Pariksith Singh

Still a Birth

Six months of pregnancy. I come back late from a sojourn. She is listless on the couch. She has been bleeding. Since when? Today afternoon. Why didn’t you call me? I thought you would be home soon.

The obstetrician’s voice is no less soothing. Fifty percent of vaginal spotting during pregnancy is benign; fifty percent is stillborn. How much more objective can one get?

The sonogram’s pulse cackles. The white flakes in fluid move randomly. Keep trying till you find it. I take the probe from his hands.

Outside, the storm has whited the earth out.

“No movement,” he says.

snow falling
on snow

She will be fine. Just a minor dilatation and curettage. We need to suck the remains out. Or she may get infected.

Our three-year-old is busy with her dolls. I sign the consent form and hold her in the lounge. The television set cackles suddenly.

white faces
watching me
watch the ice-capades