Everything was at peace finally. It would not last forever, but a brief moment was better than nothing. It was Christmas time, there were no clients during that period as they would celebrate Christmas at home and the brothel was closet for a few days. Yes, the brothel was closed. Seemed like even the demon of a pimp was able to show mercy, even though the major reason probably was because he was absent from the brothel during the holiday...
"Kuchel, are you coming?"
Kuchel turned around in surprise. By her door stood Athena, a fellow prostitute. Her real name was Gertrud, like Kuchel she had a "prostitute name" with Kuchels being Olympia. When they were off duty they called each other by their real names. This woman was an exception, she was called Athena both when she was working and when she was not working. The reason why was because she, like the pimp, hated the name because it sounded so unattractive and old. In her case it was also because it reminded her of a hellish childhood. Kuchel knew all this because Athena told her even though they were not close friends, Athena had a tendency to open up too much sometimes.
"Coming? What is going on?" Kuchel asked.
"It is Christmas Day today and we all are going out, are you coming too?"
Kuchel sighed and shook her head.
"No, I will pass"
"Oh...Is it because of your condition?" Athena said and pointed at Kuchel`s belly.
Kuchel was completely bloated up. She was heavily pregnant and she would give birth any day now. Kuchel put a hand on her belly.
"Yes. The good thing about this condition is that no man would want anything to do with me but my belly is very heavy, so my back hurts and I feel so tired. And this ragged dress is the only clothing I can wear, I do not fit any of the prostitute dresses"
"That is too bad, it is Christmas only once a year... I suppose you want to rest now, so I will leave you be. Bye!" Athena waved and walked away.
Kuchel waved back with a sad expression on her face. As a prostitute from the Underground all she did was to sell her body so she would be able to survive. She was away from her family, but that did not really matter. It was not much of a family she had, they would not celebrate Christmas even if they were there. No lovely family gathering, no Christmas dinner or presents. Kuchel did not get anything this year and because of pregnancy she had no energy to at least try to have a good time. The baby had to be the child of that client she had in March. He was the only client she had that month. Why he showed up so often that month and had no other clients Kuchel did not know, all she knew was that he was most likely the one who made her pregnant.
"
When Athena was gone, Kuchel closed the door so the room would not get any colder than it already was. After Kuchel closed the door, she wet herself.
Her water broke! What would happen now? Kuchel did not know what to do! She could scream her lungs out, but there were nobody around since they all were out to celebrate and have fun. She felt her stomach hurt severly and the pain rotating everywhere around her body. She walked around her little room. Her walking was not a proper one, it was similar to a old mans limp walking without his cane. The walking helped a bit, but then the pain got worse and worse so she could not do anything else than lie on the bed.
For hours she screamed loudly as she clutched and tore apart bedsheets. She felt the baby coming out of her. She imagined doctors telling her to push and and take deep breaths. There were nobody here, all she could do was to let her imagination support and comfort her.
Despite the massive pain and feeling exhausted, Kuchel managed to get the baby out with a great final push. She heard the baby cry as she dropped down in bed to catch her breath. After a brief moment of rest, she sat up. The baby laid between her legs, screaming wet and naked in a pool of amniotic fluid and blood. The baby was a boy.
Kuchel bend down and put her arm under the bed to find something all Ackermans were hiding nearby. A knife. This would be the first time she would use it on a human being. She sat on the bed properly again. With the other hand she positioned the baby carefully sideways. She pointed the knife against the baby`s belly and then cut off the umbilical cord. With that done she threw the knife on the floor, grapped a piece of the sheet she ripped apart and wrapped it around the baby. She picked up the baby and held him close.
"Knives can be used to other things that is not evil..." She mumbled to herself.
The baby slowly stopped screaming as Kuchel rocked him back and forth. She looked at her newborn son and smiled at him.
"And here I thought I would not get any presents for Christmas.." She kissed the top of his head.
"Your name will be Levi, it means attached or joining. I never believed I would feel attached or truly love any man. But you proved me wrong...Levi."
She held him close to her heart. She did not care how messy her bed was, she was too tired to care. The only thing that mattered to her now was getting rest as she held her new source of life.