Pregnant, but not

By Ovundah Nyeche

Felicia so you have been cheating on me? So these 2 children are not mine? These bastards? Felicia whhhhhhhhhhy, Felicia how could you do this to me after all we had gone through?

Felicia never knew this journey to this DNA laboratory, for a paternity test of her children would take this turn. Suspicion on the paternity of her children, were first entertained when her twins needed to do a haemoglobin genotype and the result came out as AS for both of them.

How this happened she could not explain, all she knew was that both she and Sammie her husband had AA as their genotypes and there was definitely a mistake somewhere, but all the laboratories they went to thereafter showed the same thing; the past few months had been terrible as her hitherto beautiful and exemplary marriage was now at the brink of collapse.

To complicate the matter, Sammie her husband who was screaming at the top of his voice, just held his chest and collapsed, on the chair, weeping as he did so. It was raining troubles for her.

Felicia too was shocked, never in her life had she played kerewa outside, never, Sammie was her one and only. There was no way, it was just Sammie and her; as she was in thoughts, moping at the result, she collapsed too and suddenly found herself in a land called nowhere.

Yes, 7 years ago, she was finding it hard to conceive, it was her 4^th year of marriage without children and as usual, she had visited several doctors, who told her she would need an IVF. About the same period, her friends told her of one woman that does wonders… Her name and reputation preceded her… She was called Madam Last Bus Stop.

Madam Last Bus Stop, had helped a lot of women who were having issues with conception. When Felicia, told her about her issue and how she had been unable to hold a child of her own for 4 years, Madam Last Bus Stop laughed and told her…Felicia whhhhhhhhhhy, you would have come here since and saved yourself the humiliation of barrenness.

The fees were agreed #1,000,000 Shekels it was, she agreed, she was desperate… Curiously it was even more expensive than what the doctors charged her for the IVF; their crime however was telling her, that there was a possibility of failure… Madam Last Bus Stop beating her chest… Told her it cannot fail, that her method was failure proof. She talked with an unusual kind of authority and charisma… Felicia paid half the fee on the spot, desperate times call for desperate measures they say, abi no be so?

She was then counselled on the rules of conception, eat kpomo, swallow bole and a head of roasted fish weekly… You will come for monthly injections, one every month oh, are you hearing? You will also not take alcohol or cigarette, you should also not visit any hospital oh, the bad energy and evil spirit is too much, also don’t bother doing an obstetric scan in any other place apart from the facility we refer you to and we would tell you when to come for labour, you know this pregnancy is unusual.

The next day she came for her first dose of her special monthly injection and she was also told to meet her husband by 7 pm that night and days after her ovulation which was calculated to be the next day. Felicia was so excited, Madam last Bus Stop told her, that if she was scared she should google Cryptic pregnancy.

Weeks later she did not see her period as expected and she was so happy and immediately rushed to do a pregnancy test …for where…it was not positive. Disappointed, she called Madam Last Bus Stop who allayed her fears and explained to her that the test would be negative as it would not detect the presence of the baby.

She reminded her to come for her next injection and asked her, “if women did not see their period was it not pregnancy again?”

The 2nd and 3rd month, she still continued her injections and truly, her stomach was growing, growing, 4th and 5th month it was still growing and growing much, she was called Mama Ejima by her neighbours. Even the scan she was forced to do outside by her husband showed there was no baby, but the one done in the place the woman directed them to, showed a baby and they claimed the baby was hiding at the back, Felicia was so happy.

Finally she was fully convinced that she was pregnant and the wait for her remaining monthly injections and delivery started. When she was 9 months pregnant, she was told to come back in 2 weeks and that period given some medications, few days later she was having abdominal pains which became serious and was then told to come to the facility and a quick surgery was done, well she was unconscious and when she woke up, she was delighted by the sight of the two lovely twins by her side.

 Well around the 5th to 7th month of pregnancy, she was also given some tablets to swallow and from the 7^th month of pregnancy till when she delivered she was told to stop taking the tablets and was told to pump her breast with a breast pump regularly.

She felt so fulfilled breastfeeding her own children. As she left the facility, she paid for the delivery, having cleared the balance for her conception months earlier.

Was it possible, these babies, were not her? Was it possible that was why she never felt kicks and her labour was delayed? Was it possible that was why Madam Last Bus Stop never wanted her to visit any medical facility or do any investigation outside her delivery home? Oh, that was it, she had been conned. Nooooooo.

Her loud scream, drew the attention of her husband, who asked her why she was screaming. Felicia had just had a nightmare in the afternoon, she thought of going out minutes ago, but was feeling very sleepy after having a hectic day the day before, and dozed off on the cushion in the living room.

Truly speaking before she went to sleep, she was worried about her inability to conceive after 4 years of marriage and a lot of neighbours had told her to try a lady in the outskirts of the city, but she would rather go with her husband to see the doctor, than endanger her life.

DISCLAIMER

The story above is purely fictitious; any similarity with anyone in the story above and anyone living, dead or in between is definitely a miracle.

Thank you for reading, would love to get a feedback from you in the comment section, or send me a private message by clicking https://ovundahnyeche.com/523-2/and filling the contact form.

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