Tut… Tut…
A flat, mechanical hum filled the room, wires snaking from machines to the child on the hospital bed, spiking the monitor's graph with his every heartbeat.
He gazed out the window, staring at birds soaring freely in the sky, a forced smile touching his lips.
'How many years has it been since I last played outside?'
Sighing, he looked down at his pale, almost skeletal hands. Clenching them until he felt hot tears drop onto his skin.
The door screeched open. His head turned towards the woman entering, carrying a basket of fruit and a bouquet of flowers.
"Lidien…"
She walked briskly, settled the items on the table, and knelt beside the bed. Taking his thin hands with gentle care, she pressed them against her cheek.
"It's okay, my baby… Mom is here now," Grace murmured, pressing her lips to Lidien's hand.
"Mom… when can I leave this place?" he asked, wiping his tears.
"Soon, baby, soon… Daddy is talking with the doctor now. Hopefully, tomorrow we can leave this hospital."
Grace stood and helped Lidien lie down, gently guiding his head onto the soft pillow before kissing his forehead.
"Rest now, my love. Tomorrow, we'll play all day."
***
In the doctor's office, a man in a black suit leaned heavily over the desk towards the white-coated physician, knuckles white where his fists clenched the wood.
"Is there really no chance for my son? Tell me! How much more money do you need to cure him?" Jason's voice was a strained shout, loud enough to carry to the waiting room outside.
"I'm truly sorry, There's nothing more we can do. His leukemia is terminal… Only a miracle could save him now. We can only pray—"
Jason smashed the table with his fist, making the physician flinch.
"Fuck prayers! Fuck your gods—"
(Attention, attention! Code Blue, Room 501, 5th Floor, West Wing! Code Blue, Room 501, 5th Floor, West Wing! All Code Blue team members, respond immediately to 5 West, Room 501! Repeat: Code Blue, Room 501, 5th Floor, West Wing!)
Jason's eyes widened in terror. Recognizing the room number, he had no time to think. He bolted from the office, stumbling, shoving past people without a glance.
'Please… please… please…'
Gasping for breath, he rounded the corner to see his wife collapsed on the floor, wailing.
"LIDIEN!" Grace screamed.
"Clear! 3… 2… 1… SHOCK!"
Lidien's small body jerked violently off the bed.
"No pulse — continue CPR! Compressors rotate every two minutes. 30 compressions to 2 breaths!" the lead doctor ordered.
Jason's legs buckled. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself towards Grace. Kneeling beside her, he tried to pull her close, realizing he needed the anchor as much as she did.
"25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30…"
"BREATHE!"
"Resume compressions! 1, 2, 3…"
"Pausing CPR — check rhythm!"
"Still asystole — resume CPR! Epinephrine 1 mg IV push now!"
The next half-hour stretched into a cold eternity. The team's robotic efficiency, the rhythmic counting, the repeated shocks — it all blurred into a numbing nightmare for Jason and Grace, watching their son's fragile form assaulted by the desperate attempts to revive him.
Finally, the lead doctor stepped back, his shoulders slumping. He met Jason's desperate stare, then Grace's shattered gaze.
"I'm so sorry. Despite our best efforts, we were unable to revive Lidien."
He nodded to the team.
"Stop CPR. Time of death: 12:43."
***
Under a starry sky, a vast forest stretched across the land. But behind its deceptive silence, a raw scream tore through the darkness.
"3… 2… 1… Push now!"
"Hnnnngggg… AARRRGGHH!"
Drenched in sweat, Safia bit down hard on the cloth between her teeth, her body straining as she pushed with everything she had.
"Again! Harder! I see the head… PUSH!"
Despite the agony and bone-deep exhaustion, Safia summoned her last reserves of strength. She knew every moment counted; prolonging this could endanger her child.
Then, a sharp, healthy cry shattered the tension.
"Waaaah! Waaaah!"
"It's a boy!"
The midwife beamed, gently lifting the newborn and placing him on Safia's heaving chest.
The door flew open. Sadiki burst into the room, rushing to gather his wife and their newborn son into a fierce, trembling embrace.
"You name him…" he whispered hoarsely to Safia.
Safia kissed her son's damp forehead, looking down at him through tears of utter exhaustion and overwhelming joy.
"Lidien," she breathed, her voice thick with emotion.
"His name is Lidien."
Sadiki smiled, repeating his son's name while gently touching Safia's face.
"Thank you..."
Safia managed a weak smile, her lips chapped and faded.
"Are you okay?" asked Sadiki, his eyes wide with fear.
Then his gaze fell to her lower body, and he saw a patch of blood staining the white cloth.
"ELDER!" he shouted, panic rising in his voice.
"Blood... look at the blood! It won't stop!"
The midwife immediately lifted the white cloth and saw a fist-sized clot and blood pooling from Safia's lower half.
"Quick! Bring hot water and more cloths!" the Elder shouted to her assistant.
"Hold her up!"
Sadiki immediately helped Safia sit back straight.
"Safia... Safia! Don't sleep! Let your baby drink your milk!" the Elder urged.
"All is well... all is well..." Sadiki murmured, holding Safia's shoulders while trembling violently.
"Sadiki! Press here! Now!" the Elder commanded.
Sadiki pressed the area where the Elder pointed, his eyes desperate.
"Lidien... Lidien... drink Mommy's milk..." he pleaded.
"PRESS HARDER!" the Elder roared.
Driven by panic and chaos, Sadiki continued to press, his hand shaking violently — unsure if it was from the strain or his exhaustion.
The Elder kept talking to Safia while applying firm pressure internally, shouting to prevent her consciousness from fading. Meanwhile, the assistant frantically changed the bloody cloths.
Lidien, the newborn... kept sucking at Safia's breast, without a rest.
"SAFIA! LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT OUR CHILD! LIDIEN NEEDS YOU! WE NEED YOU! FIGHT!" Sadiki bellowed, his voice echoing loud enough to reach the whole tribe.
"Please... Safia... Live..." His plea dissolved into sobs.
Safia moaned weakly... and managed a faint smile.
Until the blood pooling beneath her darkened.