Stay
Something in his wording strikes you. You realize, with a sinking sensation, that “leave” means not leave this base camp, but leave them in a worldly sense. You try to meet his eyes in the dark, striving to convey some genuinity.
“I’ll stay.”
“Good. Prepare for birth.”
In a new montage, the final days of the pregnancy mount around you. You can feel the little beings inside of you, growing, thrashing and kicking inside of you eager to enter the world. Sleepless, uncomfortable, swollen nights bleed into the sudden, shearing arrival of the birthing itself.
They escape from you, finally, with eager lips. You meet the cubs first when their weak mouths search up your stomach for the budding, swollen nipples lined down your chest. Your entire world has been changed. No longer is there a fear of the danger of the battle. No longer is leaving a mounting paramount. The alien form of the tigress’s body has suddenly become a gift as you watch it give life to quickly growing cubs. You’re moved, with help, into a small hut. Still resting most days, you sleep on a comfortable mat with with growing cubs.
When their eyes open for the first time, you feel yourself purring. When they begin to mewl and murmur to you, you imagine when they are old enough to say, “Momma!”
You never thought you’d be a mother, but now, you couldn’t imagine not being one.
Written by Picklessauce69 on 13 May 2016
The end (for now)