55 Years Old, Me, Becoming a Mother!? 14 [#CreativeAwards2025 #EntertainmentOriginalWorkCategory]
── 3 hours since labor began
“Hah... hah...! O-owww...!”
In the middle of the night, staring at the hospital room ceiling,
Kenichi endured the pain.
Every time a wave came, his whole body stiffened,
and a heavy, sharp pain shot through him.
Rio rubbed his back, but
the suffering wouldn't stop...
“...H-hey... this is still...
just the beginning, right?”
“Yeah... but you're breathing just fine. You're doing great, old man.”
Tears almost welled up in his eyes...
But before he could cry, the next wave surged in.
6 hours passed
“Ghh, damn it...! Is it still not over yet...!!”
The pain intensified mercilessly,
and the intervals between the waves grew shorter and shorter.
As he gritted his teeth, the face that suddenly came to mind
was Yumi's.
(Yumi... this... twice...?! )
I let out a sigh, breathing heavily through my shoulders.
(...Is she a monster...)
What welled up inside me was respect.
I hadn't understood anything about the strength of Yumi, who had been working hard on her own without even complaining.
I didn't understand anything.
(...I'm sorry... Yumi...)
That thought was swallowed up by the next wave.
9 hours passed
I no longer had the strength to even scream.
My throat was parched, and the pain in my lower back felt like my bones were shattering.
It felt like I had been hit by a large truck,
and it just kept going on and on...
(...Hang in there!)
At Rio's voice, my pent-up emotions exploded.
(I'm already hanging in there, damn it!!)
I didn't mean to yell.
But I just couldn't take it anymore...
Rio looked surprised for a moment, but immediately nodded.
“...I’m sorry. You’re right. You’re working so hard...!”
My chest ached a little at those words, but
I didn’t even have the energy to apologize.
“...h, ha... haaa...!”
There was nothing left to do but endure.
12 hours passed
“Push! That’s it, keep going!!”
I followed the voice desperately, putting all my strength into my whole body.
A sensation like tearing, like being ripped apart...
“...u, uuu...!”
—Slipping out.
Along with the feeling of something sliding out, the depths of my body suddenly felt empty.
“...Waaaaah!!”
(...So there really was a human inside me...)
“You did a great job. It’s a healthy boy.”
A small body was placed on my chest.
It was warm and soft, and
it was crying messily.
Before I knew it, I was crying too...
My tears wouldn't stop, and I was even sobbing out loud.
The safety of the life, and the end of the labor pains.
That relief came flooding out all at once.
(It's over... really...)
As the postpartum procedures began and the cleaning of blood and checking of the uterus proceeded matter-of-factly, Kenichi just stared at the ceiling.
After a while, Rio approached and smiled softly.
"Good work... really, you're amazing... you made it through."
"...Thank you. I just... want to sleep..."
When he answered weakly, Rio said, "I bet."
(...I have become a mother.)
That realization was still quietly sinking deep into his heart.
When he woke up, it was already evening outside the window.
His throat was parched, and his lower body felt as heavy as lead.
He tried to lift his body just a little,
at that moment—
"...Ugh, ow...!"
A pain that tightened deep in his abdomen struck him.
It was as iflabor painshad returned.
(...No way, it should have been over already...!?)
His heart, which had been relieved, froze instantly.
Just then, the door opened, and
Rio and Manabe walked in.
“Are you awake? That’s perfect.”
“Miya-san, how are you feeling??”
Manabe asked while checking the medical chart.
Kenichi pleaded desperately.
“...Um, it hurts again. Like labor pains...”
“That’safterpains. It happens when the uterus is returning to its original state. It’s very common after giving birth.”
Manabe said casually.
(No, no, I’ve already given birth, so please give me a break...)
He wanted to cry, but the next words came back immediately.
“But since the delivery is already over, you can take painkillers.”
“...Phew... th-thank goodness...”
Manabe spoke to Kenichi after he took the painkiller.
"Well then, shall we go to the restroom after this?"
"...Huh? Right... now?"
Manabe nodded nonchalantly.
"Yes. I want to accompany you at first. You have anemia and are feeling dizzy, after all."
(Whaaat... I can't do that yet...)
Even while thinking that, Kenichi sat up. A heavy, throbbing pain echoed deep in his abdomen.
(N-no, maybe I really can't do this...)
One step, then another.
Dragging his feet like a zombie, he walked while clinging to the handrail. "You're doing great getting this far."
He relieved himself with the utmost caution in his life, washed his hands, and somehow made it back alive.
When he returned to the bed, Manabe supported him firmly.
"Good work. I'll explain the flow from tomorrow onwards." After briefly conveying the schedule, Manabe smiled gently.
"If anything happens, don't push yourself and just use the nurse call." Leaving those words behind, she quietly left the room.
As Manabe left the room,
Rio asked quietly from the sofa next to him.
Hey, old man...
Have you already decided on a name for the baby?
Kenichi nodded slightly.
...Actually, it was already decided.
Huh?
He took a piece of paper out of his bag and handed it to Rio.
It was tucked into the Maternal and Child Health Handbook from the start.
It was already there when I ended up in this body.
On the paper, it was written in Miya's handwriting.
[If it's a boy]
Yuma
--"Gentle and Truehearted, may he be a child who loves others and is loved in return"
A name for a girl
was also properly included there.
Leaning against the bed, Kenichi said softly.
“...That child's name is ”Yuma””
The moment I said it aloud,
the warmth of the name soaked into my heart.
Miya had been thinking of this life before anyone else.
Rio, who had been looking at the memo, smiled.
“...Really, as expected of Miya. It's such a wonderful name.”
The first wish gifted to this small life had quietly taken shape.
──To be continued in Episode 15...