Siren Song

Laying on the cold table Amira looked at the small black to white gradients that warped around the life inside her, outlining it.

"Our first child.. so little.."

After thanking the nurse Amira al-Ha.s.san left the clinic and came out to the waiting area where Liang Ju-Long awaited her. His calm face looked up, a hint of a smile showing as he curled his thin lips and walked her out to their car as she held onto his arm for support.

Even though she was around six months along, due to her slender frame she looked like she was a lot further along in her pregnancy than she was.

For almost two years the man had refused to touch her, and their marriage had just been a cold facade, devoid of emotions or feelings. Liang Ju-Long had maintained a polite and cordial distance from her for the longest time, no matter how she had tried. Only in the last year had she finally been able to make the man seemingly made of stone start to open up a bit.

After he buckled her in and started driving did she turn to look at him. "The doctors gave us good news when I went in there." She waited after speaking to see if he was listening or mulling something through his head.

When she didn"t speak for a moment he made a small noise in his throat and gave her a quick side look. Seeing that he was listening she continued on.

"The doctors said that the baby is an extremely healthy baby boy. He should be born in August around the same time as my birthday. Wouldn"t that be a wonderful birthday surprise?" She looked at him to see his look as she told him.

"Indeed it would." His lips curled only slightly more and his face relaxed a bit.

"Hehe he looks really happy, or as happy as he ever looks." She babbled happily about all what the doctor had told her as they made their way back slowly and carefully to their home.

"We should give him a good strong name, like yours. A boy should be strong. We don"t want him to end up weak like my brothers. I wonder if he"ll look more like you or me, or maybe he"ll be a perfect mix, I hope he looks handsome like his father, and witty like me."

Liang Ju-Long chuckled a couple times as she babbled on, a rare occurance, once inside their home she latched onto his neck.

"Are you happy?"

"Mm." He nodded briefly looking into her eyes, still wearing his relaxed expression.

""Mm" is not an answer I want to hear you say it."

Liang Ju-Long pulled her tighter into his arms causing her to release a small grunt in surprise. Pulling back her curtain of hair that only came to her shoulders now, he whispered into her ear.

"I am so very very happy. Happier than I have ever been. So much so I still keep asking myself if this is really happening." Hearing his response she smiled and held his neck tighter

"Mm, it is. It really is happening. I"m glad I met you Ju-Long."

----

A couple of months later, when she was much larger, one of Liang Ju-Long"s partner"s wives threw a baby shower for Amira al-Ha.s.san as she had no female relatives to stage one for her.

This same group had given her and her husband snide comments and a cold shoulder for so long she was incredibly reluctant to fake being nice with them. Only after being prodded and coaxed by Liang Ju-Long did she agree to attend as it would give him "face." To show off their status, she donned some of her finest jewels she had brought from home in her dowry, as well as a pale maternity gown Liang Ju-Long had bought her. Once she made herself ready, she left with her husband, head held high and proud.

It was a rather grand affair as they had rented out the entirety of ballroom inside of a large hotel. While her husband stood talking with a group of men, not far away; Amira al-Ha.s.san sat in a plush chair surrounded by several women who were gushing over her giant belly, or the string string of diamonds and pearls running through her pinned up hair and around her neck, or the gorgeous flowing soft yellow gown she wore.

Amira al-Ha.s.san kept a fake smile courteously pasted on her face as the women wished her well and treated her sincerely through masks. She had been treated very poorly by these same women not too long ago, it was only now that her husband was on the rise did they show her any grace now.

Due to their nature and how she had been treated by them in the past she hadn"t really deigned to remember their names, or really partic.i.p.ate in their conversation. She let them fill the air with their own voices, it was what they really wanted to hear anyways.

Amira al-Ha.s.san felt herself tiring quickly trying to keep up the façade and sent a few eye signals to Liang Ju-Long asking for help. One of the women blocked her line of sight and proffered a gla.s.s of wine that she held.

"What, why would this woman hand me alcohol?" Amira al-Ha.s.san leveled a cold questioning stare at the gla.s.s in the woman"s hand and back to her face refusing to take it.

"Ah, what are you thinking Mo Qinyue?" One of the women appeared shocked and took the gla.s.s of wine from the other woman"s hand and replaced it with a cup of juice.

"Thank you Meitian Jie, here my apologies, let us toast to your good health, your husband"s prosperity, and your first son." The woman called Mo Qinyue took a gla.s.s of wine and raised it to Amira al-Ha.s.san before downing it in one go. The other women quickly followed suit and then looked to Amira al-Ha.s.san still holding her full gla.s.s.

"Oh, I think I"m supposed to drink with them." Copying their actions she gave the women a polite smile and downed the cup of juice.

For some reason the cool liquid burned slightly as it went down. Startled Amira dropped her gla.s.s, making a loud -Pnk- as it cracked when it hit, as her hands went to her throat alarmed. Several eyes turned to the sound, including Liang Ju-Long"s

"What did you just give me?" Amira al-Ha.s.san stared at the women before her and started to rise in anger when a wave of nausea sent her crashing down hard into the chair. As soon as she was down the burning liquid made its way back up and out of her mouth.

Gagging with tears in her eyes she looked at the women who surrounded her with fake concern in their eyes with hatred, before she was racked with another wave of vomiting.

When she looked down she saw there was blood in there as well and felt a cold sweat break out everywhere, while she trembled. Looking up she saw Liang Ju-Long hurrying to her.

"Ju-Long!" Amira al-Ha.s.san cried out fearfully and grabbed onto him as she doubled over again, her heart beating like a hummingbird"s wings in her chest.

"Should we call an ambulance?"

"What"s going on?

Ignoring the voices around them Liang Ju-Long rushed up to her and saw her terrified look with the blood dripping from his mouth and felt his heart sink like a rock.

"Someone help me!" Liang Ju-Long struggled to lift the heavily pregnant woman and one of the men came forward and helped bring her to his car. As soon as she was in the back with a belt to keep her from flying around he slammed on the accelerator.

In the back of the speeding car, Amira al-Ha.s.san felt like her tongue and throat were burning and swelling, constricting her air.

Panicked she clawed at her throat and called out her husband"s name a few times as he sped them to the nearest hospital.

"Just relax yourself as best you can, I"ll get you help Amira, don"t panic." Reaching a hand back from the wheel he caught one of hers that outstretched to his. He tried to give it a rea.s.suring, but her ice cold trembling hands made his voice break as he tried to comfort her.

"I should not have left her side. Why did I trust those people? Hold on Amira."

Tires squealing in protest he stopped the car suddenly in front of the emergency entrance, and without turning off the car, or removing the keys from the ignition, he jumped out of the car and opened the door where she was.

As he struggled lifting her out, her head plastered to his chest, covered in a cold sweat, her honey brown skin usually luminous appeared ashy and sallow.

As he grabbed her and brought her inside he called for help until they were surrounded by emergency workers. Carefully they put his wife into a chair and wheeled her into a room as a doctor asked him all sorts of questions he couldn"t begin to process.

"I don"t know what happened, please save my wife and child." The man that had never resorted to begging, did so with tears in his eyes.

"We will do our best, we will need to bring her into surgery, how far along is she in her pregnancy?"

"Around 36 weeks, or so, I don"t know, please doctor."

"Stay calm sir, the more we know the better we can a.s.sist. Has she eaten or drank anything that you can think of in the last 24 hours or come into contact with any heavy chemicals?"

"I don"t know, we were just at a party, but I did not see if she had eaten or drank anything besides water. She has been home for the majority of the pregnancy to take care of the fetus. She has to be alright her and our son."

"Alright, if you would sir, please head to the payment counter and take care of the bills while we do what we can."

----

Several hours later Liang Jian Amal stood by himself outside of the NICU looking into the few tiny lives housed in the small gla.s.s boxes.

Entering it he walked to the one that was marked "Liang."

After hours of operating, the doctors had p.r.o.nounced they were unable to save the mother as her organs were failing, but they managed to save the child through an emergency cesarean.

Amira al-Ha.s.san died on the table alone surrounded by unfamiliar faces. When they saw that she was dying they let him in to say a last goodbye but it was too late.

Her vibrant shining eyes had closed for the last time already. The lips that always had a smile for him were frozen into a painful expression, blood dying them red.

One of the doctors exclaimed his condolences and spoke more words about traces of aconitum and another poisonous plant but it went in one ear and out the other. He reached out to touch her cheek to find it had already lost the warmth of her life and was icy.

"This is my fault. My fault.. My fault.. "

Hollowed out he left stripping off the scrubs as he made his way to his son.

Liang Ju-Long looked down at the tiny life resting peacefully in the incubator. Leaning on the gla.s.s that separated them, he caught sight of his disheveled appearance, blood still across the front of his white dress shirt. His bloodshot, dead eyes stared back at his own, almost unrecognizable.

"Such a weak small little baby, can he truly live in this world..?

"I will make it possible. I will give him a good name Amira, one to honor you. I will make him strong as you wished. I will make sure he never has to face a tragedy such as this.

"Rest in peace my dear wife. I will fulfill your hope."

Liang Ju-Long smiled a little for the last time, looking down on the small life that was all that was left of Amira al-Ha.s.san.

"I am glad that I met you as well Amira al-Ha.s.san.."