I Cried

It was my first time in a different house and all alone with Mrs. Hubson. At first, I was interested. Her house was so different. Many new things to see. However, the elderly woman left me on her bed. Everything I could do was staring the ceiling. Her bedroom was dark, and full of dried herbs, but what got my attention was strange bones of different shapes hanging from the roof. They did not feel to be really far. So, I tried to touch them, but my arms were too short. I started getting bored. Mrs. Hubson came back and started pulling the strings, which made the bones hit each other, making some interesting noises. I found that fantastic.

The toy entertained me for quite some time until I started getting hungry. I could no longer pay attention to the bones and started looking around in hope to find mom. I think she understood me. Not only that, but I was not an easy-cry baby. I used to make some baby sounds, and my parents instantly knew what I wanted. Mrs. Hubson might have guessed what I wanted, because she left the bedroom for a moment and got back with a strange item. It was brown and a little furry bag. I could see white droplets forming on its surface. She tried to put the tip of that thing in my mouth. I did not want that. I wanted mom's breast. She continued pushing, and I still did not want to open my mouth. She insisted, and I got angry. My hunger was getting intense, and she kept insisting. It felt like an intensive battle. She left me with no choice. I had to use my only weapon. I cried. She tried to calm me down, but it was too late. Then, dad showed up in the bedroom. He came to rescue me.

He took me in his arms and held me gently against his chest while patting my back and shushing me. My face was all wet and covered with mucus. I tried to hide my face so Mrs. Hubson would not have a way to push that thing on me again, but I failed. I still couldn't move my body as I wanted. However, I felt safe with him. After a few moments, my crying turned into sobs. I didn't want him to leave me with that woman again. Then, I grabbed his clothes as strong as I could.

"Oh my… This is my first time hearing him crying that loud!" said Mrs. Hubson with excitement. Dad looked confused at her, and she explained. "I got worried, my boy. I raised all my children and helped Clarice with Alice and Jonathan. Babies cry a lot, but Henry had never done such thing. I worried that he could have lung problems or being sick". She put a hand on her cheek as she was remembering the past with nostalgia. "He was hiding those strong lungs from us this entire time. Good!" I am sure he was still confused. He even stepped back a little, like attempting to keep distance from a wild animal. Maybe she did all that to be sure I was healthy. Then, he replied to her.

"Oh, I see… But, what you did?" I used only to cry at night when he snored, but not this loud.

"I simply tried to feed him… What else I could do?" She said that with confidence with her both hands on her hips. Dad looked at her in surprise and held his breath.

"Did you try to breastfeed him…?" Dad inclined his head. I am pretty sure he was looking at the elderly breasts at that moment.

"Wha... What?! Of course not, idiot!" She shouted. Dad held me tightly; trying to protect me from any slaps or attacks from her. "I was trying to feed him using this milk bag!" explained. She shocked the back vigorously in front of my dad. I could hear the drops of the milk falling on the floor.

"Aaah! What a relie…" He murmured, but stopped right before he would anger the woman. "Makes sense! My wet nurse used to use one of this too. I am sorry…" He loosed his arms, so he could look at my wet face. "Err… all this mess because of that bag?" all that crying made me forgot my hunger. I was still hungry, even more now. Mom wasn't nearby, and then, I cried again, but lowly. "He is indeed hungry… Buddy, that bag is food… Mommy is not here…"

"You should try to feed him. Take some drops of the milk and put in his mouth. He will see it's food" said, holding the bag. She slid her finger on the bag's surface and put the drops of milk in her mouth as demonstration. "I'll fetch some wet cloth, so you can clean your hands".

Meanwhile, I could hear dad's heartbeats. Mom's breasts were big, and I hardly heard her heart beating because of that. Yet, they were soft, but dads were harder. Dad was used to calm me down. We had quite a few thunderstorms this summer. Listening to his heartbeats was a sign of safety and an invitation to sleep. However, I was so hungry that even with my eyelids closing by themselves did not make me sleep. I kept listening to his heartbeats and got distracted until Mrs. Hubson arrived. She took dad's right hand and cleaned with a wet cloth. I could smell some herbal mixture that made my nose feel funny. She explained him again what to do. Dad laid me on his left arm, and with the tip toe of his little finger touched my lips.

"See, it's dad's finger and not that weird thing". He pulled his finger away for a moment, and turned back with a little milk on it. He dropped it on my mouth, "It's not mommy's milk, but still good, isn't it?". After a few trials, Mrs. Hubson brought a spoon. He passed me over to her, and she fed me with a spoon. I did not complain. My hunger was too much, and droplets of milk would not help at all. However, I did not take my eyes from dad. He kept cheering me so I did not cry. I did not want to stay with Mrs. Hubson. She lost my faith on her. In the end, my belly was getting full, and I ended up sleeping.

When I woke up, everything was dark with some light spots as if a piece of cloth held again the sun. I noticed a sound that I was familiar with, dad's heartbeats and his breath. I realized I was with him in a sling. Therefore, I had nothing to worry. He was walking, maybe going home. I was noticed other footsteps next to him.

"Her house indeed needed some help, right?" My right ear was on his chest, and his voice sounded amplified. "I am glad we came. Your mom is always right in her decisions". Dad took a deep breath and continued, "Mrs. Hubson might be a pain sometimes, but we also need to take care. She is like a family to us, now. And what I taught you about family?" Jonathan's voice answered promptly.

"We have to protect our family no matter what!"

"You learned fast! Good boy! I think we can stop by a few times a week to help her. Also, her food is not bad at all"

"She even had candies! Mom never let me eat candies like Mrs Hubson"

"That's right. I'll take you with me whenever I come down here again. Are you not tired yet? You sure did a lot of work back there. I can give you a ride. We still have some walk to do. Besides, we still need to look after our farm, don't we?"

"I'm not tired yet. I can do as much work as we did at Mrs. Hubson's house!" Jonathan's voice was slower than normally was. He was clearly tired.

"Alright. Yet, I need to keep my back cool. Would you help me?" Dad stopped and left Jonathan piggyback on him. The day was hot. I had some drops of sweat of my face but did not bother me. With the swing of my dad's movement, I ended up sleeping again.

I woke up with Jonathan laughing and sounds of splash. The sun was still high outside and the temperature didn't go down any bit. I was sweating, and my diaper was full and started smelling bad. Nobody was nearby. Moreover, things down there started to ferment, and move slowly to my back. Mom was always nearby when things got dirty. I missed her and got sad. No other option again, time to cry. Maybe dad could hear me, but no one came. I kept it laud as I could. No one could hear me. My little lungs hurt, and my breath was short. Besides, more I moved, more the stuff in my diaper move up. The goat's milk was still inside my belly. I could feel it coming up in my throat. My belly hurt, but I couldn't cry more than I was crying. All my back was covered with the content of my diaper. It was a nasty feeling. The smell was terrible. With every breath, more and more, I wanted to throw up. My mouth began to filling with the acid-milk taste. I could no longer cry. Breath was hard. It was too much stress to my body to endure. I was choking in fermented goat's milk, almost all covered in feces and urine, and no one came to help me. I no longer could cry. On the top of all, the laugh didn't stop. The bedroom was wobbling and my vision darker. What a terrible way to die…