Maryam and Dimal looks like Poorna Jagannathan and Sendhil Ramamurthy
Siddharth "Sid" Khan
Dimal Khan, was a dancer and so was his wife Maryam.
Their son Sid's name was actual Siddharth. It was Indian- just like his parents' and their names. But, just as Sid knew it was based on "Sid" from Sydney. Where his parents had once met, dancing in the opera. That even before they had figured they were from the same part of England- it was a small world sometimes. Wasn't it?
It usually was if Dimal and Maryam ever told people how they had met.
However- that was not passed down to their son…
Despite that they wouldn't have wanted Sid in any way than himself. Although of course, it wouldn't have been a very bad thing if he had been born a day that came every year. Instead of leap day that came every fourth year. And while they always made sure to celebrate him every year at March the first.
But still, there were never as big celebrations as there would be at February the 29th, and during the day that we meet them here. It was the first time they could make a big celebration for real- Sid was about to turn four years but at the same time his first real birthday.
The three, or really four of them were now in the car, Dimal was driving. A new little person was spiring inside of Maryam and Sid was riffling in a magazine from the local toy store.
He knew this was his first real birthday, what was he supposed to wish for now? He wanted things with dinosaurs and aliens, science and math but none of that was anything Dimal or Maryam knew anything.
"What do you say Sid?" Dimal asked as they neared their house, while time was ticking closer and closer to Sid's first real birthday. But he was also turning four years old. "Your first real birthday is on leap day so, there must be something very special you want this year."
Sid had been sitting riffling during the whole way home. Now he riffled backwards stopped at one point and reached the magazine down to his mum.
"There are some different types of science kits. And I just want them. I want them all. But mostly I want that one." He had marked one that looked like a dinosaur egg. "The egg's made of plaster I think. And then you use those things in it to scrape it off. And then inside there's a little, colorful little dinosaur. Cool, huh?"
"Really cool!" Maryam agreed. "Are you sure there's nothing else you want? That we know more about? Like dancing classes or some CD's?"
"No. Only science kits."
Dimal smiled at Maryam as much as he dared without taking his vision off the street they were. He knew they both wanted their son exactly the way he was. And whatever he was interested in. But it just came as a surprise that their own child wouldn't be interested in dancing or music.
Maybe the fact that Sid had been born on leap day had brought something strange with it.
"How do you think we had such a smart son? " He asked Maryam, Sid's concentration was turned back to the magazine with toys in front of him. "He's only four years old in a couple of days. But there's just no way I was ever interested in one of those science kits….. or was ever smart enough for them either. So maybe I am the one who should learn something from them." He laughed shortly at himself, and would have expected Maryam to do the same but she had turned awfully silent. "Hey? Are you alright?"
"Yeah." Maryam answered. "A bit tired… My Gosh, I can't wait for this to be over. I can't wait for this to be over. I just can't wait to hold my new little girl or boy in my arms."
"What about…" All of a sudden Sid's squeaky child's voice came from behind them. "….If my sister is born the same day as my birthday. And then we have to have a double as big birthday celebration every four years. Imagine those celebrations for my sister…"
"Do you think it's a little sister?" Dimal asked. "It can be a brother too, we won't know for yet a while."
Maryam didn't answer there, she was the only one of the family Khan's who knew for sure the baby was Sid's little sister. A doctor had told her at a visit. An emergency visit at the doctor's when she was hit by a sudden worry and feeling that something was wrong.
After a doctor's visit, finding out that there was a little girl in there, and her little heart was beating strong Maryam had decided not to tell her husband and son about it. They had enough to worry about right now, even now, today when they had gone to buy a new basinet and sheets for the new baby. And going home, Maryam still kept having that same feeling that she had before.
Dimal was smiling widely though. As he concentrated on driving down their street, then pulling over in front of their house and pulled the hand break. He went to get Sid out of his booster seat and none of them noticed how Maryam was frowning and how slowly she was getting to her feet and out of the car.
All of a sudden, still without any of the boys noticing Maryam sunk down until she was kneeling, half towards the cold, wet, muddy ground and half towards the side of the car while a flash of pain through her body. So sharp and sudden she couldn't help the short scream that escaped her throat.
"Maryam?" Dimal came around the corner and found Maryam kneeled. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"I… I…" Her voice was shaking. "Something's wrong…" A new flash of pain went through her. "Ah… Need… hospital… now! Now!"
"Do you remember what the doctor told you?" Dimal tried to keep calm but pretended he didn't hear the tone in Maryam's voice. "Don't panic. They could be Braxton Hicks, or something else? Come on. It's late. Let's get you lied down and it might go away on its own."
"No."
Now all of Maryam was shaking from head to toe and Dimal didn't try to question anything else. He helped her to stand up and get back into the car. And meanwhile, maybe Sid knew more than what they had told him, because when Dimal walked back Siddarth was already trying to strap his child's belt on.
"Dimal…"
The whole car had been silent for just about half their way to the hospital when Maryam suddenly called his name. Dimal was keeping his concentration on the street as if that could make him go faster but answered anyway.
"Yes?"
"My water just broke."
He gasped slightly, but wasn't this what they had been waiting for? It would still be about two weeks premature but except for very little their little girl would be fully grown by now.
"That's okay…" He hit the gas pedal harder. "…The baby's healthy by now."
Once again the car went quiet except for the hail that was pouring outside. The road was slick and slippery and Dimal needed to keep fully concentrated. Then, with only a couple of turns left before the hospital everything was going worse- way worse.
"Dimal?"
"Yes."
"I'm bleeding."
Dimal gasped without being able to help it. Without thinking about it he turned his head and his vision away from the road to see the red stains that had started forming through Maryam's pants. And from somewhere in the back of his head he must have known that for it to be caused this much and these big of stains…
All of a sudden there was just too much. Dimal didn't have enough of concentration on the road, he was driving way too fast towards the hospital. When they came to some crossroad he was ought to stop but he just continued right through. And breaking wouldn't do much good anyway, the February streets were too slicky and slippery for his car to stop. ¨
He barely even knew what was happening when an 18-wheeler came from the other direction, when it crashed into his car with full power and Dimal's car was thrown on its back. Then around and down into the ditch, and around and around and around before it stopped in the ditch with ice-covered, muddy grass on its back.
Sid had been strapped safely into his booster car seat. And even when the car started tumbling around he was still looking around and screaming in fear.
For Dimal and Maryam they had ended up worse. Maryam couldn't have gotten her seatbelt around her big, pregnant belly properly. And Dimal simply had forgotten his.
Years before then, there was another boy. With blonde hair and some of the same interests like Sid. He had called himself the bad luck boy.
But whether there was something out of actual bad luck or not, maybe this was the time for Siddharth to be. Because, this morning- just a few hours ago. He had been a good luck boy. He had had both of his parents, and a sibling on the way. They weren't rich and he couldn't have gold or green forest. But they had enough, they had food on the table- roof over their head and enough so they could travel. Even to the places that the two had once met on the other side of the world.
And then, just like that, only days before his first real birthday Sid half laid in his booster seat- screaming at the top of his lungs. While he didn't even know of everything that was going on around him.
His little sister had grown inside of his mum, she had laid protected. But there was still limits to what could happen, how they could be thrown around and around and be hit from all directions before it was too much for bodies to bear.
As of some kind of miracle Sid hadn't been hit so hard during the tumbling to be hit into unconsciousness. Now when he screamed and screamed and other people started gathering around him. He yet didn't know about the three he was just now losing.
He was about to find out. That everything had changed and nothing would ever be the same.
He had never gotten the chance to celebrate one single birthday along with his parents.
Bad luck boy…
A picture of the dinosaur toy Sid wants will be up on my Instagram "Linneagbfanfiction"
Random fact
So why did I think of Sid's parents being dancers come from? I'm not sure really. Maybe just because I was watching next step while writing… Then I just sort of liked the idea that Sid and his parents being so, completely different. Yet they loved each other and well… until death did them apart,
