The Ultrasound

"Elena, are you excited to see your babies again?" the ultrasound technician asked.

Mostly, Elena had to pee. Still she'd never had twins before so this was more exciting than her first two pregnancies. Their daughter's ultrasounds had been wonderful to look at, but this situation was nothing like anything Elena had experienced.

"Sure!"

She was already laying back on the crinkly paper, waiting for the gel to be applied to her distended abdomen. As the wand moved over her stomach, she watched the live images on the monitor.

There was only one baby on the monitor. The ultrasound technician frowned and moved the wand back and forth slowly. She frowned as she set her instrument down. "I'm gonna go get your OB. You two sit tight a minute."

Elena looked up at George and squeezed his hand tighter. "It'll be okay," he said.

It was so easy for him to say. He wasn't the one carrying these children. Their lives didn't depend on him. It wasn't his fault if something went wrong. Elena took some deep, calming breaths and shoved her resentment away. George was trying to be supportive after all.

There was a discussion between the technician and Elena's doctor. The exam room door was shut. She couldn't make out what either of them was saying. It sounded like there was a problem they didn't understand. Finally, the door opened and Doctor Messina stepped inside.

"Elena, how are you doing?" he asked.

"Okay, I guess."

"Well it appears as we have some developments. At your last exam, we said you would be having twins. Unfortunately, there's been a complication. It's called Vanishing Twin Syndrome."

"Wait, I don't understand. Did I miscarry?"

"Not exactly, from the images today it appears we have had one twin absorb the other. Either that or the first image had a mistake. So you'll give birth to one baby. I'm sorry."

It was a titanic effort not to cry during the rest of the checkup. Being Catholic, Elena felt like she had lost one child already. Sure, the medical community might not see it that way. Still to this mother, that baby that had been absorbed by the other had a soul. What did this mean? Where did her little angel's soul go now?