Chapter 1: Emma
Gift from Above, Thank You God
Sent straight from heaven up above
Came an angel for me to love
To hold and rock and kiss good night
To wrap my arms around real tight…
- Shirley J. Stankiewicz
Inside a cabin in the middle of a village, a relatively young woman screamed in pain and clutched the hand of her midwife so tightly that her knuckles turned white. She was giving birth, and having given it several times had not eased the pains that seized her now.
"Calm, Esther! Calm!" Ayana urged her friend from beside her bed, where she sat reclined on to blankets, breathing heavily as the contractions that had caused her to scream receded slowly. The young woman, with her long blond hair and piercing blue eyes, just grimaced and howled again as pain washed over her.
"Ayana." Esther's husband spoke up quietly from the door of the room. Esther seemed not to notice her husband standing there as she concentrated on the soothing words of her midwife, and Ayana quickly made her way over to the man who towered over her. He seemed to be nervous, but she feigned not taking notice. She squared her shoulders. She would not show concern for him. "Mikael."
"Is the baby healthy?" he questioned her brusquely.
"Of course. It will be coming soon enough." Ayana replied. Mikael let out a sigh of relief and nodded, letting the woman return to her dear friend's side before leaving the room himself. After a few seconds, Esther let out another scream and doubled over, cursing every single deity known to her and Mikael's religion. Ayana could not help but smile at Esther's vulgarity. It was rare for women to curse in public, but Esther had never quite had that restraint that her mother and sisters had.
The baby came just then, so quickly that the midwife barely had time to react. Another scream pierced the air, but this time it came from the throat of the newborn child, covered in blood but alive. Ayana and Esther laughed together, the latter much more tiredly than the other, but still laughing all the same. The cord was cut quickly. Esther laid back into her bed and watched eagerly as the midwife cleaned the baby off in a stone tub, checking for any signs of deformation, before handing the baby to its mother.
"She looks just like you." Ayana stated warmly. It was true. The tiny baby girl staring up at her mother had a small patch of blond hair on her head and bright blue eyes. Esther just smiled down at her newborn daughter and played with her nose affectionately. The child made a gurgling noise and the three women smiled at the sight of a healthy, lively child having been delivered.
"What is her name?" the midwife asked curiously, and Esther looked up with a radiant smile, cradling her new baby in her arms.
"Emma."