Arethusa

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The water pulled and grasped the sun, as it struggled to breathe. But it was no use, the sun eventually drowned. It felt guilt and grieved about the deed, but soon he was distracted by the beauty that arose in the sky. The water shimmered and waved "Good Night" to the white spotted circle. The moon in turn danced its light on water.

Far away in a city, or more like a hospital, a woman, nineteen years old, screamed in annoyance as she went into labour. Her husband, Thirty eight years old, confused, frantically called a nurse.

"Why me?" Hailie murmured as she grasped the chairs handle, and winced. To Hailie, her husband was lunatic and uneducated. After all, their marriage was arranged by their parents. 

****

A clever and sharp woman, dressed in pink, looked at the garden of a two-story house. It was decorated spectacularly, with pretty flowers and vines. Then she looked at the two cars parked in the drive way, and -eventaully- decided that this family had money

"Come along now Sharmayne and Fiona."

Sharmanye obediently followed her mother, while Fiona murmured in frustration. She was already married, why did they have to bring her along for 'husband hunting'?

Fiona, not caring if her mother-in-law would scold her afterwards, rashly knocked on the door, while calling "Hello’s” out loud. Sharmayne gasped, and her mother-in-law pinched her arm.

"Close your mouth, Fiona-" Before she could go on, the door opened. A young pretty girl opened the door.

"Hullo dear, Is your mother home?"

"Yes, please come in, i will go call her"

The older woman, looked around, inspecting every inch, as she entered. She had to admit, the house looked very clean. The walls were well decorated, the furniture was designed beautifully, and the white tiles shined. The young girl led them to the parlour, and politely told them to wait.

After a few minutes, a chubby woman arrived and sat on the sofa across them. Polite greetings were said.

“Your house is beautiful” The clever woman said,

“Thank you, my daughter Sunny loves designing” the chubby woman replied

“Aah…Just like my son,” Fiona snorted at her mother-in-law’s lie and ignored the glare she got from Sharmayne.

“He just graduated from college and moved to Canada, he keeps telling me, he would like to continue his education, but I’m his mother, and I would like to see my son getting married before I die” The clever woman continued on.

“Of course, its every mothers dream, my Sunny just got engaged last month, while her younger sister, Hailie still argues that she wants to continue her education”

“Congratulations on your daughters engagement” The clever woman faked a smile. The Sunny girl would have been a perfect wife for her son. She though about it, and decided if Sunny was like this, so must be the younger girl. She glanced at her daughter, and saw her nod her head, knowing what her mother was thinking.  It was decided. It was time her son settled down, and perhaps Hailie would be a suitable daughter-in-law. She started talking, and hoping that she could convince them to also agree with this marriage.

******

Hailie growled in frustration. Her husband was of no use, and this child was taking hours to come out. She was annoyed, but knew better to let it out. She clenched her teeth in pain, and politely asked her old husband, to help her to the bed.

The nurses bustled around and the doctor asked her questions. It was all very much confusing to the young girl. In reality she wanted to cry. How did she get into all this? She had spent all her life with her mother by her side. Her mother or Sunny were the ones who did all the work. She was just an innocent good girl, who never thought would get married like this. Now she was forced to take on duties that she had never done before. She was all alone.

It seemed like days, perhaps even years before the young child came out. The head popped out and soon the rest of the body of the child did as well. Hailie seemed overjoyed. Perhaps she wouldn’t be as lonely. She would have a child whom she could befriend and play with. She smiled at that thought, but it soon faded at the look of her husbands face.

“What’s wrong-“

“It’s a baby girl!” The nurse exclaimed out loud before hailiee could ask her question. Hailie’s confusion grew, but she forced it back with her fatigue and happiness. She would ask Karl later.

The nurse handed the baby to its mother. Hailie smiled. the baby was nothing special, no special features, but to Hailie, she was beautiful.  Hailie didn’t want to hand over her child. She looked at Karl, and saw his eyebrows furrowed. It seemed as if he was lost in thought. Hailie didn’t mind, it just meant more time for her child and her.

“What will you name her?” The nurse questioned.

Hailie had thought about this before, and she knew exactly what she was going to name her daughter.

“Arethusa, her name is Arethusa Karl Chaud.” The nurse smiled, and took the child and placed her in the crib beside the bed.

“I’ll leave you two alone-“

“When will we be able to go home?” Karl asked

“Today, both the baby and the mother seem fine- I’ll go get some papers for you two to sign, and after that you’ll be allowed to go home.”

Hailie smiled. “We have a daughter!” All her frustration of her husband disappeared. At that moment she didn’t care Karl was eighteen years older or how she was forced to marry him-

Karl sniffed, “A daughter, I had wanted a son”

Hailie could not believe Karl was acting so childishly. In addition to that, he was not happy that he had a child.

“What will my family think? What will my mom think?” With one more look, Karl walked away.

Hailie looked at little Arethusa, and sighed. What she herself could not achieve, her daughter would.

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