In Our Words Canadians Reading Together

Slowly the mother opened her fear filled eyes and gazed around her until her eyes fell upon Nicki. “Please help” she begged again. “Don’t fret now,” Nicki soothed. “Everything will be fine. How is the pain?” The woman stared at her, “Please help” she repeated. “You must destroy the child.” Nicki gasped, “I cannot. I will help you to deliver your new baby and everything will be just fine.” The mother shook her head. “You don’t understand. It is the devil’s pawn. I have lain with no man and the first child was born after only three months. Now again it is happening. That one had teeth when it was born and when I placed it on me to eat it bit me and sucked the blood. Please they must be destroyed.”

Nicki realized that the woman truly believed that what she was saying was true so she smiled reassuringly to the mother. “It will be alright. I will make a potion for the children. Now you must rest this child demands to be born soon.” While mixing the new potion she could hear the mother’s moans getting louder and when the screams began she returned to the front room to help ease the mother’s pain with another painkiller. “Take this” she held the small cup up to the mother’s lips and watched as she sipped.

The labour was long and hard but the baby was born an hour before sunrise. “They are always born in the night” the mother whispered before she slipped back into unconsciousness. Nicki picked up the new baby and went to the other child who had played quietly in the basket through the whole ordeal. Even the screams of his mother had not affected him. Lying the two babies together, Nicki was stricken by their exact likeness. They could have been twins, identical twins. Identical eyes shown brightly form identical little faces. As she walked over to the table to retrieve the potion she had prepared for them earlier, the two babies began to gurgle and coo softly to each other. Smiling, she returned to the children. “Don’t fear my darlings.” Nicki cooed soothingly, “You have come home now and I will take care of you.”