"Madam, I see the baby's head. Just take a deep breath and push again when I tell you to," the midwife gently advised the woman lying on the bed, her face glistening with sweat.
The woman had been in labor for hours, and her strength was fading.
In the room stood two elderly women, their expressions etched with worry.
"My daughter, you must follow the midwife's instructions. Once you give birth to a son, your days in the general's manor will be peaceful henceforth," said one of the elderly women, who was the woman in labor's mother.
"Yes, my dear," chimed in the other, her mother-in-law. "As your mother-in-law, I will also feel secure in my position knowing that my grandson is the heir of our family. You must push through."
This child, about to be born, was destined to be the first grandchild of the Edosa family. For the mother-in-law, this was her moment to solidify her status.
Years ago, she had been overshadowed by the second wife after giving birth to a daughter. That setback had almost cost her the privileges of the first wife. But she had redeemed herself by giving birth to a son the following year, narrowly reclaiming her status.
Now, she was determined not to lose again. Her son's wife must deliver a son.
The woman on the bed nodded weakly, taking a deep breath. The midwife wiped her forehead with a cold towel, her gaze sharpening as she noticed a new wave of contractions approaching. She gestured for the two elderly women to support the woman, then firmly instructed her to push.
Moments later, the cry of a baby filled the room. The baby's loud and healthy wail brought a smile to the two older women.
"My grandson is so strong," the mother-in-law declared with joy.
The woman's mother smiled as well, her heart swelling with pride.
But the midwife's soft whisper changed the room's atmosphere entirely.
"Madam, it's a girl," she said hesitantly, holding the baby.
Silence fell. Even the baby, sensing the shift, stopped crying.
"How can this be?" The two women exchanged disbelieving glances before hurrying over to inspect the baby.
The smile vanished from the mother-in-law's face, replaced by a deep frown.
"This can't be!" she exclaimed. "I carefully chose a wife for my son based on her family's strong lineage of male heirs. How could this happen?"
The woman's mother, equally shocked, muttered in disbelief. "The women in my family have always given birth to sons first. I bore five boys before having a daughter. This is disgraceful."
The mother-in-law muttered under her breath, "The seer told me my daughter-in-law was carrying a great general... How could this go wrong?"
The midwife, busy cleaning the baby, avoided the mounting tension in the room. She placed the baby on a small bamboo bed and turned to the new mother, who was quietly sobbing.
As the midwife began to clean her up, the woman suddenly cried out, "I feel like... there's another baby!"
Startled, the midwife leaned closer. It wasn't unheard of for a woman to give birth to twins, though it was rare. Still, considering the firstborn was a girl, the second was unlikely to be a boy.
"Alright," the midwife said, her voice lacking enthusiasm. "Follow my instructions."
Neither of the older women offered words of encouragement. They were too consumed by their disappointment.
Fortunately, the second labor was quicker.
"I see the baby's head. Push!" the midwife commanded. The woman who had almost lost all her strength had no choice but to push. No matter how sorrowful she felt, she did not want to die and so she could only cooperate with the midwife.
A second cry, softer and weaker than the first, filled the room. The woman who just gave birth laid weakly on the bed not bothering to glace at her new born.The midwife prepared to clean the baby, assuming it was another girl. But as she inspected the child, her eyes widened.
"The baby..." she started to say, only to be cut off by the mother-in-law's sharp voice.
"If she's weak, let her die and save us the shame," she snapped.
"No, madam," the midwife interrupted urgently. "The baby is a boy!"
"What?" both women exclaimed in unison, rushing to the midwife's side.
Seeing the baby boy with their own eyes, their disappointment transformed into joy.
"My first grandchild is a boy!" the mother declared, her voice jubilant. Hearing her mother confirmed that she had indeed given birth to a boy this time, the woman on the bed struggled to get up and look at her baby but she was too weak.
"Yes, my grandson!" the mother-in-law echoed, her earlier scorn forgotten.
Both women quickly agreed to recognize the boy as the firstborn, ensuring his position as the heir of the Edosa family. The midwife, sensing the delicate balance of the situation, decided to remain silent about the girl being born first.
"Congratulations, madams," she said instead, wrapping the boy in a cloth. This turn of events would benefit everyone involved—especially her reputation as a capable midwife. She handed over the baby to the grandmother and started attending to the woman on the bed, who now wore a bright smile despite her tiredness.
As the room erupted in celebration, the little girl lay quietly in her small bed, unaware of the storm her birth had caused.