Ark in the Storm

We spent the next two months together in bliss, until there came a time in which I hadn’t heard from her in two days. Was there something wrong? I grew increasingly worried as the hours ticked by and she still hadn’t responded to the calls and messages I had left over the course of the past two days. If she had just wanted time on her own, she would have said so. Right? Right. She was honest.

As the sun began to retire for the night, I made the decision to grab my coat and jog to her house. I quickly made my way up her steps and knocked on the door. No answer. I felt my heartbeat quicken in fear.

“Mina!” I called, hitting the door. “Mina!” Still no answer. I was truly beginning to panic at that point as I desperately searched for the key I knew she hid somewhere on the porch. I successfully located it under the vase and quickly let myself into her house.

“Mina?” I asked, as I walked into the dark living room. Was she even at home? My eyes suddenly detected a soft light emanating from under her bedroom door. I knocked quietly, but let myself in when I realized that it was pointless at that time.

The only source of light in her bedroom was that of a small table lamp lying on the floor on the other side of the bed. My mind reeled. I had no idea what to make of any of it. Upon seeing the slightly cracked bathroom door, I didn’t even bother to think before pushing it open.

“Mina!” I breathed, my breath hitching in my throat as I laid my eyes upon her. She was curled up in her pajamas in the bathtub and her hair was visibly damp. Her red-rimmed eyes told me that she had been crying.

“Michiya,” She choked, tears cascading down her cheeks.

Michiya. She addressed me by my real name. Something serious was going on. I quickly lifted her out of the bathtub and carried her into the bedroom, where I sat on the edge of the bed and held her.

“What happened to you, love?” I questioned, highly concerned. She shook her head and sobbed. It absolutely broke my heart…

I hugged her to me as tightly as I could and stroked her hair in an attempt to soothe her. She always seemed to like it when I touched her hair.

“I’m sorry, Michiya!” she wept.

“What for?” I was thoroughly confused. Did she really think she did something wrong? I couldn’t think of a single thing she could have done wrong at all.

“I was afraid to tell you,” she murmured, wiping her eyes. She took a deep, shallow breath.

“…I’m pregnant…”

My eyes widened at the sudden news. My body wouldn’t react; my vocal cords wouldn’t make a single sound. I was frozen. Was this a dream? A joke?

“I’m so sorry!” she blubbered.

“Why are you sorry?!” I nearly shouted as I grabbed her shoulders. “Do you realize what this means?”

“No,” she sniffed, unable to see what I was trying to tell her.

“We’re going to have a family,” I responded in a trembling voice. My voice wasn’t trembling because I was sad or disappointed. I was ecstatic. I was going to have a family with the woman I had always loved. Life felt really great at that point in time.

“Is this why you haven’t returned my calls?”

“I’m sorry…” she smiled through her tears. “I didn’t know how you would react.”

I smiled at her and pulled her onto my lap, causing her to giggle.

I kissed her head and told her, “Next time, please remember that you can tell me anything.”

“I will,” she responded as she wrapped her arms around my torso.

I smiled to myself as I held Mina and the beginning of our future family in my arms.

***

I met Mina in the hallway after her conversation with her doctor. She almost appeared to be glowing with an angelic appearance. Eight months of pregnancy staring back at me nearly made me breathless. My fiancé couldn't be any more beautiful. I would always remember her looking just like that.

Her health had drastically improved awhile after she had become pregnant. The doctors were all astonished and declared that she should be able to live a normal lifespan. It was the greatest miracle I could have ever asked for. I never thought it was possible to be so happy and relieved.

At that point in time, Mina and I lived with Tsukasa, who had declared himself as "Uncle Kasa" the very moment he was informed of Mina's pregnancy. Tsukasa was just as excited for the baby as we were and grew emotional when we had asked him to be the godfather. He got me a welding job at the mechanic shop he worked at, and I was entirely grateful. I had money to support my family with and I even had extra money that I was secretly saving to fund Mina's dream to travel to Europe.

"Still keeping the gender a secret?" I laughed, slipping my hand into hers as we walked down the office hallway.

"I gave in!" She exclaimed cheekily. "I wanted to know so badly! I couldn't take the suspense anymore."

"So?" I broached, urging her to tell me the baby's gender. The gender would also give me an idea on the child's name. If we had a son, Mina wanted to name him after me with my real name; Michiya. If we had a daughter, she wanted to name her Manami. Either way, we both agreed on an "M" name, due to our names also beginning with that letter.

"It's a secret!" She grinned.

"No fair," I pouted, opening the passenger side door for my fiancé. I was glad to have a car back then. It made trips to town and appointments easier on Mina and I. I was grateful that Tsukasa was able to use his skills to repair it instead of permitting me to allow it to rust away in the garage.

I made it out of the parking lot and onto the busy Tokyo streets with ease. The car drove really well. Tsukasa took good care of it and I had great confidence in his mechanical skills.

I snuck a smile at Mina and held her hand as the light changed. I sometimes found my eyes distracted from the road and focused on Mina as she stroked the plush yellow puppy that I had purchased to give to our child once it was born. It matched her dress almost perfectly. Mina loved the color yellow so much and it complimented her so well, just like the yellow rose I had given her that morning. Though, now I wish I hadn't focused on such a thing like that at that time. I wish I had been looking past her shoulder and out the passenger window instead. I almost didn't hear Mina scream at me.

"MICHIYA!"

I snapped out of my daze at that moment, but it was too late. A bus came barreling down the road and collided into the passenger side of the car, knocking it several meters away and into the side of a brick building. The fact that I was the one who had a green light didn't even matter at that time. I was too worried about Mina to explain traffic rules to a bus driver.

"Mina! Mina!"

I saw her yellow dress was stained dark. I knew it was stained with the same crimson liquid that I found I had wiped from my face. I quickly unbuckled her seatbelt, only for her to motion for me to stop as the sound of sirens wailed in the distance.

"Don't move me until the medics give the word."

Her voice sounded so frail, yet so commanding that I felt I had to obey. Her breathing was a bit heavy and I was afraid for her and the baby's safety.

Everything happened so quickly after that. I can't remember much, no matter how hard I try. I only remember the bus driver profusely attempting to apologize and Mina screaming as the medics put her on a stretcher and whisked us away to the hospital. I was afraid. I knew that much. I had a sickening feeling in my stomach. I didn't think I had ever been so afraid in my entire life before then. Little did I know, things were about to get scarier.

The hospital staff put Mina and I into separate rooms, despite my various protests and fighting against the two staff members who had wheeled me into my room. They shouted for back up and several other hospital workers were struggling to hold me down. I shook them off and struggled against them for almost fifteen minutes before they managed to sedate me with something strong. The last thing I heard before I went down was a baby crying.

***

I don't know what time it was when I woke up or how long I had been unconscious. All I knew was that Tsukasa was sitting in the chair by my bed. He gave me a crooked smile that seemed a little forced.

"Have they let you see Mina?" I croaked.

He frowned, rubbed his nose, and shook his head. He rubbed his nose. He gave no verbal answer. Why is he frowning? I frantically thought.

"You did see her!" I whispered harshly in accusation. "Is she alright?"

Before Tsukasa could even open his mouth in answer, two hospital staff members came in with a wheelchair.

"Michiya Shimizu?"

"Where is my fiancé?" I demanded.

The two shared a look before motioning for me to sit in the wheelchair.

"I'll be just fine, thanks," I growled, as Tsukasa helped me stand.

"Hospital policy sa-"

"I don't care. Just take me to see her."

They didn't bother to argue further as they were probably remembering the fight I had put up before. Tsukasa and the hospital staff led me slightly wobbling down the hallway and through a pair of double doors.

"Zero, listen carefully," Tsukasa whispered as we stopped outside of the room I was certain belonged to Mina. "Be prepared..."

Be prepared? I knew that she had injuries, but she was alright, right? Right. I knew she was alive when we got to the hospital. She was banged up, but she was alive.

Ignoring Tsukasa, I opened the door and he followed me inside. There was a figure lying in the bed with a sheet draped over its delicate body. I knew it was Mina. I made a small shushing gesture towards Tsukasa, instructing him to be quiet so as to not wake her.

I sat in the chair by her bedside and noticed a thin, pale hand almost as white as the sheets surrounding it. Mina? Her hand was ice-cold and my heart matched it at that moment. No.

I looked around and noticed how empty the room was. The only thing besides the chair and the bed was an unused heart monitor. With trembling hands, I peeled the sheets back and looked upon the face of my dead fiancé.

I fell backwards onto the floor in a heap of sobbing and grief. Everything seemed to move slower. My memory is a blur. Someone grabbed my arms and restrained me before I could throw the chair across the room. I knew it had to be Tsukasa, but I couldn't stop myself. I screamed and cried for what seemed like an eternity before I heard the sound of a baby crying for the second time since I visited the hospital.

I couldn't hear what Tsukasa had said, but I did hear the word "survived" and "girl." At that moment, I didn’t need to hear his words. I knew.

"Please give her to me," I sobbed, begging the doctor who had chosen that moment to walk into the room.

"In your room," he replied before walking away.

I picked myself up off the ground and went by Mina's bedside to hold her hand one last time.

"It's her," I whispered to her. "Manami. Our daughter..." I began choking up, so I uttered my most sincere prayers and kissed my fiancé’s lips for the last time before leaving her bedside.

"Manami..." I breathed when I saw her looking up at me. You could see Mina in her...and even a little bit of me. The hair she had was dark and already pretty thick, for a newborn. She would have my hair for sure, but she definitely had her mother's eyes.

I held her and bit my lip to keep myself from crying. The doctor had informed me that it was a miracle she had survived and that she was saved by an emergency C-section. With a pang in my heart, I knew Mina had begged them to save our child before she died. In the midst of my grief, I was grateful to have a light to hold on to. Manami was my new reason for living.