841 Good Night, Evelina (1/2)

”Push,” the doctor instructed. ”The head is out. Only a little more and we'll be welcoming your first baby into this world.”

A sweaty Iris pushed with all her might. Jin Liwei was right there beside her, holding her hand, and wiping the sweat off her forehead. Before long, the couple was rewarded by the loud cry of their first human baby.

”It's a—” the doctor announced.

Iris felt dazed from the effort of pushing a small human being out of her womb. ”It's a what?”

”Love, our first baby is a—” Jin Liwei said in triumph before kissing her on the lips.

”What did you say?” she asked again, confused at what they were saying and what was happening.

The doctor interrupted them after handing the first baby to a nurse. ”We're not done yet, Mom and Dad. We need to get your second baby out next.”

Another wave of powerful contraction assaulted Iris and she screamed while pushing her second baby out. Although she knew that childbirth was supposed to be painful and her body was acting as if it was in tremendous pain, the level was actually not that bad, like she was just imagining the pain.

But everything was real…right?

The disoriented Iris was overwhelmed by everything that was happening. She couldn't think straight and just allowed the situation to play out naturally.

###

Two weeks later, Iris was still recovering after giving birth to her twin babies. She was in the middle of her recommended one-month confinement. At the moment, she was breastfeeding one of her babies in bed while Jin Liwei was feeding their other baby with a bottle beside her.

Happiness filled her. Yes, she was happy.

But something felt off.

What was it?

She couldn't remember what happened after the birth up to this point. Perhaps she just forgot…maybe. She glanced at her baby that she was breastfeeding.

So adorable!

Wait, she couldn't see her baby's face clearly. She looked at her other baby that Jin Liwei was feeding with a bottle. The baby's face was also blurry. She blinked several times in an attempt to clear her vision but to no avail.

”Darling,” she called her man.

”Yes, love?” Jin Liwei replied. There was a soft and happy smile on his face.

”What are the genders of our babies?”

”What?”

He repeated what he said but she only grew more confused. A mild panic started to bloom inside her heart.

”What are the names of our babies?” she asked next.

This time, the expression on his face became quizzical but he still humoured her and answered her question. However, like before, she couldn't hear him clearly or understand what he was saying.

”Liwei, I think something is wrong,” she told him, now starting to panic.