Two of a Kind

During a shopping trip for last minute supplies a young woman began to double over with sharp pains. Dismissing these as false contractions she continued to push the empty cart through the isles. Again she was crippled with the worst pain that she's ever felt in her life. Her swollen feet began to slip from beneath her. She grasped for the shopping cart handle instinctively expecting the worst, but before she could fall a young man swooped her into his arms. For a brief moment she got lost in his brown eyes. His dark brown hair shimmered in the dim halo from the overhead light. Speechless she gazed at him not speaking a word. Then the painful contractions began to interrupt her daydreams abruptly. She winced in pain. Concerned he began to question if she was okay. The young woman shook her head no. "Do you have anyone who can take you to the hospital?" the young man asked nervously. Again the young woman shook her head no. She had spent her last few months enduring the agonizing symptoms of preeclampsia alone. The father of her children didn't want anything to do with her. Her mother had succumbed to cancer in the previous months before her pregnancy. These children where all she had. How come she just couldn't tell this to him without sounding desperate and pathetic? Without hesitation the young man carried the expectant mother to his car. She couldn't believe how strong he was despite his wiry build. He nervously fumbled his keys and began to start the car. He pulled back the gear shift back and then shoved it forward as he began to race to towards the nearest emergency room. Trepidation began to set in as she was nearing the end stages of pregnancy. Her began to race uncontrollably. She could her abdomen tightening with each contraction. Her arms and legs became shaky as he pulled the car up to the entrance. The young man leaped out of the car and began shouting franticly. A couple of nurse that were lingering outside on break heard the cries and rushed to them immediately. While the third went through the entrance to grab a wheelchair. She began screaming in pain as she was whisked away in a wheelchair to the delivery ward. There she was quickly undressed and prepped for an IV. Then the nurse gently pushed her gown aside to attach the fetal monitor. With signs of the slightest hint of distress they'd position her on to her side and instructed her on breathing exercises. The young mother would grasp the bedrails and shrill in utter agony as contractions were steadily coming. A very exhausted anesthesiologist began to struggle to keep the needle straight and she shakily inserted the epidural. Inside the expectant mother's stomach the tiny lifeforms struggled to break free. Their umbilical cord began to entangle around them. A doctor hastily instructed for the operating room to be prepped for an emergency C-section. Nurses began to unhook the machines and unlock the wheels of the hospital bed. Three nurses began to push forcefully as a fourth pushed the IV machine. The wheels on the hospital bed rattled as the young woman was immediately rushed in to surgery. In the operating room they draped a sheet across her chest. She was completely terrified and didn't know what to expect. Partially because the doctors instructions were not comprehensible through a muffled facial mask. She could faintly feel their hands as they sterilized the area. Without warning she felt a sudden tightness stretch across abdomen followed by a numbing pulling sensation. The doctor began to twist and untangle the children from their umbilical cord. Immediate shock befell upon the entire staff as the doctor began to manuver the children free. A burst of simultaneous cries interrupted the quietness. The mother breathed a sigh of relief but only temporarily. The doctor had informed her that the baby was healthy, but there were some slight abnormalities. Groggily the new mother raised up and demanded to see her children. Graciously the doctor brought her her child. He was exactly six pounds and was nineteen inches long. He had two arms with five individual fingers, two individual legs and two adjoining limbs, a total of only sixteen toes, two conjoined torsos, and two necks with separate heads. To which were all accommodating one body. The twins that she had been expecting hadn't been individuals as first thought. Instead of individual twins they were conjoined. This wasn't at all what she had expected. There was a brief moment of pause before she reached her arms out towards her new babies. In her head she couldn't come to an understanding as to why the doctor said there were abnormalities. She didn't see them as deformed or an oddity, because to her they were absolutely perfect. It wasn't what she had expected at all. It was all that she wanted and more. The new mother kissed their cheeks as she gently cradled them in her arms. Nurses were befuddled. They had mixed feelings. While the child was relatively healthy there was the glaring obviousness of their indifference. Yet, the new mother didn't feel the same way. Her children were a gift from God. They were even more special than first thought. She was absolutely blessed. With a smile upon her face she began to speak to her newborn children, "Your name shall be Ekta. It means unity. You shall be called Lavey. It means brought together." She was so lethargic that she hadn't noticed the figure standing behind her. At least not until the nurse commented, "You can come in and see them now, sir. " He stepped up beside her admiring the newborn twins. "What are you still doing here?" she asked in disbelief. The man smiled and replied, "You needed someone to be there." She was confused but surprisingly relieved. "I'm Mira," she whispered softly. "Edgar," the man whispered while nervously grabbing his work uniform badge. The woman let a silent chuckle. She then began motioning the newborn towards him. The conversation was brief, but it was only the beginning of what would eventually be a beautiful relationship as the man held his future children for the very first time.