.
Reina feels pathetic seeing her husband suffer and unable to accept the fate of the baby. He had learned to love the baby inside her. And she cannot even console him. In fact, she can't even appease herself.
Mitsuei didn’t listen to Reina. Refusing to give up, he resumes the process from the top. Over and over, he gently pumps the chest then blows a few breaths to the baby.
‘No. No. You need to come back to us,’ Mitsuei begs, repeating those words while trying his best to revive the baby boy.
In the background, he can hear Reina and Kayomi crying helplessly. Reina keeps calling for his name, praying for him to stop. That, however, is complete rubbish. That little one, their kid, isn't dead yet. Because they are all looking forward to his arrival. This child should be the new meaning of their lives. He will be a bond that will deepen everyone's ties.
Amidst the chaos, Mitsuei feels something on the baby.
The baby is breathing!
Mitsuei chuckles, optimistic about his development. He raises his hands in a motion urging everyone to remain silent. He then places his face near the baby to see if his assumptions are correct.
It seems faint. But he sees the rise of the baby’s chest.
He does another cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the hopes of bringing their kid back to full health this time.
As Mitsuei gives another gentle breath to the child, their baby boy starts crying!
Mitsuei laughs as he picks the child off from the floor. He rubs his little hands and legs to ensure that he is kept warm. Mitsuei couldn’t hide his relief and looked back at Reina’s bewildered face.
Reina smiles at Mitsue. By some miracle, her baby is suddenly alive. Breathing. Crying with all his strength.
She releases a sigh of relief, expressing her heartfelt gratitude to the man who saved her child.
Mitsuei hands over the baby to Reina. He is filled with sweat as relief floods all over his face. He and Reina lock eyes as they both smile at each other from ear to ear.
Reina extends her hand to reach Mitsuei. She badly wants to embrace him right now. If not for his persistence, none of them would heart this baby's adorable cry. All of them could have been hunted and traumatized by this memory. But in the end, it turned out to be a lesson they all learned from.
Never give up on the person you love.
"What would you call him?" Helen asks as she peers through Reina's shoulders.
Reina stares at her baby. Then to Mitsuei whom she owes so much. Not only of her baby's life. But also for providing her with everything she and the baby needs.
"Ritsu sounds like a nice name," Reina mutters, smiling at Mitsuei.
"Sou Ritsu." Helen recites, caressing the little one's delicate skin. "It sounds like yours and your husband's name combined."
"Well, I hope that is alright."
Reina glances at Mitsuei with a seemingly shy expression. She had that name in her mind for the last couple of months. She can't seem to get him out of her mind. Not if he relentlessly made his presence known. Doing her favors, providing for her, and doting on her like a first-time father.
The problem is, she didn't consult him about the baby's name. She figured he wasn't interested since he never once asked. So now, she feels anxious while waiting for his response.
Mitsuei smirks as he inches closer to Reina. With suppressed tears in his eyes, he hugs her with so much love. He only wanted to make her happy and the baby she was expecting. But he never realized he would make so much impact for her to include him in the baby's name.
"Silly! Of course," Mitsuei utters, snuggling close to Reina and the baby. His baby.
In the middle of the celebration, everyone in the room hears a continuous hammering on the front door. Whoever the person behind those doors simply wants to break through the wooden entryway.
Kayomi rushes to the front door while wiping the tears off her face. She both delighted and moved from what she witnessed the entire time. She didn’t even mind the hunger and sleepiness she feels. She only recognizes the happiness in her heart at the moment.
As she slowly opens the front door, a hand passes through, forcing it to open immediately.
“How is she?!”
Kayomi almost leaps in surprise as the entire Asai family erupts from the open door. They bombard her with questions, not even minding the position and the condition they are in.
Not only that their presence intimidate her, but it also astonishes her to think they all traveled in this cold hard breeze outside.
“Why don’t we all get inside first?”
Yuuma breaks through the commotions, passing from behind the family, causing havoc to the poor little girl.
- Writer
