Ella was heaving with pain. She could feel the contractions hit her like a bulldozer.
"You are doing very well Ella. But you are not dilated yet. So do not push until you are told. Do you understand?" the nurse shouted in her ears.
From the haze of pain Ella gave a subtle nod. She was having trouble keeping her breathing steady. Her best friend and colleague held her hand as she was rolled into the maternity ward. Diego was not there. He was dead. For the last few months Ella had heard a hundred times how stupid she was to bring a dead man's child into this world. Diego had succumbed to liver cancer eight years ago. They had been the loneliest eight years of her life. Diego and Ella were high school sweethearts. It was Diego's focus on his career that pushed their timeline for a family further and further till he was diagnosed with Stage 3 cancer. The treatment was a long drawn process. Just before starting radio therapy that doctors warned of the possible side effect of sterility. That was when Diego decided to freeze his sperms.
In the eight years after his death Ella always remembered the frozen sperms but never did anything about it but she never had the guts to do anything about it. She did try to move on with her life with other people but she could never leave Diego in her past. So when the sperm bank sent a reminder to her about the sperms she finally decided to have a dead man's baby. The result was this.
At the age of thirty six Ella had a high risk pregnancy and was scared for the health of her child. Her parents refused to go along with her madness. The only people at the hospital were Diego's parents and Daisy Durant her childhood friend. Dr. Andrew Williams was responsible for Ella's birth. He was a man in his early forties with a boyish smile. He was having hard time smiling now however with Ella's oxygen running low. She had been rushed to the operating theatre for a Caesarian but even after a greater part of an hour the light was still on. When the sound of a child's first cry came out though relief washed through the elderly people who perhaps feared more for their grandchild rather than the woman who had decided to bring him into the world against natural means. Daisy looked at them with a mixture of distrust and disgust on her face and quickly turned to the operating theatre to see the nurse walk out.
"How is the baby?" the elderly couple managed to ask first.
"The child is having breathing trouble and has been administered artificial oxygen. It is being believed that his lungs are not fully formed and may require some kind of surgery but the Doctors are trying to avoid that as far as practicable." the nurse reported.
"Is there a chance that he might live." they asked in trepidation.
The nurse nodded firmly. "How it looks now of course he will live. The child has a steady heartbeat and is responding well to external stimulus. It is just a matter of time before he can go home." she assured.
"So it is a boy?" asked the elderly woman.
The nurse nodded in the affirmative. Tears streamed down her face at the news. Her husband pulled her into an embrace and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Our son lives" he said and they nodded to each other. While they shared an intimate moment Daisy realized that the important answer was hanging in the air.
"How is the mother?" she managed to ask.
"The mother has had intense blood loss and is currently in a critical state. Doctors are working hard to maintain a sustained heartbeat. She had already signed a bond claiming that in such a situation the child was to be given preference. She may not make it though." the nurse stated.
At this the happy tears of the elderly couple stopped and they were strung in silence. "She did what?" they asked simultaneously.
"You didn't know?" Daisy asked not believing.
"Of course not. Why would we sacrifice our daughter for the sake of a son who wasn't even born. We have grieved over our son once.Ella convinced us that she wanted a part of him back and couldn't live without him. That was the only reason we agreed to this entire thing. Our church doesn't approve of it. Our neighbours thought that we were crazy and we had to change neighbourhood. At the end of the day Ella has been our daughter too long to be replaced with a part of our son's DNA" The father explained.
Daisy had painted a wrong picture of the elderly couple. The couple looked at the nurse. " Can you at least tell us the chances that she has right now?" They pleaded.
The nurse shook her head. "I am afraid that that would be giving you false hope where there is none. Your daughter is in need of a miracle now."
...
Three hours later Ella haemorrhaged on the operating bed. She never got to see the child she gave her life for. Diego's parents grieved deeply but the child provided them a means of moving forward in life, a reason for existing. Daisy was left feeling numb as she realized that one of her only friends was now gone for good. She felt more orphaned than the new born child. She saw the doctor coming out of his office and heading towards the exit. She ran forward and pulled him by his sleeve.
"Dr. Williams" she sounded frantic, "Why her? She had taken such good care of herself throughout the pregnancy. Ella shouldn't have any complication." she pleaded.
Dr. Williams gave a lopsided smile while his eyes sympathized with her. "You must be Ms. Durant. Ella told me about you. You see Ms. Durant age is a big factor when it comes to things like pregnancy. The higher the age the greater are the risks. Ella was ready to take the risks because motherhood meant a lot to her. But Ella knew that this might happen and her last words to me were to warn you to not wait out too long" he emphasized.
"Wait too long for what?" Daisy asked.
"To have a child." Dr. Williams said. "She told me that you both placed motherhood over every other relation."
Daisy couldn't deny that fact. May be Ella had confided in this Doctor more than she should have. But the thing that posed a problem was still insurmountable. "But I am not even in a relationship. I haven't been in a relationship for a very long time." she said.
"There is the option of artificial insemination." Dr. Williams coolly suggested. "It is not my place to do so but your friend would urge you that it is high time to start thinking. She said that she is a coupe of years older than you. But when you are dealing with reproduction you never know. Some women are able to give natural birth at 42. But cases like Ella's are not uncommon. Please give it a thought. And I am extremely sorry for your loss." So saying Dr. Williams slowly retreated and right before reaching the exit turned and disappeared.
Daisy kept standing in front of the exit deep in thought. Was her clock really ticking to realize her dream of having a family?