A Stolen Soul

Walking down a two lane paved road, somewhere in Central Texas, Page Benette heard a shout. She had been dropped of at the end of the road, and was walking the rest of the way to her friend Byron's house.
She looked up, shading her eyes from the sun with her hand, to see who had caused the disturbance in the otherwise calm solitude of the day. Standing in the doorway of a small house, that was in horrible disrepair, was a short stern looking woman.
"Can I help you?" said Page in a voice full of uncertanty.
"Would you mind coming to keep me company for a while? My husband is gone to work and I'm here all alone." replied the woman.
Page stood and considered the woman's request for a moment. She wasn't sure why, but she was compelled to grant the woman what she had asked.
"Well, O.k." said Page a little shaken by her sudden rash decision.
Page walked up to the house cautiously, as though someone might jump out at her at any moment.
"Hi." said the woman with a slight smile on her face."My names Maryanne. What's yours?" she said.
"My name is Page." Page replied.
Maryanne invited Page into the house. She walked up the steps carefuly considering what she was about to do. As she walked into the hous Maryanne offered her some iced tea. Page refused, claiming to not like iced tea.
Page sat down on the sofa in Maryanne's living room. She looked around and noticed how plain the house was. There was a sofa, a couple of recliners, and curtains on the windows. She didn't see a T.V. or any signs of other entertainment, other than some old issues of PEOPLE magazine.
"No wonder the woman is lonely!" thought Page.
Maryanne had gone into the kitchen and was doing something Page couldn't see. She heard the opening and closing of cabinet doors, and thought nothing of it. Page sat in silence for a few moments when out of no where she heard a soft thud in the kitchen.
"Are you O.k. Maryanne?" asked Page suspiciously.
There was no answer, so Page got up and walked cautiously over to the kitchen entrance. She peered around the corner and saw Maryanne laying on the kitchen floor, passed out cold.
Page ran over to her and checked her pulse, she was alive. For the first time since she had seen Maryanne she noticed the bulge of her belly. She was pregnant.
Page's first reaction was to try and find a phone. She searched the whole house until she found it lying on the floor behind one of the recliners in the living room. She quickly dialed 911. Page relayed the whole story to the operator, as she was still doing this she heard a stirring in the kitchen. Page walked over to the kitchen entrance and looked around the corner.
Maryanne was awake, she was panting like a rabid dog, and trying to get up. Page ran to her and helped her up.
"What's wrong Maryanne?" asked Page in a panic.
"My water just broke but I'm only 7 months along." Maryanne said hurriedly.
Page helped her into the living room and helped her lay down on the floor.
"I think the baby is coming right now." said Maryanne between clenched teeth.
Page relayed this message to the operator. The operator told Page how to check and see how much Maryanne had dialated. Page was horrified at the thought of having to do such a thing, but did what she was told. Page lifted Maryanne's dress up over her knees and saw something that made her heart skip a beat.
"The babies head is coming out! Oh my God." said Page nervously.
The operator told her that the ambulance was on its way but it would be about 20 minutes. Then the operator told Page something that made her head spin.
"You're going to have to deliver the baby now Miss Benette." said the operator calmly.
Pages heart jumped up into her throat. Maryanne began to pant vigorously as her upper body shot forward and she started to strain in a harsh contraction.
The operator told Page how Maryanne should breathe, and she relayed the message to her. Just at that moment Page noticed two other people in the room with her and Maryanne. They were telling Maryanne everything to do and instructing Page at the same time.
Page forgot about the operator in a few minutes. She felt like she was in a haze, and didn't know where she was or what she was doing. But she followed every instruction given to her by the two strangers.
In what felt like an eternity a very small and very pink baby slipped out into Page's waiting hands. It was a girl. A blanket that she hadn't even known was there was handed to her by one of the strangers and she wrapped the small being in it.
As Page looked down at the little human she held in her arms she felt a strong desire to protect it. She gazed at it in wonder.
Then a a feeling of dread embraced her entire being. The child wasn't breathing. Page remembered the operator and started to scream into the phone "THE BABY ISN'T BREATHING!!!!"
"Calm down Miss Benette." said the operator
"Don't tell me to calm down tell me what the hell to do!" said Page angrily.
The operator told Page how to perform CPR on the baby. He told her how to breathe air into the small baby and push the air back out without crushing the tiny childs ribs. Page did this for about 10 minutes. The operator coaching her the whole way through. Then the operator gave a little sigh and said, "She's gone Miss Benette."
Page stopped and looked down at the child, tears filling her eyes. She put the phone down on the floor and picked up the small bundle and held it close to her. In a sudden wave of pain and regret Page's tears fell freely from her eyes. Her tears seemed to burn trails down her face. She felt for the first time her life utterly helpless and hopelessly despaired. She felt like she hated god and every human being in existence for the loss of this child.
Page sat holding the child sobbing until the ambulance finaly got there. Maryanne was laying on the floor still, passed out from the hard labor.
"She isn't even aware that her child is dead." thought Page bitterly.
Page left that little house not the same person she was when she had gotten there earlier in the day. She remembered later on that the two strangers that were there were suddenly gone when the ambulance got there. Months later when she wasn't so bitter and found it easier to let go she figured that they must have been angels. Even if they didn't save the babies life God must have had a reason for it.
She never saw or heard from Maryanne again. When she sees the little house now and again the dark shadow of despair and deep pain haunts her until she is able to let go again.


-In remembrance of a brief life...lost but not forgotten-