Chapter Eighty Seven: Birthing
When the second pang was over, Kiya hurried indoors to find her mother. She looked for her in the living room, but she was not in the kitchen area nor at her loom. With rising panic she checked the yard but Ramala was not at the water trough.
“Mother!” she shouted.
An answering call came from outside and Ramala entered the house with a handful of mint leaves. “Is anything wrong, Kiya?”
“I think the baby is coming,” Kiya cried.
“Don’t look so worried, my dear, we are well prepared.” She took Kiya’s arm and led her to the seating ledge.
“Should I sit on the birthing box?” asked Kiya. Teos had built the box out of bricks. It had a hole on the top on which she would sit and a gap in the side, through which the baby would be delivered.
In the weeks since he had built it she had regarded it nervously. It crouched in the corner of the living room waiting for her, its threatening presence a reminder of the agonies to come.
“You do not need the box yet,” said Ramala. “We will wait until the pangs become more urgent.” She handed Kiya a goblet of beer. “Take refreshment while you can, Kiya. This is your first baby and it may take some time for it to be born.” She went into the kitchen and opened a jar of honey cakes.
“I saw Seth in the palm grove just now,” said Kiya.
“Seth?” Her mother sounded startled. “Are you sure?”
Kiya looked at her mother, wondering how she might be affected by news of the god who had attacked her in the temple all those years ago. “Yes, he came to me as a snake but I recognised him by the scent of his ka and he changed into his true shape.”
“You must have been dreaming. What did he want of you?” Ramala looked flustered as she brought a plate of cakes and dates to Kiya. “I hope you are safe from him, Kiya. He may be your father, but he is capable of any atrocity.”
“I know, and I am fearful of what he might do. He was angry because I found Osiris’s soul and brought him back to life. He threatened to stop the Nile flooding.”
Ramala was aghast. “He would never do such a thing! He is evil to even think of it. How could Egypt survive without the inundation?”
“I have been worrying about the future, Mother,” said Kiya. “But now I am worried that I will not have a future. Many women die in childbirth.”
Ramala kissed her gently on the top of the head. “This is what a woman is born for. You must face childbirth bravely, as we all do. What greater privilege is there than to bring new life into this world?”
Another pang hit Kiya. Immediately she felt the baby’s love and the pain grew less.
Ramala went to her storage chest and brought out three amulets on a linen cord. “It is time for you to wear these,” she said. “The gods of childbirth will protect you.” Kiya thanked her mother and looked at the amulets before putting the cord around her neck.
“It is strange that the gods of childbirth should be so ugly,” she said. Tawaret was a pregnant hippopotamus, Heget had the head of a frog and Bes looked even more grotesque with staring eyes and his tongue poking out. “I do not want to wear this one,” she said, sliding amulet of Bes off the cord and handing it to her mother.
“Why not?”
Kiya was reluctant to tell Ramala about her near-encounter with the murderous dwarf instead she said, “He is too hideous.”
“Shush,” said Ramala. “The ugliness of the gods of childbirth is to scare away evil spirits. You must not insult them.”
“Even so, I am sure that Tawaret and Heget will offer protection enough,” said Kiya and tied the two amulets around her neck. She groaned as another pang hit her.
Ramala fetched a flask of medicine from her chest. “Drink some of this, Kiya,” she said and poured a little into the empty goblet.
“What is it?” asked Kiya and took a sniff.
“It is belladonna,” said Ramala. “It will make you sleepy and relieve the pain.”
Kiya drank it and shivered at its unpleasant taste.
“We must prepare you for the birthing,” She helped Kiya take off her shift then plaited her hair so it was away from her face and tied a linen band around her forehead. “I have prepared several spells,” she said and she tucked pieces of paper into the band so they rested against Kiya’s forehead.
“I am sure no woman has ever been so well prepared,” said Kiya and she winced with pain at another contraction. Once more she felt the baby’s love. She stroked her naked stomach and loved it back and prayed that it would not be harmed by the birthing.
“It is time for you to sit on the box,” said Ramala. “The pangs are becoming more frequent and your waters will soon break.”
“Will that hurt?” asked Kiya.
“No, it is part of the natural process,” said Ramala as she helped Kiya to the box. “It is why water creatures such as a frog and a hippopotamus are among the gods of childbirth.”
There was another pang. Ramala hurried to her storage chest and brought out a jar. “I prepared these medicines a few days ago, when I knew your birthing was imminent. This is a cream containing camphor, which will cool your stomach.” She rubbed it onto Kiya’s abdomen and within a few moments Kiya’s skin cooled refreshingly.
After the next pang, Kiya’s waters broke. She felt no particular pain but felt the water gush out and heard it fall into a bowl her mother had placed inside the box. When the last few trickles had fallen Ramala removed the bowl and looked at the contents. “No blood,” she said. “That is a good sign.”
While Ramala cleaned the bowl and filled it with fresh water, Kiya felt another pang and, this time, she had an urge to push downwards.
“Hurry, Mother. I think the baby is coming.”
Ramala rushed back with the bowl and a linen towel. “Do you feel the need to push?”
“Yes.” Kiya relaxed and realised that her forehead was clammy with sweat.
“Poor dear.” Ramala pressed the damp towel against her face and rubbed more camphor cream into her stomach.
The pangs came again and again.
“I really think it is coming this time,” said Kiya. Ramala knelt beside the box and felt inside.
“You are right! I can feel the top of the baby’s head,” she said as Kiya pushed downwards.
Ramala started muttering prayers. The pain came once more and Kiya pushed. There was a slithering rush and Ramala cried out in triumph. “The baby has been born!”