Reina of Hanneau (English)

THE STRUGGLE

“No! No, I can’t do it anymore!”

Reina's screams of agony reverberate throughout the room. As she cries, tears fall like torrents on her face. The grip she has on Mitsuei’s hand becomes more and more intense by the minute. She had no idea that labor would take long like this. 

She was prepared for the pain, but not for the length of time she would have to bear it.

“Mother, what is going on?” Mitsuei takes a sharp breath, stifling a whimper to escape his lips.

He keeps staring at Reina and Helen consecutively. He wants to hear something or anything from Helen, yet at the same time, he is reluctant to avert his eyes away from Reina. He is afraid that if he does so, Reina will lose it. 

He was supposed to run to Hanneau to use the telephone to inform her family in Haran at the very least. But before he could even stand, she immediately grabbed his hand to stop him. She looks at him with pleading eyes as tears form in her eyes.

In the end, Kayomi volunteered to do the task. 

Mitsuei has never felt more useless in his life than he is now. Just seeing his wife endure the pain whilst making an effort to push is enough to kill him inside. 

He did not have an idea that childbirth was this excruciating. Judging at how Reina’s face wrinkle with a mixture of emotions, giving birth sure is a difficult feat. Moreover, she has to carry that growing child's weight inside her for nine months. 

“Mothe, Reina has been like this for hours now. What is happening?” Mitsuei questions further, worried about not knowing anything. 

Helen’s prior silence to his first inquiry only makes his heart beat faster. Aside from being useless, he is growing restless as time goes on. 

He had never felt this kind of feeling before. Even when facing foreign enemies, he had learned to harden himself. So that when he faces a sudden turn, he will be able to handle the situation.

However, his experience as a soldier didn’t prepare him for this. The skills he obtained are never useful. Has pregnancy always been this hard for the mother?

If he had the ability to transfer those pains Reina has been suffering, he would have done it already.

“It has been hours, mother. How long will the contractions happen? Is this normal?” 

“Calm down, Mitsuei! You are only making things worse for everyone,” Helen yells, unable to hold on to her feelings. 

For hours now, she has also grown anxious. Aside from not being a full-fledged doctor, she is also as restless as the others.

She is scared for Reina. First-time mothers tend to panic and be scared easily. She knows because she was the same during her pregnancy with Haru. Ryouta was also behaving like Mitsuei. Only that Mitsuei is more refined than Ryouta.

“Father, I was able to contact a neighbor of the Asais. They will find someone to help, but the roads are covered in snow and slippery. No one would dare to travel in this condition,” Kayomi bursts into the open bedroom door. She is pooling with sweat while continuously catching her breath. 

“Thank you, Kayomi,” Mitsuei answers, sparing his daughter a quick glance. He never stops wiping Reina’s forehead as sweat and tears collide on her wrinkled face.

Kayomi immediately rushes to the other side of the bed and takes the clean towel off her father’s hand.

As her father continually murmurs encouraging words to Reina, she takes over the wiping duties. She's also becoming agitated as she watches the entire event unfold before her.

“Father, your hands.”

Mitsuei shakes his head in dismissal. He can feel his aching palm, but he is disregarding his discomfort. Compared to what Reina is going through, his pain is only the tip of the iceberg.

“Okay, Reina. I want you to push again. Please,” Helen instructs, trying to sound more supportive to her daughter. 

Reina reluctantly nods her head in agreement. She looks straight at Helen and once again tries to push. 

“Mmm ---- Ahhhh!” Reina moans in agony. 

“No, no. Sweetheart, take a few breaths and try not to scream. You will only hurt yourself if you do that,” Helen adds, showing a smile to at least help Reina relax.

“Okay --fuuh! --- okay.” 

Reina complies, making herself more relaxed as she continuously catches her breath.

“Alright. Again, push.”

Reina takes a deep breath and begins pushing as directed by her mother. She tries not to whine as much as she did previously. However, Reina neglected her breathing while she concentrated on the proper execution. 

In the end, she almost turned purple from holding her breath.

“No, sweetheart. You don’t need to hold it in. Remember to breath whenever you push.” Helen calls out to Reina. She then turns to Mitsuei. “Mitsuei, why don’t you check on Reina’s breathing. Make sure she follows your rhythm.”

Without a word, Mitsuei nods his head again and again. He turns Reina's head in his direction. 

Reina looks lifeless, staring at him with blank eyes. Tears are constantly flowing in her eyes as small cries escape her mouth.

“Reina. You can do this,” Mitsuei whispers, almost letting out a whimper. 

“Come on, Reina. Please, don’t give up,” Kayomi sobs while looking at the pale Reina lying lifeless.

“Reina, look at me,” Mitsuei gently taps Reina on the cheek as her eyes slowly turn somewhere else. 

He is terrified. He is terrified of what might happen if Reina cannot deliver the baby. Just a mere thought of her leaving him like this makes the pain more unbearable. 

But he cannot give up. He must be the primary source of strength. 

Slowly, he lowers his face towards hers. He plants a soft kiss on her forehead, closing his eyes to stop himself from crying. 

“You can do it,” Mitsuei whispers near her ear.

“Reina, sweetheart. Look at me.” Helen mutters. Her heart clenches as she watches her daughter give in to the pain. “You really need to push, sweetheart. We need to make do with what we have. Since we don’t have any doctors here, you need to push for me, sweetheart.”

As an uncontrollable tear escapes her lips, Reina signals a yes. She has been restless and frustrated in the hours since she began feeling contractions.

She cannot seem to do anything right. She even forgot to breathe when it is the primary thing a human should do.

“Repeat after me, sweetheart. I can do it. I can.”

“I can do it. I can. I can do it. I can,” Reina mumbles in between breaths. 

“Okay, then push!”

“Mmm --- Ahh ---- !” Reina grunts, making an effort to keep in mind everyone's efforts. However, as she attempts to perform another push, she winces in pain. “Urgh! Ahh, no. It hurts. It hurts!”

Again, Reina howls in tears. She felt pain somewhere inside her body. She cannot exactly pinpoint where since she is too preoccupied, thinking that her entire body is in pain already.

“Stay calm, Reina. Stay calm. Remember your breathing,” Helen worriedly stands up, stopping Reina from moving around. 

Reina seems to have panicked the moment a surge of pain envelopes her. She must have too much built-up tension causing her entire body to be strained. 

“Mitsuei, I want you to massage her hands. Relax her muscles as much as possible.” Helen orders Mitsuei, not minding the tone of her voice. She then turns to Kayomi. “Kayomi, dip that cloth with warm water to wipe on her face.”

Without a minute to waste, both father and daughter fulfill the tasks given. 

Kayomi has been shaking the whole time. She cannot properly wring a small cloth. Even the bucket almost spilled on the floor if not for her reflexes. 

“I can’t do it, mother. I really can’t,” Reina cries repeatedly, slowly shaking her head in surrender.

“No, don’t say that. You can do this, Reina. You are strong and I know you can it.”

“It hurts, mother. I --- hic--- I don’t think I can continue with this ---hic---.” 

“Don’t you dare give up on me, sweetheart. Look at your husband and daughter. They are here to support you. So don’t leave them hanging like this.”

Reina looks across to Kayomi. With her hair unkempt and tears streaming down her cheeks, the poor little child appears to be a disaster. She then turns her focus to Mitsuei. He is neither wailing nor trembling. On the other hand, his shaking eyes tell her that he is close to breaking down, too. 

Looking at him trying his best to be strong for everyone, makes her heart swell. Another rush of pain flows all over her body, and she once again winces in pain. 

Mitsuei almost jumps on his seat, clueless about what to do to help her. 

“Reina, please. Don’t give up just yet,” Mitsuei begs, clenching the hand under his palms. 

Reina takes a deep breath, gathering herself up. She gazes back at her mother with a new resolve. Her family has been completely supportive, and she has been disappointing them by giving in to her fear and pain. 

“Again, sweetheart. I want you to push. Say you can do it,” Helen smiles seeing Reina with reformed strength.

“Okay ---phew--- okay. I can do it. I can.”

Reina repeats the mantra, waiting for the proper timing to get herself to push. 

When she finally calms herself, she takes another deep breath. 

“Grrr…. Ahhh----!” Reina pauses, breathing to keep herself stable. 

“Good job, sweetheart. One more time.”

Reina sings her mantra again and continues to push. Again and again, she recites the process she got used to. 

Both Mitsuei and Kayomi are cheering on her with words of encouragement. Kayomi washes the tears off her face and shouts comfort to Reina. She cannot afford to be this scared when Reina is trying her best for them. 

Once again, Reina screams as she releases a long, hard push.

“I can see the baby’s head!”