The Planned Pregnancy
Hush, little baby, don't you cry
“Noel! Noel, wake up! Look! Look!” Shana jumped on the bed to wake her husband up.
“Huh? What happened? Are you okay?” Noel sat bolt upright. He saw Shana grinning at him.
“Oh, Shana. You gotta stop waking me up like this. Didn’t we talk about this before?”
“Yes, we did but I’m sure you’ll forgive me when you see this” Shana shoved a pendrive into Noel’s hand.
Noel realized what he thought was a pen was actually a pregnancy test, “Shana, I don’t know what these lines mean but are you telling me, you’re, you’re actually–“
“PREGNANT! Yes, I’m pregnant!”
Noel felt tears building up in his eyes, “I can’t believe it! I’m so happy! Our first baby!”
~~~~~
Noel and Shana were very busy for the next couple of days. They were informing the happy news to both their parents, family members and friends.
Shana’s parents were extremely excited because this would be their first grandchild. Noel’s parents already have one grandson from their oldest daughter but they too were over the moon.
~~~~~
During her fourth month of pregnancy, Noel and Shana went to her doctor’s appointment.
“You have nothing to worry about, the baby is very healthy. Also, would you like to know the gender of the baby or would you like to be surprised?” asked Dr. Shennig.
Noel and Shana looked at each other, smiled and they both answered at the same time.
“We would like to know!”
“We would like a surprise!”
Noel and Shana looked at each other again and frowned.
“I’ll give you both some time to discuss this”, said Dr. Shennig as she left the room.
“Why don’t you want to know the baby’s gender?” questioned Noel sadly.
“What difference is it going to make? I’ll still be going into labour and it’ll still be our child”, reasoned Shana.
“Yes, that’s true but if we know the gender, I’d know how to decorate our baby’s nursery and which theme of colour to use. It would also help our family and friends to get gifts for the baby shower”, explained Noel.
“Baby shower? Who said anything about a baby shower? Do you think you can just make up my mind for me? Did you even plan to ask me if I wanted a baby shower?!” Shana was pissed off now.
“Jeez, Shana, keep your voice down. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed that you wanted a baby shower and I’m sorry for not asking you about it. But please can we know our baby’s gender so I would know how to work on the nursery? Please?”
Shana sighed, “Okay, fine. I’m sorry too. Mood swings and anger bursts are quite common during pregnancy. I read it in a book. I’ll try my best to control it”.
~~~~~
Noel was so happy to bring his wife and their little princess back home from the hospital. They named their baby Stephanie, after Noel’s mother.
Noel kissed both his wife and his three-day-old daughter goodbye before leaving for work.
~~~~~
“Heyyy! You’re home early!” Shana was pleasantly surprised to see her husband already back home from work.
“I just couldn’t wait to see Stephanie again! Leaving work early is one of the perks of being the boss”, smirked Noel.
“Awww, look at you already so attached to her!” said Shana.
“So, where is she? Is she sleeping in her crib?” Noel asked while going up the stairs to the nursery.
Noel went into the nursery and peered into the crib. His little princess was asleep. He gently carried her, not wanting to wake her up.
He immediately noticed something amiss about Stephanie. Her normally soft body was now rigid. He didn't want to believe the conclusion that his mind jumped to.
He had seen the nurse check Stephanie's pulse at the hospital and he checked it the same way. When he couldn’t find a pulse, he tried waking Stephanie up but to no avail.
He carried her lifeless body back downstairs to Shana. He was sobbing at this point. He didn't know how to break the news to Shana.
"Shana, honey, Stephanie, she isn't, she's not—"
"I know, I smothered her with a pillow", said Shana nonchalantly.
Noel couldn't believe what he just heard. There were so many thoughts and questions running through his mind. He was so confused and appalled.
Shana continued watching TV as Noel was taking too long to respond.
Finally, he managed to utter, "Why?"
“Well, I just wanted the maternity leave, not the baby”
__________________________________________
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Comments (41)
Horror for sure!😢
I usually love morbidity, but this story disturbed me. Even the thought of harming a child makes me want to scream, especially a mother. Nevertheless, you have wonderful writing skills.
Woah! I'm so impressed with how deliciously dark you write!! And judging from the comments, you got the reaction you were setting out to get, well done!! I can't quite bring myself to drop you a heart (💔 for Noel!), but kudos on your ability to bring such ruthless twists into existence! x
Dharrsheena.... This was a ruthless and jarring!! I was loving this sweet peaceful story and totally forgot you have a knack for horrific twists like this! Totally caught m off guard and blindsided me! I'm both horrified and in love with this story! Amazing work as always!
OMG Ahhh! That is stone cold. If she lives in the US I hope she has a job with good benefits otherwise maternity leave is not guaranteed! LOL Jokes on her!
🫣🫣🫣ooof that was one dark dark twist!! I think this was just straight up premeditated murder! Postpartum psychosis more typically develops after a baby is born and can be brought on things that happen leading up to or during birth.
Far out, I wasn’t expecting that at all! What an ending. You definitely have a talent for unexpected twists and turns. Well done! 🙂
I do not like this story --incomplete --you aknown for twists but not allof the twists are good
Oh wow, another dark one! I was in shock at the end of the story, fearing the worst, and then it was EVEN WORSE and still somehow gave me a laugh. You are very good with the dark stuff, dark humor, etc. I cannot get enough of your work! Keep it up!
Still love this one
Holy moly! I was not expecting the ending. Poor Noel. And eeks on her logic. LOL
Omg!! That ending!! I’m like wth!! No wonder she didn’t want a baby shower😡😡
Fabulous!!!💖😊💕
Oh my God!! That was one hell of an unexpected twist😲. Truly a brilliantly grabbing 'heart gulp' time.
Dharrsheena, Great twist on this one!
Well that was a shock to the heart. I cant think of a worse situation. Very well done.
Naughty, naughty, naughty... and I loved it!!
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Yikes! I wasn't expecting that at all - what a twist! This was really scary, very well done.
I really liked the twist ending! I was definitely not expecting it. Gave me chills. :)
Omg! What a twist. Horrific story! Left you a heart!!!💖💕
The ending, Dhar. The ending! It was a left-field explosion, and so very unexpected. I couldn't stop staring at the screen after I read that. Poor babe. Noel, God, I can't even begin to think about what his mind was doing (or his thoughts and emotions) at that blunt truth. It was, without a doubt, a horror story every parent worries about, just taken a step further to show a horror that has happened to some. Sudden infant deaths are something families experience, and it's even more heartbreaking, bone-chilling, and horrifying that a mom would kill her own child. Post Partum, I believe? I would love to see a second part, a reckoning to the horror and tragedy. Great job, Dhar!
While reading, I kept on wondering where the horror part is ...n when I got to the end it definitely was bone chilling . Looking for the continuation of this story 👍
The ending caught me off guard! Great work. Horror suits you well