I-I DIDN'T HEAR THE BABY CRY!.

***On planet Gieâ..

***In Continent 'Eclipse of the Oceans'..

***Outer Outskirts..

..

Old Ning's apartment is nothing but a ten feet by ten feet square of comfort that comes with an height that's moderate enough to walk around without the need to bend.

In a corner of the small house hosts a half-baked structure that seems to function as a bed and in another corner sits a pair of rough cooking materials and small bowls.

Several boxes that houses the old man's belongings sits at a third corner and the floor of the space has somehow been made smooth and blue and also without dirt.

Unlike the chaotic scene that the old man has expected to see when he sensed a broken lock, the only thing that has changed in his apartment is the presence of an uninvited newcomer.

A woman is currently slumped weakly on the floor with her back resting against the wall and her feet wide apart.

Old Ning frowns as he looks as his highly unappreciated 'guest'. Although her wears are simple, one could easily tell that she is from the upper parts of the outskirts because they are not rags.

The woman's face is in a shade of pale and she has a weird blush on her right cheek though paying the blush a bit more attention, it looks more like a left-handed slap mark!.

'She's an elf.', The old man determines as he looks at her pointy ears, sharp jawline and seemingly immature features.

Her weak begging gaze directed at him looks even more pathetic considering her light green eyes.

The elf's sight lingers on old Ning's figure with a hazy and unfocused stare and her chest is heaving in such a way that suggests that she is having a good amount of difficulties with breathing.

Still in an alert position, the old man looks down to the elf's bulging stomach that obviously carries another life as well as the wetness on the clothes and floor between her legs.

'She's in labour!.', the old man calmly determines internally with his guard still up.

'She's in labour!.', The old man soon screams internally with the full realization of the situation hitting him. Turning around, the old man hurriedly locks the door.

"P-please help.. help me.".

The pregnant elf woman's trembling voice reaches old Ning's ears with her tone tickling a part of his conscience he has long buried.

The old man suddenly feels the desire to help someone without his own benefits coming first. Old Ning's mind spins in circles as he feels hesitant to stretch an helping hand even in this desperate situation.

The pregnant elf seems to have somehow sensed old Ning's hesitation to help even though all she can currently sees is a blur.

The elf tries hard and manages to stretch her hand up to the direction of the old man but she soon fails as her hand drops.

A drop of tear slides down her left cheek as her eyelids began to flutter.

She is losing consciousness!.

Realising this, old Ning's hesitation gets thrown out the window as he hurriedly walks to the fading elf's side before lightly slapping both her cheeks to keep her awake.

The old man knows very well from experience that if the elf falls asleep at this moment then both her and the unborn baby are going to wake-up deep in the afterlife.

"Elf! keep your eyelids open no matter what. We are getting this baby out of you.", Old Ning says with his hands on both the labouring elf's cheeks as he says these words with surprising determination.

The pregnant elf nods quietly with her eyelids still in a flutter and the old man nods back strongly at her.

Old Ning knows more than a thing or two about child birth. His mother was a mid-wife who had helped countless outer outskirts women with birth.

Although the old man has never done the process by himself before, he has the knowledge to perform the process and he has even assisted a lot of times in the distant past.

Being completely honest, old Ning is not too sure about his ability to carry out childbirth by himself.

'There's a first time for everything.', Old Ning whispers to himself with surprising faith.

Pulling a specific box towards himself, Old Ning takes out a small piece of smooth wood before placing it between the elf woman's teeth.

He struggles but he somehow manages to carry and move the elf onto the makeshift bed at the room's corner and then he ties long pieces of slim clothes to each side of the bed's top frames.

With a bit of a tremble, old Ning puts the ends of this tied clothes in each of the elf woman's hands before tying her ankles in an open eagle spread position.

Working against time, old Ning hurriedly tears through enough of the woman's clothes to give him visuals of the operation and then.. keeping up with his super pace, old Ning moves to put a small quantity of neat water on his stove. Moving fast, the old man also brings out a piece of neat white napkin.

After doing all of this in less the two minutes, Old Ning moves over to the bed side as the elf woman is lying in the bed.

He takes the smooth wood from between her teeth and then he gives the labouring woman the last two things he can in order to increase the probability that the process does not end as tragically as it is shaping up to be.

Motivation and hope.

"From what I see, you have been in labour for quite a long time. Your child has been trying to see the world and his mother's face for quite the long time and with any further delay, he won't be able to."

"No.. no.", The elf woman weakly protests at old Ning's words with tears brewing and spilling from her reddened eyes. She pulls against her ropes in her hands with renewed energy as she looks at the old man pleadingly with heavy breaths.

"You don't want that then luckily for you, neither do I. So this is what we are going to do. You are going to fight against the pain, fight against the weakness and fight for both your life and your child's life!..

"When I tell you to, you are going to push like you have never done before. You are going to give your child life and then try to stay alive for whatever comes next. Is this understood?!.", Old Ning asks with wide eyes as he looks straight into the elf's green eyes.

The elf nods twice with true determination on her pale face and the old man nods to her before slipping the piece of wood back between her teeth as he goes into position for delivery.

"Push!.", The old man calmly commands.

"Aaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrggggggggghhhhhh!..

A muffled scream fills the room as the elf strains the ropes wildly while pushing until all the air in her lungs becomes depleted.

..

***A few hours later..

..

"Push!.", Old Ning demands with his hands clasping onto the bloody head of a baby between Elf's legs.

"Aaaarrrruuuuuggggghhhh!..".

With a tired yet desperate grunt while biting into the wood between her teeth, the elven woman drags against the ropes in her hands as she give one final push that finally sends her baby out and into the new world.

The elf's head falls back into the bed with utter exhaustion as she lays completely limp. Her face now is even paler that it has been before and now,.. it is messily decorated with sweat, tears, hair and snot.

Her fingers are still weakly clasped against the ropes and her torn clothes are sticking to her body because of the extreme sweat of the birth process.

With her chest lightly rising and falling, the blonde elf's hair looks more of a mess than that of an abandoned birds nest.

About to let exhaustion and relief take her deep into sleep, the elf realises that..

*PURP!.*..

The elf spits as she lets the wooden gag fall weakly from between her lips. Swallowing weakly, the elf speaks with cracked voice that's filled with utter panic.

"I- I didn't hear the child cry.".

The elf says with her muscles tensing as her already weak psyche seems to be tearing down at this brutal realisation.

Hearing the elf's weak panicked voice, old man hurriedly runs to the side of the elf's face with a blood covered child in his arms.

"Relax dear, the child is fine.", Old Ning says as he shows the elf her newborn baby who is now instincitively moving weakly in the old man's arms.

The elf looks up at her one-foot long blood covered baby. Her green eyes reflects as her son's limbs twiches unconsciously while his weak eyelids seems to protest against the unfamiliar light.

The child's mother looks at her child's tiny but active frame with the tension in her mind suddenly deflating. Her fingers lets go of the ropes in pure relieve as the old man places the baby over her chest.

She can feel her son's small yet powerful heartbeat against hers and despite her weakness, a stupid smile filled with love crawls on the elf's pale face.

"It's a boy and he is going to need his mother to survive.", The Old man says quietly as elf's eyelids flutters before closing as her exhaustion sends her into deep sleep with a silly smile still resting on her face.

..

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