P.O.Box (PART III)

Continued...

Joe slammed the brakes on the 504 sedan and screeched to a stop outside the prenatal ward driveway in Salem University Teaching Hospital. He was a merger of excitement, fear and confusion.

"Nurse!" He screamed as he scuttled out of the driver's seat, ran round the rear and pulled open the back door.

"Nurse!" He screamed again, this time more out of anger than apprehension. How come the emergency service took vacations when it was needed most? He had tried calling in but found the pair of terrible network and whipped batteries too complex to battle.

He opened the door and helped a groaning Mari out. He didn't even remember to shut the doors; Mari was experiencing grave birth pangs. She was due a week from today, so they were staggered when the baby gave the kicks. They felt it was his routine reality check kick, until the pangs arrived and they had to quickly borrow a neighbor's Peugeot.

"Nurse!"

***

Once again silence enveloped the throne room as rivulets of glory traced every space. This time around the throne room wasn't silence in pain, but in awe.

Elders, Principalities, Dominions, Powers, Mights, and Angels watched entranced as Elion and Jay communicated without words. The cloak of glory that covered the throne blazed like a million suns yet its intensity only poured oceans of love on all present. The Host of Heaven had never witnessed Elion and Jay separate physically, this was the first time.

The Host could hear everything that was being said between the two, but understanding was far from them. This was a highly confidential mission; the Host only knew what they were told. However, it was obvious that Jay was going to execute the relocation plan that Elion had initiated just four days ago after Ad'ahm lost his address.

Four days in Zion was four thousand years on earth.

***

Joe's consternation was a testament of his frayed emotion. He was composed by disposition but the apprehension he felt for Mari's safety and the baby's was tuned a notch higher when the receptionist told him he had to...

"Did you even think before you spat that statement?" Joe yelled at her and everyone in the lobby stared at him funny. "A woman is in labour and all you are worried about is government policy?"

"I'm sorry sir, but we run the risk of being shut down for having your child delivered in this hospital," the receptionist said calmly, she had her finger just under the table by the alarm button should this maniac go loco on her. "It's been in the news for about four weeks now."

Joe looked round at the faces in the lobby and waved at them, they all went about their businesses. Mari who was seated on a bench by the receptionist's desk, was panting as the agony shot up every neuron in her being. Joe looked at her and almost broke down in tears. This is the most he had been frustrated all his life.

When they arrived Salem University Teaching Hospital, they had been informed by the receptionist that Mari had to return to her local area of origin to birth her child. Why? Government policy. It didn't matter that Mari had done all her prenatal check-ups and monitoring in that same hospital. Deroh, that spineless dictator, had just signed a new bill into law, all Y'Israns had to put to birth in their local areas and his word was final.

So Joe had driven from Salem city to Little Town in ninety minutes. The journey usually took three hours. Now they were here and just learnt that they had to present a DNA test result before Mari could be taken into the labour room. And this was the only public-serviced hospital in Little Town. Joe couldn't afford the charges at any of the private hospitals in Little Town.

Little Town was largely a farming town - livestock farming. And most of the farms were owned by livestock exporters, so the cost of living in Little Town was paradoxically big.

Despite Joe's frustrations and rants, nobody would attend to them. It would take about three to four weeks before amniocentesis test results to be gotten. And that was one test result Joe wasn't ready to wait for. Even if the test was carried out, the child's paternity couldn't be determined.

The child's DNA was not earthly, so it could only be spiritually deciphered. Its DNA was written in a language understood only by spirit beings, but how would he explain this to the spiritually inept personnel here.

"Where's your M.D?" Joe turned to the receptionist.

To be Continued... Oh! Have a jolly Christmas

Image credit: Calvin Wray on fineartamerica.com