Dr. Aris was in "A-type" overdrive. He was... panicked.
"Right. Right. The... the tests... are... anomalous. The bloodwork... is anomalous. The CT... was clean. But... a CT... is... is not... designed... for... this..."
He was pacing. "A... an HCG-secreting... tumor. A... a... molar... pregnancy... a... a phantom... No. No. I... I'm... not... guessing."
He hit the intercom. "Nurse. I... I need... the ultrasound... machine. Now. The... the portable... one. Now!"
The room was electric. Karlman was... shaking. A tumor. Cancer. The other "C-word." That... that made sense. The "curse"... that... made sense.
Eunice... was rigid. She was catatonic.
She was... back in that... room. The... the jelly. The... the wand. The... the dark... screen. The... silence. The... failure.
"Eunice," Karlman said, his voice shaking, grabbing her hand. "It's... it's okay. We're... we're just... getting data. It's... it's... okay."
She didn't... she couldn't... answer.
The machine rolled in. Dr. Aris, his face a mask of pure, academic concentration, was doing it himself.
"Okay, Eunice," he said, his voice gentle. "This... this... is not... that. We... we are... not... 'looking'... for... that. We... are... looking... for... a... tumor. For... for... the source... of... the... HCG."
The cold jelly.
Eunice flinched, a full-body spasm.
"It's okay, E," Karlman whispered. "I'm... I'm here."
The wand... pressed.
The screen... flickered.
Gray. Static. Shadows.
Aris... was muttering.
"Okay... okay... surgical site... is clean... see? Beautiful... healing... Bowel... gas... no... * adhesions*... normal... okay... so... so... where...? Where... is... it...?"
"Is it... is it cancer, Doctor?" Karlman choked out the word.
"I... I... don't... see... a... mass," Aris muttered. "I... I... don't... see... anything. I... I... don't... understand..."
His face... changed.
He... froze.
"What?" Karlman demanded. "What... do you see?"
"I... I..." Aris's hand... was shaking. "I... I... don't... know... what... I... see. It... can't... be... It... is... impossible."
"WHAT... IS... IT?!" Karlman shouted.
Aris... hit a... button.
The room... filled... with a sound.
A... a sound.
A... whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh.
Fast. Strong.
Karlman and Eunice... froze.
They knew... that... sound.
They... knew... it.
It... it... was... the... NICU. It... was... the monitors.
It... was... Lia.
It... was... a... heartbeat.
Eunice's head... snapped... toward the screen.
"That's..." her voice... a ghost's... whisper. "That's... that's... no..."
Dr. Aris... the man of science... was... white.
"That's... that's... 165... beats... per... minute," he stammered. "That... that... is... a... fetal... heartbeat."
"BUT WHERE?!" Karlman roared, his voice cracking. "HOW?! THE... THE JAR! I... I HAVE... THE JAR!"
Aris... his finger... trembling... pointed... at the... screen.
"It's... it's... there," he whispered. "It's... it's in... her. I... I... can't... explain... it. There... there is NO... womb. There... is NOTHING... for... for it... to be... in. It's... it's... ectopic... but... it's not! It's... it's... in... the... abdominal... cavity... but... it's... it's... safe! It's... it's... implanted... on... on... the... outside... of... the... bowel... no... that's... not... right... It's... it's... just... there. It's... floating. It's... it's in a... a perfect... gestational... sac. It... it has... a... yolk... sac. It... it's... viable."
He zoomed... in.
And on the screen... a... a pulsing... flicker. A... a... grain of rice... with a heartbeat.
It... was five weeks... old.
Eunice stared.
She stared... at the... impossible... fact... on the screen.
She... looked... at Karlman, his face a mask of... shock... and terror.
She... looked... at Dr. Aris, the man of science, who looked like he'd... seen... a ghost.
And... Eunice... this... 47-year-old... barren... womb-less... woman...
Began... to laugh.
It... it wasn't a... a giggle. It... it wasn't a... cry.
It... it was... a... a real, true, deep, insane... belly laugh.
"Eunice...?" Karlman said, terrified. "E... E... what's... wrong...?"
She... grabbed... his... shirt. Her eyes... were... BLAZING.
They... were alive. They... were burning.
"The... the 'curse'!" she... she gasped, laughing. "It... it's... funny! It's... it's... a JOKE!"
"Eunice... stop... you're... you're... scaring... me..."
"Don't... don't you SEE, Karlman?!" she cried, her laugh... hiccuping... into... a sob. "We... we stopped! We... we surrendered! We... we gave up! We... we deleted... the... the hope! We... we put it... in... a JAR!"
She pointed... at the... screen.
"And... and He..." she... she sobbed. "He... WAITED... until... it... was... IMPOSSIBLE! He... WAITED... until... we... were old! He... WAITED... until... the... womb... was... GONE! And... NOW..."
She... she looked... at the pulsing light.
"It's... it's a... a miracle."
Dr. Aris... just... sat back. He... stared... at his... screen.
"It's... it's not... a miracle, Mrs. Dowman," he... he whispered, his voice... shaking.
"It's... it's... medically... physically... impossible."
Eunice's... laugh... finally... softened. She... wiped... the... tears... from her... face.
"Exactly, Doctor," she... she whispered, her hand... shaking... as... she... reached out... and... touched... the screen.
"Welcome... to our... world