On my way home that afternoon, I decided to stop by the supermarket because we were already running low… – BICHNHU
On my way home that afternoon, I decided to stop by the supermarket because we were already running low on groceries, and I knew Wilson would probably be too tired to go out again later.
Before getting down from the car, I pulled over to the side of the road and decided to call Wilson first, just to ask if he wanted anything specific for dinner.
The phone rang several times, but he didn’t answer, which was not unusual since he often got busy at work and rarely noticed calls during meetings or long discussions with his colleagues.
Instead of calling again, I simply opened our chat and typed a short message asking what he wanted for dinner since I was planning to pass by the market anyway.
“What do you want for dinner? I’ll pass by the market today,” I texted him while leaning back against the car seat and watching people pass by on the busy sidewalk.
Several minutes passed before my phone vibrated gently in my hand, and I saw Wilson’s reply appear on the screen.
“I can’t think of anything. You decide,” his message read, simple and typical of him whenever I asked about food or groceries.
I quickly typed another message without thinking too much about it, wishing him a safe trip home later that evening.
“Alright, Wilson. Take care on your way home later,” I wrote, but I immediately felt slightly embarrassed after reading it again.
It sounded unnecessarily formal, so I tried to delete the last sentence, but my finger slipped and I accidentally sent the message before correcting it.
A few seconds later he responded again, probably amused by my sudden concern.
“You too. Take care. I still have a lot to do,” he replied before the conversation ended there.
I decided not to send anything else and simply placed my phone back inside my bag before stepping out of the car and heading toward the supermarket entrance.
The air inside the store felt cool and refreshing compared to the warm afternoon outside, and I slowly walked through the aisles while pushing a shopping cart.
I picked up vegetables, cooking oil, noodles, canned goods, and a few snacks that Wilson liked to eat late at night while watching television.
After finishing the grocery shopping inside the supermarket, I walked toward the nearby wet market where I usually bought fresh meat and chicken for our kitchen.
The market was crowded and noisy as always, filled with the voices of vendors shouting prices and customers negotiating loudly for better deals.
I bought a few pieces of chicken and some pork to store in the freezer at home so we wouldn’t have to shop again for several days.
Wilson had always disliked the smell of fish since childhood, so I skipped the seafood stalls entirely and focused only on the meat section.
After placing the final purchases into my shopping bags, I felt relieved that the errands were almost finished and I could soon drive home.
But as I walked toward the parking area, a sudden craving struck me unexpectedly.
Across the street, a small vendor was selling boiled corn from a metal pot that released fragrant steam into the warm afternoon air.
The sweet smell made my stomach rumble slightly, and without thinking too much I crossed the street to buy a few pieces.
While I was choosing which corn to buy, my attention was drawn to someone walking slowly along the sidewalk nearby.
It was a pregnant woman, and even from a distance I could see that she was struggling badly to move forward.
One of her hands supported the underside of her large belly while the other pressed against her waist as if trying to steady herself.
Her breathing looked uneven, and sweat covered her face and neck despite the mild afternoon weather.
I immediately felt concerned and turned back to the corn vendor for a moment.
“Please wait a moment,” I said quickly before stepping away and approaching the pregnant woman.
As I moved closer, I noticed that her face was pale and her entire body trembled slightly with every breath she took.
“M-ma’am?” I asked gently, trying not to frighten her. “Are you already full-term?”
She nodded weakly, tears forming in the corners of her eyes as another wave of pain seemed to pass through her body.
“Please help me,” she whispered desperately while gripping her belly tighter. “I think I’m about to give birth. It hurts so much. I can’t take it anymore.”
My heart skipped nervously when I heard her words because I had never expected to face such a situation right there in the middle of the street.
“Alright,” I said quickly while trying to stay calm. “I’ll take you to the hospital. I’m a doctor, but I’m not an OB-GYN.”
Suddenly she grabbed my arm tightly, her fingers digging into my sleeve with surprising strength.
“I—I think the baby is coming out,” she cried, her voice shaking with panic. “The baby is coming out!”
My mind went blank for a second before I turned around and shouted toward the crowd nearby.
“Help! She’s about to give birth!” I yelled as loudly as I could, hoping someone would come forward immediately.
But most people simply stared at us in confusion or curiosity, whispering among themselves without taking a single step closer.
Then suddenly fluid began running down the woman’s thighs, soaking the ground beneath her feet.
“My car is still far from here!” I shouted desperately to the crowd. “Please help us! She’s about to give birth!”
The pregnant woman screamed loudly in pain, her voice echoing through the busy street and finally catching someone’s attention.
At last, a man hurried toward us from the other side of the sidewalk, pushing through the curious onlookers who had gathered around.
“Let’s bring her to my car so I can take her to the hospital,” I said quickly while trying to support the woman’s weight.
The man nodded without hesitation and helped me hold her carefully as she cried and clutched her stomach in agony.
We moved as quickly as possible through the crowd, almost running while trying to keep her steady between us.
But before we could reach the parking area, the woman suddenly screamed again and collapsed slightly in our arms.
“I’m really giving birth now!” she cried helplessly. “Just do it here! I can feel the baby!”
The man looked at me with wide, worried eyes as panic spread across his face.
“What do we do, Miss? She says the baby is coming out any second!” he asked urgently.
I scanned the ground quickly and spotted several large pieces of cardboard near a closed stall nearby.
“Lay her down by the side,” I said firmly. “There’s cardboard over there! Please get it quickly!”
He gently lowered the woman to the ground while rushing to grab the cardboard pieces so she wouldn’t lie directly on the pavement.
I knelt beside her, my heart racing because I had never delivered a baby before in my entire medical career.
But at that moment there was no other choice, and the woman’s cries reminded me that hesitation could cost both lives.
The man helped me position her properly while I carefully removed her underwear so the baby could come out safely.
“Take deep breaths,” I told her while trying to remain calm. “I can already see the baby’s head.”
She screamed again and pushed with all her strength as the crowd watched in stunned silence around us.
With one final powerful push and a cry that echoed across the street, a tiny baby suddenly emerged into the world.
For a moment everything felt unbelievably quiet as the newborn let out its first small cry.
The man quickly removed his shirt without hesitation and handed it to me so we could wrap the baby safely.
“Thank you so much,” I told him while carefully holding the newborn in my arms. “Please carry her, and I’ll take care of the baby.”
He nodded and gently lifted the exhausted mother while I wrapped the baby inside his shirt to keep the little body warm.
“Let’s bring them to my car,” I said quickly as we moved toward the parking area again.
Many people stared at us as we passed by, whispering among themselves about what had just happened on the sidewalk.
When we finally reached the car and placed the woman inside carefully, I handed the newborn baby to her trembling arms.
Then I turned to the man who had helped us without hesitation.
“Thank you so much,” I said sincerely. “I truly appreciate what you did.”
He smiled slightly before handing me the plastic bags I had left near the corn vendor earlier.
“Here’s your meat and chicken too,” he said casually.
I almost laughed from relief at the strange normality of the moment after everything that had just happened.
“Thank you,” I replied. “There were so many people earlier, but no one wanted to help.”
“Good thing I happened to pass by,” he answered with a calm shrug.
“Good thing, indeed,” I said gratefully before extending my hand toward him. “I’m Audrey, by the way.”
He hesitated for a moment before shaking my hand politely.
“Joshua,” he introduced himself with a friendly smile.
I noticed again that he was standing there without a shirt because he had given it to the newborn baby.
“You don’t even have a shirt now,” I said apologetically.
“It’s alright,” Joshua replied. “What matters is that we had something to wrap the baby with.”
“I hope we meet again someday,” I said sincerely. “We have to go now. Thank you again for everything.”
He nodded with another quiet smile as I quickly got into the driver’s seat and started the car.
The hospital was not too far away, and I drove as carefully and quickly as possible while the exhausted mother held her baby in the back seat.
“Doc, thank you so much,” she said weakly. “Thank you… and also to the man who helped us.”
“You’re welcome,” I replied gently while watching the road ahead. “Is there someone we can call for you? Maybe your husband?”
She remained silent for several seconds before answering quietly.
“I don’t have a husband,” she said softly.
I glanced at the rearview mirror in surprise.
“What do you mean?” I asked carefully.
“My grandmother is gone too,” she continued sadly. “She was the only person I had my whole life.”
Her voice trembled slightly as she continued speaking.
“I sold myself just to pay for her treatment,” she whispered painfully. “But she still passed away.”
“And I never thought that… that I would get pregnant by that man. It only happened once.”
The car suddenly felt very quiet after her confession.
“So you’re alone now?” I asked gently. “What about you and the baby? Who will take care of both of you?”
She looked down at the newborn sleeping quietly in her arms.
“I don’t know,” she answered honestly.
I couldn’t find any words to reply as the hospital building finally appeared ahead of us.
Doctors and nurses immediately rushed forward when they saw the situation and quickly brought the mother and baby inside.
Just as I finished explaining everything to the medical staff, my phone rang inside my bag.
It was Wilson.
“I thought you were on your way home,” he said from the other side of the call. “Why did I get here before you?”
“I went back to the hospital,” I explained calmly. “I helped a pregnant woman earlier.”
“I’ll be home soon.”
“Alright,” he replied simply before hanging up.
But as I stood there in the quiet hospital hallway, I had no idea that helping that woman on the street would soon change my life in ways I could never imagine.