"Ah-Jie, don’t let go of my hand."

  "Baby, I’m right here. There is no need to worry. And could you please ease up your grip a little bit."

  "Oops, Sorry!"

  Both Jie and Xu Mey were in the Radiology department of the hospital. They were waiting outside for their turn when Xu Mey suddenly felt anxious for some reason and held Jie’s hand in a tight grip almost breaking his bones.

  "Ms. Xu Mey, you can come inside now," hearing the nurse calling her, Xu Mey’s already clammy hands started trembling. Jie had no idea what she was so scared of. They had come for a routine checkup and an ultrasound test, what was the need for this strange fear?

  "Please, lie down."

  Xu Mey did as she was told but didn’t let go of Jie’s hand at all. Jie stroked her hair with a smile trying to calm her nerves.

  "No need to be this nervous about this Ms. Xu Mey. This is just a simple checkup. Relax your nerves." Xu Mey took deep breaths on the doctor’s advice and felt herself calming down. At least, it was better than before.

  The doctor squeezed some gel on her tummy which felt cold to touch and Xu Mey felt a shudder run down her spine. Then the doctor used the transducer probe a.k.a ultrasound wand and images could be seen on the ultrasound machine’s monitor.

  "Duh…… Duh…… Duh……"

  Suddenly, a faint echo could be heard which made both Xu Mey and Jie look at the monitor again. Although they both couldn’t make anything clearly on the screen yet, the tiny tympanic heartbeat was the clear indicator that a new life was growing inside of her.

  A new life. A new soul. An innocent and pure child.

  Heartbeat was something that Xu Mey had started associating with love. Since she loved listening to Jie’s heartbeat. But today, listening to the heartbeat of her unborn child, she was lost for words.

  She even forgot, what she was supposed to feel. She was happy, yes she was. The tears of joy that trickled down her face were enough proof that she was indeed more than just happy. She felt complete as if this was what had been missing from her life. And now, she was complete.

  "As you can see now, your baby is already a fetus now. It’s only the first trimester so the gender can’t be told. But the baby looks healthy." The doctor’s words brought even more tears of joy to burst out of Xu Mey’s eyes.

  There was suddenly a motherly possessiveness, love and an urge to protect her child. It felt weird that she was feeling this close to someone she has yet to even see. Perhaps, this was the mother and child’s relation which she had been unaware of all her life.

  She lifted her wet eyelids to look at Jie and his reaction wasn’t any better. He was also looking at the screen with a dumbstruck expression. He suddenly understood the anxiousness that Xu Mey was feeling. It suddenly dawned on him that he was going to be a father soon. It was a huge responsibility for which he was ready or not, he didn’t know. But he was surely excited about this.

  Most of all, he felt his love for Xu Mey increasing by leaps and bounds. It was like she was giving him a treasure. Something which he couldn’t even buy with all the money or power he had. It was a priceless treasure. A child of his own.

  He brought her hand to his lips and planted a soft lingering kiss there saying, "Baby, did I mention that I love you?"

  "You did. But I love hearing it over and over again." Xu Mey answered with a smile.

  "I love you so much, baby," Jie said before hugging her from his wheelchair as much as he could at least. He thought he needed to get rid of this stupid wheelchair so he could hug his wife properly. These bandages were getting in his way.

  Xu Mey giggled and said, "I think this one also likes to hear that." She was pointing towards her tummy.

  Jie chuckled at her words and whispered, "Then I’ll make sure to say it over and over and over again for the rest of our life."

  "I like the sound of that." Xu Mey answered delightedly.

  Forgotten were the doctor and the nurse in the room who could only awkwardly look anywhere but at this doting couple who was flaunting their love shamelessly.