A WHISPER IN THE WOMB

A whisper in the womb!

A young girl’s brave fight against the world.

Mumbai_8-30a.m: A 21 year old lies cuddled up with her soul mate. She wakes up to the sound of the doorbell. The milkman has arrived with fresh buffalo milk. No, the love of her life is not a body-builder yet; neither does he go to the gym. He continues to sleep gloriously as she boils the milk and gets back to bed. As the radiant sun rays light up the city; he wakes up, gets on his fours and crawls onto her. The cuddling begins, followed by sweet kisses and cute words. She tells him how much she loves him, as he sheepishly utters something that sounds like ‘latto’. If you haven’t guessed by now, this is a teenage love story of city girl that doesn’t involve a man; but a little baby boy named Yohann.

The 21 month old sweetheart is the only reason that Kero wants to wake up every morning. He makes a lot of animal impersonations and loves mimicking the lion, snake, cat and dog. Soon, its breakfast time and as universally advised, he demands to have it like a king. Perched on his high chair, he burrows through his cereal with his favourite music video playlist in the background. TV sessions continue with a recess for lunch and an afternoon shower. All she needs to say is “common for bathie” and he is ready with his rubber duckies. Then he gets his hair spiked and heads downstairs to play with his buddies. He kicks around his size-one football as his biggest fan watches him from not so far away. 

Kero keeps a watchful eye on him, lest he requires her help. She is ready to double up as a Physiotherapist, a nurse, a friend or even a dad if need be. She could do anything and everything to keep him happy. Her memory wanders in time to the day when she chose to let him live. She is not entirely sure if Love is blind but she is absolutely certain that it is not deaf. Amidst the blaring sounds of people condemning and horrifying noises of doctors updating her on her health; she heard a whisper in her womb that drowned all her fears and gave her the courage to fight another day. 

Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at the age of 18; she decided to take a break from studies and earn a buck, thus joining a BPO. Here she met a boy, fell in love and soon after got married. Months later, she woke up to the fact that she was pregnant. Now, her ill health made pregnancy a dangerous option. Doctors warned her that she could die giving birth to her baby. 

The cries of abortion grew louder, with friends and family trying to convince her that she was young and would miss out on her youth. The fear of being rejected made her deliberate her decision; but she could not let her own flesh and blood suffer for her selfish needs. On one hand, the thought of having her own kid intrigued her to a very great extent and she chose her baby over everything else. She was willing to risk the loss of a lot of friends and relations for the sake of her baby. 

Living far away from her parents, she learnt all there is to know about pregnancy and babies from guide books and the Internet. Every month of pregnancy was thrilling as she always had something new to look forward to. Eight and a half months into pregnancy, she went into labour not even aware of it; until she was informed at her monthly sonography visit. 

Drama unfolded as her Doctor immediately checked her in and told her that the baby was on the way. Her face wore an expression of thrill and terror. The pain killers and numbing medications she had taken two years back as a treatment for cancer made her indifferent to the labour signs. The doctor had to inject and induce pain so that she felt the contractions. Miraculously, she gave birth that night to a beautiful baby boy.

The complications however were not yet over. Since her water bag had burst many hours before she even realised, it gave room for infections. A few hours after he was born, Kero learnt that her baby had pneumonia. This news almost killed her; she hadn’t even held her baby in her arms and they took him away to a hospital, miles away from where she was admitted. She lay there heartbroken. The emotional trauma had overpowered the physical pain. She spent sleepless nights remembering all those difficult months that she lived alone against the world. She prayed earnestly believing that ‘if she didn’t give up on him, then God wouldn’t either.’ It was only after 15 days that he recovered and was reunited with his mom. She named him Yohann, which means ‘God is Gracious’.

Today, life seems beautiful and she has won the support and love of her family and friends, although they say that she should be out partying and enjoying herself. She vouches that being a mother is one of the toughest, yet the most amazing jobs ever and she wouldn’t trade her life for anyone else. She can’t live a day without waking up to his hugs and kisses and his smiling face and his cute baby-words. He picks up things real quick, so she has to be very careful of the language she uses in front of him.

This love is mutual as little Yohann is very possessive about his mama and doesn’t allow anyone to get close to her. So now, she ought to balance work, studies and Yohann which is brutally tiring. The realization that she is doing all this for one person who is completely dependent on her and is counting on her to give him everything he needs makes the effort worthwhile. Watching him grow is what makes Kero feel like she made the right decision. She doesn’t regret having her baby one bit and she is glad to have listened to her heart and not the doctors when they said that her life was in danger. 

The possibility of other kids making fun of him like they did to her for not having a mother doesn’t scare her; as she is determined on getting him ready to face the harsh world. The plus point that these two love birds share is a very thin generation gap; and this she feels will help him confide in her more. So he is free to do whatever he wishes as long as it won’t hurt him and she swears to support and guide him till her last breath.

Just when she promises herself that she would set him free to choose any career that he would be interested in; Yohann trips over the football and slips to the ground. Her heart skips a beat. She curses herself for getting lost in her thoughts and neglecting her little baby boy. She rushes towards him, holds him tight and dusts him.

Tired and bruised, Kero offers to carry him home; but Yohann refuses to trouble his mom. Remember! He is a buffalo soldier. Dinner follows. He is a fussy eater; in fact, much to his mom’s joy he has just begun eating chicken putting rest to her fears that he might be a born vegan. The day has turned a whole circle; thus once again, it is cuddling time. She holds him in her arms teaching him new words and rhymes. He eventually dozes off in her arms safe and secure.  

(This is no fiction. Just a simple narration of an extra-ordinary story.)

 cheers Kero :)