Writing Prompt

Waking up, I scrunched my face in pain. I thought the baby was having complications, but when I went to feel my stomach, it was flat.

My eyes shot down at my stomach, and it was true. My stomach was flat; no signs of pregnancy to be found.

I wiped the beads of sweat off my forehead before making my way downstairs. The smell of breakfast made my stomach hurt, and I guess I wasn't eating for two anymore. But even walking on my feet felt so light, I practically was floating on air. Strange...

When I reached the table, all eyes turned onto me. I smiled briefly before sitting across from my husband, who was giving me the "are you okay" look.

"Good morning," I said, a bit to fake in my opinion. "Why's everyone staring at me. Do I have something on my face?"

"No? You, you look fine, Mom," my son stuttered.

"Where all wondering if you're feeling ok because you look very pale and sick," my daughter explained quickly, not wasting any time to shove food back into her mouth.

Laughing, I started to stack waffles onto my plate. "I'm fine, just a little hungry is all. But I do have something to ask. I woke up this morning and saw that my stomach was flat?"

"Well of course, Mom," my son interrupted. "What? Did you think that your stomach was fat?"

"Bro," my daughter hissed.

"Take it down, Son. That's your mother your talking about," my husband warned.

Meanwhile, I crinkled my eyebrow in confusion. They didn't remember.

"So, no one remembers that I'm pregnant?"

Choking on his food, I watched as my children went to help my husband out while I stared at them puzzled. Spitting out his food, my husband grew red in the face.

"You're pregnant," he spat, his eyes wild with shock.

"What," my son gaped.

"Yay, I get to have a baby sister," my daughter said dreamily.

And after that, I sat there eating, my head lowered towards the table. I guess I dreamt of it. It was all in my head.

Isabell woke up, feeling strangely empty. She touched her stomach, as she always did after she found out she was pregnant. She felt, smooth, unblemished skin. "Honey," Isabell said worriedly. "I--I can't feel the baby." She let out a half sob half disbelieving noise. Her husband turned over to face her sleepily. Lucas Mai was her love of her life. "What baby?" "The baby--you know!" she said, half hysterical. "The baby I was carrying for 8 months?" "What?" Lucus looked more alert now. "Did you have a nightmare or something? I don't remember having a chance of having a baby." "I sware--Lucus, you--you have to believe me." "Say I do." Lucus said. "Tell me what happened. In exact detail." "I was in a doctors office because I was feeling weird. This was after our vacation to Hawaii. He told me that I was a month along, and that I should be happy. I told you, and we bought a bunch of stuff for the baby." "Bell," he said, kissing her on the forehead. "I guess I have to tell you." "Tell me what?" Isabell looked worried now. "Bell," he said, hugging her close to his chest. "Hmm?" "Bell, I'm a wizard. You could've possibly been in an illusion and I didn't realize it. I'm so sorry Bell." He said, his eyes filled with tears. "People are out to get me. I think they thought that they could get you, Bell. I won't ever let them touch you." He placed a gentle kiss upon her lips. "I love you." both of them said.

 In a small town, out in the middle of no where, down some dusty old back roads, sits a two story 6 bed room 4 bath house. The house has the normal loving, faithful family living there. A women, with the name Isabelle, she’s thirty-three Year’s old. A man, with the name kason, thirty- five and he’s every women’s dream husband. Together they have four kids, 2 boys and a set of twin girls. The boys names are Elijah and Leon. The girls names are Jennevive and Melanie. 
  After going to tuck all her baby’s in bed, Isabelle starts throwing up and she feels different. Kason immediately jumps out of bed to help Isabelle when he soon realizes she has put on weight. He calls his brother, Alan, to come watch the kids while he takes Isabelle to the doctor. Alan arrives twenty minutes later. Isabelle and Kason get to the emergency room and sign in, while they are signing in they hear a women crying. Isabelle turns around and there is a women sitting in the waiting room crying. She walks to the women and asks if she is ok. The women looks up and says no my daughter is pregnant and the baby isn’t going to make it. Isabelle heats a nurse call her name so she tells the women she is so sorry and walks towards the nurse. 
 The nurse then takes her to her room and starts running test on her and all except one were negative. Her pregnancy test, Isabelle is appearing to be at least nine weeks pregnant. 
            ( skips 7 months ahead )
 Isabelle is now eight months pregnant she gets up and takes her morning vitamin. She’s starts getting ready for her doctors appointment when she starts having strong abdominal pains and feeling faint. Isabelle has been pregnant with a new baby boy for eight months now and never experienced this kind of pain. Not in the 4 kids she had or the last eight months. She gets to the doctor, first thing she does is tell her doctor about the pains. The doctor says it’s normal because all baby’s are different. She prescribes Isabelle pain medicine and tells her if she feel faint to lay down flat. 
 7:45pm that night and Isabelle is to tired to stay awake any longer. She gets her baby’s to bed and goes to lay down. She soon falls asleep with the comfort knowing everything is how it is supposed to be. 
 The next morning Isabelle wakes up and she has a flat stomach, she is no longer pregnant. When she wakes her husband up to tell him he doesn’t have memory of her being pregnant, so he tells her to calm down and that she is dreaming. Isabelle knew that his was no dream so she immediately made a doctors appointment. Her doctor agrees to see her but when she gets there, he doesn’t have memory of her pregnancy either. What will she do next?

Where is she? The question whispers through Isabella’s mind as her hand drifts to her stomach. A tear rolls down her cheek as the loss of her unborn child reverberates through her.

“Please Isabella,’ her husband begs, his shirt ruffled and hair a mess as he puts down his satchel, “we’ve been through this.”

“I was pregnant Raj”, she says, her declaration opening a flood gate of emotions. He moves towards her, hugging her, his chin resting atop her head.

“I know you think so, but it’s not true. One day, when the time is right, but I need my Bell back”, he sobs, pulling her in tighter.

She felt his chest shake against her, his fear and sadness mirroring her own. Unable to see him in so much pain, she gives a slight nod. They couldn’t be all wrong could they? Her family? Her friends?

Months pass, and slowly the pain dims, the tears become less frequent and it no longer hurts when she smiles.

Isabella was at the market when it happens. She heard the scream. And then the sobbing, “my baby! Where’s my baby!”

Her hands begin to tremble as she turns and watches a woman, close to her age, clutch at her stomach. “Where’s my child?” The woman begs, as if one of the strangers around her could return her baby to her.

Isabella watch’s silently as the ambulance arrives, taking her away.

That night she cries. She cries so much Raj can’t bare to be in the same room as her.

The next day Isabella goes to the hospital, finding the woman, Seema, curled on a hospital bed. She sits besides her and waits for her to wake.

“Where’s my child?” She asks her, her voice broken as tears wet her pillow.

“I don’t know”, Isabella replies, taking the woman’s hand in hers, “but whoever took your baby, took mine, and I intend to find them”.

She imagined it or it was all a dream