Archanghel: Tale of the Universe

Chapter 26

Another set of bile escaped my mouth. Well, technically, it’s not bile. It was only water and saliva. I’ve been doing this for the last five minutes. I can’t seem to remove my head on the sink since doing so will just trigger another vomit. Lola Isma was behind me rubbing my back and helping me gather my hair since they wanted to experience diving on the sink too.

“Are you sure you’re alright, Rachele?” I can hear the worry in Lola Isma’s words.

I made a hand gesture to say my answer since my mouth was occupied at the moment. It has been two mornings since I started vomiting. I can’t think of anything I ate that might upset my stomach like this. And this just happened during the morning. When I felt like I didn’t have anything more to offer the sink, I rinsed my mouth with the tap water. Lola Isma offered me a small towel, which I gladly took.

“What’s wrong?”

I asked Lola Isma when I saw her smiling at me. Her smile widened even more and earned a questioning look at me. What's happening? I continued to stare at her and was waiting for her to say something. After a moment, she opened her mouth and was about to answer me and there was still a smile on her lips.

“Rachele, where are you?” Janus interrupted us.

Lola Isma and I looked at him. His hair was in a mess. He just got out of bed. There were some marks on his face from sleeping on his side. His white sando were also disarranged, indicating that he wore them in haste. His eyes were wide as it landed on mine. Janus developed a habit that every time he would wake up to an empty bed, he would come and look for me

There were also times when he would completely forget his appearance and walk out of our room. Sometimes he would even forget his slippers and walk out of the house if ever he wouldn’t fine me inside the house. Janus would always panic and even though I always reassured him that everything was fine and he would never leave, it didn’t actually ease him.

“Cleo, dear, you should really calm down. You'll fall off the bed eventually.” Lola Isma scolded him.

“Why did you wake up so early?” He asked me after he nodded at Lola Isma. Janus neared me as he rubbed his right eye.

“I vomited.” I answered as I rubbed my stomach.

Another bile started to rise up to my throat again. I was so sick of throwing up some water and saliva. My stomach actually hurt from doing that. Janus looked at me worriedly.

“Are you not feeling well? Do you need some medicine?” The remnants of sleep left Janus upon hearing of my situation.

These past few months, Janus had changed. He almost wouldn’t leave my side and he would always worry about me. All his attention was always on me compared with before. Ever since that night, Janus had started to be attentive to me. He would always make sure that he was with me all the time, or Lola Isma was with me, or the women in this neighborhood. He would always ask about my whereabouts and would always check on me.

I also noticed that ever since that night, my nightmares had disappeared. It was something that I’m thankful for. Aside from that one time when Asmodeus came to me and was burned by a shield of fire, there were more incidents that had some connection with the demons. I also have forgotten the time I spent in hell.

“She’s fine. We will go to the town later for a check.” Janus widened upon hearing Lola Isma’s words.

“So, she’s not fine. Are you ill?” He asked me in alarm.

That made me think. Am I really sick? Aside from vomiting, all I can feel is tiredness and sleepiness, especially every morning. Even though I just woke up, the urge to go back to sleep was so strong that sometimes I would just find myself dozing off on the sofa. Maybe Lola Isma knew something and she wanted to make sure of it. Janus and I looked at each other and I shrugged, not knowing how to answer his question.

“Come on, Rachele. Let's eat first so we can leave early.” Lola Isma urged both of us,

+++

“I have good news for you. Congratulations, Mrs. Rivera, you are three weeks pregnant.” The doctor said once she'd done with all the tests she put me into.

“Pregnant?” I asked in disbelief.

“That’s very good news, Rachele! We should inform Cleo about this.” Lola Isma said beside me.

She was oblivious to the turmoil that was going on in my head. The doctor continued with her instructions but I was already zoning out. I don’t understand a thing. I didn’t hear any words. And my mind was on pause. The only thing that occupied my mind was the word, pregnant.

I’m pregnant. Janus and I will have a child. Our own child. There was a baby inside my womb that had the blood of Janus and mine. Okay, Xandy. Calm down. You have anticipated this. Ever since you accepted the mission and that night happened. You know that this will eventually happen. I do anticipate it. I already know about it but hearing it and experiencing it both at the same time were two different things.

The check-up finished with me understanding nothing about the doctors'instructions. I stopped hearing about things since the announcement of my conceiving. The ride home was also a blur for me. I also don’t know what to feel first. I was happy, beyond happy, but I was also scared. I was beaming because there was another human being growing inside of me. How cool was that. This might be what Mamang had felt years before.

I was also scared. Of what would be Janus’ reaction when he heard about this. He might see this as the finish line of our mission. I was also scared of what the future would have for us. For this child. What would be the fate given to him? How would he view life when he came to learn that his existence had a reason? Despite all of that, I know that I will love this child unconditionally.

“Can we talk to her now, Lola?” I was forced out of my reverie when I heard Janus’ voice.

Lola Isma and Janus were staring at me like I was an experiment. I looked around to see that we had already arrived home and Lola Isma had already unpacked the bag we had brought.

“W-what?” I carefully asked.

They stared at me even more intently and it made me step back. Another minute of them staring at me and me trying to find my way out when I finally reached the wall and bumped my back slightly. I yelped in surprise and Janus took that as if I was in pain, so he rushed to me in panic.

“Are you okay? You should be careful.” He said, almost accusing but more of caring.

“Both of you are creeping me out. Stop it.” I reasoned out.

I can feel his warmth because of our close proximity. I actually craved more of it. Xandy! I mentally scolded my brain for thinking about it. To clear my head with unwanted explicit thoughts, I transferred my gaze to Lola Isma. And it looked like she was not the best distraction for me. Because there was this weird smile on her face again. I’m beginning to think that she might actually go bonkers. I should’ve also listed her for a check-up at the clinic.

“What do you want to eat, Rachele? I will prepare it for you.” Lola Isma suddenly asked me.

“I’m not craving anything just yet, Lola. You can do whatever is available,” I answered her.

“You really don’t have anything you want to eat specifically? I can prepare it for you, just tell me.” Lola Isma pushed.

I was embarrassed to actually voice that I was craving a soup. *Pork sinigang to be exact. Just thinking about its rich sour taste made my mouth water.

“Come on, Rachele. It's not good for you to deprive yourself of what you want.” She added.

“Pork sinigang, Lola. I wanted to sip some hot soup.” I shyly whispered.

Lola Isma beamed at me and went on to cook. She was muttering something as she walked inside the kitchen. Something about some bananas and other fruit as dessert. I looked at Janus for help when Lola Isma was about to pester me about the food. I almost visibly sighed when Janus understood me. He nodded at me once and followed Lola Isma.

When I saw Janus turning to the kitchen, I slowly pushed myself away from the wall. Just enough time to see Janus walking towards me again.

“Why? Did you forget something?” I asked.

“No, I'll just help you to our room. You should really take a good rest.”

Because I was surprised, I let Janus lead me to our room. I can’t help but compare the way he treated me after my release from the hospital and then now. Yes, he was always there for me and was always ready to lend me a hand, but not like that. Not this gentle. And not this sweet.

It was maybe he knew that I was already pregnant. Do fathers feel it in their gut when their wives are pregnant? I don’t know, since I don’t have anyone to ask. We reached the room and I insisted that I could go on by myself. He was reluctant at first, but I was determined. When Janus left, I immediately closed the door and the tears started to roll down my eyes.

What is this? What is this feeling? Why am I crying?

I was so confused as to why I was feeling this way. I was in pain and in confusion. I let myself well on the feeling because I can’t seem to control it. The tears were falling down and I had no control over stopping it. I swallowed a sob, afraid that it might alarm Lola Isma and Janus. I don’t want them to see me in this state.

Come on, Xandy. Calm down. Inhale and exhale. You will look horrible.