My sister never told me why she quit being a nurse until about a month ago.
It had been seven years since her sudden decision, just enough time for me to grow into my early twenties.
We were in the kitchen sporting our coffees while the sun was just starting to rise. I felt the distant look in her eyes as if she was preparing to dissociate herself from what she was about to relay.
“It was a typical live birth. The mother was obviously in pain as her efforts to push weren’t enough to deliver the baby. I noticed how the doctor acted, like she was in a hurry, but I paid it no mind, she was the best after all.”
A deep breath left her lungs then as she adjusted herself on her seat.
“The doctor then held on to the baby’s head as it started to show and I saw how her hand moved in a manner that told me she was trying to assist the child out.”
My sister got up then and headed to the counter, refilling her cup like she needed the boost to continue.
“We expected the baby to come out on the third push. We expected every good thing to happen after…but we were wrong.”
The way her eyes rimmed with tears showed the effect of the trauma that still has a hold on her even after all these years.
“The room fell silent save for the labored breaths of the mother who kept asking about her baby. We couldn’t even move at that point as we stared in horror at the doctor whose eyes were wide in shock.”
No amount of therapy prepared me for what she said next.
“The doctor wasn’t holding the baby at all…just its severed head.”
Tears were freely falling from both our eyes now but mine was because of sadness…my sister however was a mixture of grief and terror.
“We were all frozen in spot right? Like taking a breath felt so forbidden after the baby never even got the chance too. But thing that made our stomachs drop, the thing that we refused to acknowledge despite witnessing it was the sound of crying from the decapitated head.”
I felt the chill run in my blood after hearing that. My sister wouldn’t have decided to quit just like that knowing the things she had to deal with as a nurse. I always thought that it was something that went beyond tragedy but I never thought it would be this.
“The cry was over in seconds but when the mother found out, it was like she was bound to weep for an eternity.”
“What happened to the doctor?”
“She lost her position but not because she was charged. It was because she started to show signs of madness a day after the incident.”
“What did she do?”
“Her husband said that she never slept that night, I mean who could right? But it wasn’t because sleep wouldn’t come, it was because whenever she’d close her eyes all she could see was the severed head as the cries in her ear got louder.”
My sister had to pause as she looked at me, asking if I believed her at all.
“They took her away that very morning as she had started to lose sanity claiming that the baby’s headless body clung to her leg.”
The visual image was enough to make goosebumps litter my skin but the what my sister said next made me cross my legs.
“I passed by her home on the way to work just like I had done so many times before and saw everything. While they were escorting her out of the house she was thrashing and screaming…wailing about how the baby wants to be born again.”
I leaned back in my chair then, questioning if whether she lost herself out of guilt or something else was in play.
“Everytime I walked in that hospital since that horrible day, I would always hear its cries, sounding more pained than the last time.”
I felt her move her leg from under the table then, like she was shaking the memory away.
“I tried to ignore it, mental assitance was provided after all. Some nights I’d catch the sight of the head, sometimes the body in one of the beds as I checked on the nursery. I tried to fight it but when I started to feel something clinging on my leg as the days passed…I knew I had to leave.”
The first light of the sun wasn’t enough to disperse the dark fear that was crawling in my system.
“I continued to seek help from a professional but I prayed to God the most…especially after I felt the clinging even when I was at home.”
After learning about that, I felt safe enough to assume that other forces were indeed involved.
“The dreams didn’t let me rest either. Some nights it would be about me trapped in a room void of light while a baby wails somewhere. I remember wanting to find the child, to soothe its pain but I just couldn’t see anything.”
She haphazardly wiped her tears then before continuing with her tale.
“The dream that sickened me though was the one where a mangled body would crouch in front of me as I stayed paralyzed in its presence. It would then sever its own head slowly, over and over, until I woke up screaming without a sound while drenched in sweat”
My sister went on to say that a friend had offered to bring her to another expert, one that deals with things not from our world and in her distress she agreed.
“The woman told me that whatever had followed us home wasn’t the baby anymore…it was something malicious feeding on our guilt.”
A piece of paper was handed to my sister before the woman asked for a drop of her blood. A single prick was made and after the red liquid fell on the sheet, a silhouette was revealed.
“It had three heads but none were shaped like a human.”
A cleansing was performed then but despite no longer feeling the evil entity on her body, my sister was never the same.
“I don’t know about the others, if they were haunted too, but I hope that they do something before it does something to them.”
She opted to open a small business instead of returning to her profession while renting an apartment just outside our neighborhood. Our parents understood of course but not to this level, they only knew about the surface and not its roots.
A little search here and there and my sister and I found ourselves visiting the grave of the baby to which I learned had been a boy.
We arrived at the same time as the mother and I saw how my sister was apprehensive in approaching the slate but when the woman approached us and hugged her, my sister bawled like everything she had been carrying was lifted off of her.
The words “I’m sorry” were endless from my sister but the mother told her that there was nothing to forgive. After saying our prayers and giving our respects, we invited the woman to dinner to which she happily accepted.
My sister made it a point to visit the baby’s resting place every Sunday and she had not failed in doing so.
The slightest crawl of insects on my skin was enough to make me paranoid. I found myself sleeping with the lights on especially on rainy nights, fearing what I’d see at the flash of lightning.
I was smoking at our backyard, just enjoying the starry skies when a sharp cry of a baby took the soul out of my body. I turned my head towards the sound and was relieved to see that it was just my neighbor trying to calm her child as she bounced her in her arms.
I was close to being at ease until a manged dog started to show up in our street. I was on garbage duty that night when I noticed it just a couple of houses away from ours. I thought nothing of it but as the days went on, the dog started to come closer, looking less and less like an animal each time.
As its form lost the shape of a dog its eyes started to look like that of a human and that was what gutted me the most.
My sister found out about this soon and once again asked for the woman’s help. We were given talismans and prayers in return but were still warned.
“I can only do so much. Its growing stronger”
We did everything to protect our home, hid prayers written on white scrolls in tiny crevices, and soon the dog no longer showed.
Months passed without an incident and I found myself making dessert for the family. Our parents entered the kitchen then with our middle brother and his girl tailing behind, surprising me as they had not called to inform of their sudden arrival.
They had visited once or twice but failed to catch our sister during those times as she had been away at work. The couple flew from another state as they were bearing good news.
As soon as my sister walked in, our brother’s girlfriend immediately engulfed her in a hug, stating that she only knew her from the photos her cousin had and that it was nice to finally meet her in person.
“You’ve seen me in photos?”
“Oh I’m sorry for being so sudden but yes I had. My cousin Gabe told me that you guys worked together as nurses back then, small world huh?”
“He still works there?”
“Oh yes. Although he sometimes complains about the crying in the nursery, especially when he’s had a drink or two, but he soldiers on. I don’t even know how he does it.”
I placed myself in the scene then as I felt the sudden drop in my sister’s mood at the mention of her old profession and the cry that still lingered at that hospital.
It wasn’t over for some after all.
I asked our brother’s girl if she wanted to help in my baking and she, oblivious to the atmosphere of the room, was delighted to do so.
Our brother then stood at the center of the room, joy evident in his face.
“So we came by today to tell you that we are expecting.”
Our parents yelped in excitement and went on to hug and congratulate the couple. My sister and I however met eachother’s stare, fearing for the worse.
After dinner, our brother’s girl helped in cleaning the dishes. My sister noticed how her face etched in an uncomfortable manner so she suggested for her to sit it out.
“Leave this to us and just be our guest. You’ve had a long flight after all and I think your feet just needs rest.”
The girl reluctantly did so, trying to look chipper despite what she was actually feeling.
“I have something to soothe the pain if they’re aching.”
I offered as I dried a plate but before I could even place it down the counter, it smashed into a million pieces at what the girl said.
“Oh they’re not aching, it just feels like something is clinging.”
Before we could even take our next breaths or even meet eachother’s eyes, the sinister wail of a baby’s cry mixed with the howl of a dog rang just outside our kitchen door that lead to the backwoods.
Our terror soon turned tenfold when our brother’s girl fell off the chair, clutching her stomach as pain occupied her face. Our parents and brother came in then to help but the girl just kept screaming as her hand twisted her midsection.
I still dialled 911 out of instinct despite knowing that they wouldn’t be of help. Chaos ensued in the room as no one knew how to make the girl feel better.
I saw how her eyes widened in both trepidation and confusion as she bellowed with her hands still on her belly
“Oh god its trying to get out of me!!!”