Under the Shade of an Old Mango Tree

Chapter 18: Waking Up

Lena woke up to the warm, delicious sunlight streaming through her bedroom window.

"Did you have fun?" a soft voice asked.

"Whaaat?" she responded with a yawn. She stretched her arms upward and then slowly brought them back down her sides. Then she clasped her hands behind her and gently pulled back as hard as she could. That finally woke her up.

"I said, did you have fun at the baby shower?" It was her sister. She was sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Why are you asking me, Ate? You were the celebrant. I should be asking you if you had fun last night."

Her sister smiled.

Lena sat up on the bed and reached for her sister's hands.

"So . . . did you have fun at your baby shower?"

Her sister hugged her as tightly as she could. Lena hugged her back, careful not to squeeze the bulging belly in front of her.

"I had lots of fun," her sister said

"Yeah, you had lots of food," Lena teased.

Lena felt her hands getting squeezed again.

"You're not having contractions, are you? You might actually break my hands."

Lena's sister shook her head. Tears were visibly starting to well up in her eyes.

"What's wrong, Ate?" Lena hugged her sister again. Her sister hugged her back.

"I really want to know if you enjoyed your time with me here," her sister said, this time sniffling.

Before Lena could answer, she started to feel dizzy again. She felt a throbbing pain in her head. She tried shaking it off.

"Of course, I did," she said. Her eyes widened when she saw a rippling movement on her sister's belly. She had seen it many times before but she still found it cool.

"She's not an alien," her sister told her flatly.

"But it's really cool!"

The headaches started again. Lena pressed the heels of her palms against the temples of her head. Just then the door opened and in came their grandmother. She was holding a bed tray.

"Here's your breakfast in bed, dear," she said as she set the tray in front of Lena. There were zucchini hash browns, fried eggs, and whole-wheat toast. There was also a banana-berry smoothie with frozen fruit and yogurt.

Lena's stomach grumbled. She wanted to dive in but the headache seemed to get worse. Her sister took the tray and placed it on the dresser. Their grandmother sat on the other side of the bed.

"I'm sorry, Lola. Thanks for the breakfast . . . but I'm having a headache right now."

Her grandmother rubbed her shoulder.

"It's all right, dear," she said. "You can sleep some more."

With that Lena's sister and their grandmother tucked her in. Lena grabbed their hands.

"Please stay," she told them almost in a whisper. Her headache was getting worse. She found it difficult to keep her eyes open.

"Just sleep, dear."

"Just sleep, Lena."