"Your mother has given birth to a baby boy, darling."
Ten-year-old-excited Maxine jumped up in joy, however, she stopped smiling when she noticed the sad expression on her father's face. She asked him, "Papa, why ye look sad?"
"Your mother did not survive."
Perhaps, at that moment, little Maxine didn't hear her father well or she didn't understand what he entirely meant by that, she asked, "Papa, where is Mama? Those women told me she is asleep. Has she woken up yet?"
Maxine's father could not stare longer at his young daughter's face because she had the exact face of his now late wife. Instead, he stood up, a tear threatening to roll down his cheeks. He told her, "Go out, Maxi. You should play out some more."
"But I want tae see Mama!"
"She needs some rest. Go out and play with others. You can come home whenever you like, as long as it is before eventide."
