Daughter of Sheena (11)

Behnaz Zarrabizadeh

Daughter of Sheena-11
Memories of Qadamkheyr Mohammadi Kanaan
Wife of Sardar Shaheed Haj Sattar Ebrahimi Hajir
Memory writer: Behnaz Zarrabizadeh
Tehran, Sooreh Mehr Publications Company, 2011 (Persian Version)
Translated by Zahra Hosseinian

Chapter VII
Two months had passed from our marriage. Samad's mother was spending final days of her pregnancy, and every moment we were waiting for the labor pains came upon her.
It was afternoon. I had just finished house works. I wanted to rest shortly. "Qadamkheyr, come… hurry up…my mom feels ill." Kobra frantically opened my room’s door and said.
Frightened, I stood and ran to the room where my mother-in-law was there. She was suffering pain badly. I had lost my cool. I did not know what to do. "Send someone to bring midwife.” I said.
I remembered Shirin-jan’s actions in childbirths of my sister and my sisters-in-law. With the help of my sisters-in-law, put a big samovar in the corner of room and turned it on. Every time my mother-in-law felt less pain, she talked about different things; such as she had put baby clothes in the closet, or had set aside a lot of extra cloth for this day. Also, some basin and clean handkerchiefs had been under the stairs in the yard. Me and my sisters-in-law would run around and bring things needed.
Midwife finally came. I could not bring myself to see my mother-in-law on that state, so I turned my back on them and got busy myself with the samovar; namely that, I am turning up and down the wick, or I am looking it to see the water has started to boil or not. I felt like crying by shouts and groans of my mother-in-law. I was praying for her. Later, my mother-in-law's screams rose louder, and then the pretty thin sound of baby resonated in the room.
All the women who had been sitting around my mother-in-law stood happily. Midwife wrapped up baby in a white cloth and gave him to women. All were happy, and joyfully breathed again after catching their breath a few moments ago, but I had still sat down in the corner of room. "Qadamkheyr, fill the basin with boiling water." My sister-in-law said.
My younger sister-in-law came to help me, and as we were waiting the basin, that we had put under samovar’ tap, was filled up, said: “Qadamkheyr, Come to see your husband's brother. He’s very cute.”
When basin was half filled, we put it at hand of midwife. My mother-in-law still suffered pain. Women would speak loud. "What's going on? Keep quiet.” out of blue, Midwife said angrily,” don’t speak much near a woman giving birth. Let me to do my job. One of the babies is not born. They’re twins."
Again all the women held their breath and silence fell on room. Midwife tried a little. I had stood beside her, so said to me, "Hurry up ... hurry ... we need a car to carry her to town. I can’t do anything."
I ran toward the yard. My father-in-law had sat down on the stairs and had turned pale. He looked at me with surprise. "They are twin.” I stammered, “One… one of them is not born. Another one has born. We… we must take her to town. Car… we need a car.”
My husband's father stood up and hit his head with both hands and said "My God!”, and ran toward alley.
Shortly after, my brother’s pickup truck was in front of the house. We all helped and carried my mother-in-law and laid her difficultly on the pickup bed. She had almost fainted from pain. "We take her to Razan." My brother said.
Some of the women also went along with my mother-in-law. Kobra, my sister-in-law and I stayed alone with an infant who was crying from the first moment he had born. Kobra and I had become embarrassed. We didn’t know what to do with the baby. Kobra gave me the baby, who had got dressed and had wrapped in a blanket, and said, "you take the baby, so I solve some sugar in boiling water.” I feared to hug the baby. "No, you hug him and I make it.” I said.
I didn’t wait for her reply. I went toward the samovar, and hold a glass under samovar tap. I dropped some sugar into it and stirred it with a spoon. Baby was still crying. Samovar bubbled and its vapor spread in the air. I struck that it’s better to turn off this big samovar, but there was no time for it. The baby, who was dying, was more important than anything.
I gave the glass of water to Kobra. With spoon, she tried to pour a little of water into baby's mouth. But he couldn’t eat it. He opened his mouth to suck her mother's breast, but a metal spoon met his lips and hurt him. Because of this, he greedily would cry more. Kobra and I were not in a better state. Therefore, we both began to cry when we saw we couldn’t do anything for the baby.
That night, my mother-in-law was able to deliver her child in the hospital of Razan. This one was girl. Tomorrow morning they brought her home. She had not still lain in her bed completely that we put the boy baby beside her to suckle. With appetite, the baby greedily suckled. Tears of joy flowed down our cheeks.
Twins’ birth gave fresh ambience to the life of all of us. I was very happy with this situation. Samad would serve his military service and come home every other week. Because of this, most of the time, I would feel lonely and nostalgia. By birth of twins, coming and going to our house increased, and my work was so much that I had no time to think of Samad. I would entertain the guests, and was busy with cleaning, washing the dishes, sweeping the yard, or cooking. Tired and without energy, before I could think of something, I would fall into deep sleep at nights.
Samad came home after a few weeks. He was surprised by seeing me. “Qadamkheyr, I swear that you have been very thin, do you fall ill?" He said.
"It’s your new sibling’s bother." I Laughed and said.
But I told this as a joke. I was ready to work more than this, but my husband stayed in with me. Sometimes that Samad would go out to do some work; restlessly I would walk around the house until he came back. I didn’t take my eyes off the door. “Isn’t it possible to stay at home in these two days and didn’t go anywhere." I said.
He said he had some jobs which had to be done. I would miss him. "Qadamkheyr, Tell me why you want to stay in with you." he asked.
He liked that I say I love and miss him.
I looked down, and I was evasive.
He would try to stay in longer beside me. He could not help me. "It is wrong thing.” He said, “It’s not good to help my wife in my parents’ home. I promise to help you when we go to our house. I do all the work for you."
He would sit beside me and say, "Do your work and speak with me. And I look at you.”
I said: "You talk.”
He said: "No, you talk. I like that you talk to me, so when I go to the military base, recall your words and miss you less."
Samad would go and come, and I would try to endure everything in the hope of ending his soldiering and settling down our lives.
The twins grew up little by little. I hugged one of them, whenever we went out. Often, I hugged Hamid. Because of that night, when he annoyed us and cried till morning, I had a feeling of motherhood toward him. People who saw us, smiled and jokingly said with laughter: "Congratulations! When did you become mother that we didn’t know?!"
My mother-in-law got better a month later. She would wake up early morning to bake bread. It was my duty to wake up before her and turn on the tandoor, so help her in baking the breads. Due to this, I had been an early riser; but sometimes I would oversleep and my mother-in-law would wake up before me, turn on the tandoor herself, and bake breads. In these times, I didn’t dare go into the yard. So, every morning, first of all I drew the curtains of my room when I woke up. If the pipe, which we put over the chimney of tandoor after turning on the tandoor, was leaned next to the wall; I would become glad and find out my mother-in-law was still not awoken; but if the pipe was over the chimney, I grieved. It was a disaster.

To be continued…