One Mother's Decision

It was decision time. Cleda avoided it for as long as she could. The days ticked away quickly and now there was no time left. She had to decide to either have her baby or abort it right away.

She'd weighed all the pros and counted all the cons. Her family had thrown her out. She was staying with her best friend temporarily, but that arrangement was getting difficult too.

The baby's father didn't want anything more to do with her and he certainly didn't want the child. He demanded that she "get rid of it" as soon as possible. The problem was Cleda didn't know if she could do that. She felt a kinship with the fetus growing inside her. Unlike her doctors, she wasn't of the opinion that it wasn't yet alive. She knew that it was. It responded to her.

She sang to it every night at bed even though everyone thought it stupid. They insisted it couldn't comprehend music. Yet something within her said it did.

Cleda managed to get a job at the local diner in the evening so that she could continue going to school. At least her parents agreed to continue paying for that since she was graduated community college in a month.

She'd planned to transfer to Virginia Tech and continue her studies. Now she wasn't sure that was feasible.

The pretty redhead stood in front of the mirror and stared at her body. There was just the slightest baby bump visible, but it was enough to reminder her that her child lived insider her womb. She couldn't ignore it. It wouldn't let her.

Of course, if the tests came back bad, the decision would be taken out of her hands. The government no longer allowed imperfect children to be born. She'd heard of women who'd gone on the run once the abortion panel made an unfavorable decision. Most of them were hunted down and shot on sight. But a few had made it up into the Blue Ridge Mountains where they hid to await their children's' births.

A noise behind her alerted Cleda that the doctor had returned to the room. She could tell from the look on his face that the news wasn't good.

"I don't know if you'll consider this a blessing or not," he said. "But there's a problem with your baby. It's one that won't make it through the abortion panel. I'm afraid your daughter will have to be aborted immediately."

"What's wrong with her?" The question popped out of Cleda's mouth with a concerned tinge.

"Well technically, she's very healthy. It's just that the panel has decided that no more females can be born right now. Only male births are sanctioned."

"You're telling me that because she isn't a "he", my baby must die?" Cleda couldn't believe her ears. "I've never heard of that before."

"Like I said, it is a recent decision. The panel has determined there is a need to limit the number of females in the world."

"But why?" Again, the question floated out of her mouth without her brain engaging.

"That is none of your business, young lady." The look on the physician's face told her to speak no more.

"We'll be doing the procedure shortly," he announced. "Until then, there will be a guard posted outside just in case you get in your mind to run. If you are thinking about that, you should reconsider. There is no point in making your own life forfeit as well."

"Can I at least go to the bathroom before we get started?" Cleda suddenly felt the urge to throw up her lunch.

"Of course. We aren't Barbarians, after all. Just don't try any funny stuff. Okay?"

The young girl nodded and smiled as best she could. However, the wheels were already turning in her head.

As the guard escorted her to the ladies room, she finalized her plan. A quick look in the room revealed no window. Cleda's heart sank momentarily, but hen another idea popped into her head.

She opened the door and began the trek back to the doctor's office, keeping a close eye on the exit door in front of her. As she neared the office, however, she fell to the floor in a faint. The guard jumped to catch her but, as she expected, laid her on the floor to go for help.

The moment his back was turned, Cleda scrambled to her feet and flew the last few feet toward the exit. She expected to feel a bullet enter her spine at any moment, but none came.

Her car was parked in the alley just outside the door. She now knew what force had driven her to park it there. She was inside of it and pulling away before the guard and doctor hit the alleyway.

Knowing her parents weren't home, she let herself into her house once there and made her way to her room. She quickly gathered the provisions needed. Pulling on a blonde wig she had worn in school play, she exited the back of the house and made her way into the nearby woods.

Dropping her cell phone, she smashed it with a rock and scattered the pieces. They wouldn't' track her that way.

Cleda knew where she was going. Staying near the housing division, she soon spotted an older car that she could hotwire. Being a mechanic's daughter had some advantages. It wasn't long before she was on the road headed toward the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Cleda knew the area well where the camp supposedly existed. She could avoid the roadblocks set up to prevent girls like her from escaping. She'd camped in the area with her family since she was five. She knew every cave, every stream and every tree for 25 miles. She prayed it would be enough.

She didn't stop for food or gas, having brought extra gasoline with her from the tanks her father kept for his lawn tractor. It took her hours to reach her destination by the back roads, but she eventually did.

Pulling the car deep into the woods, she had just enough time to disguise it and make her way to nearby caves before darkness settled in. Her timing was impeccable. Cleda made a fire just as the last vestiges of sunlight disappeared into the darkness.

Although she worried that trackers might spot the fire; Cleda forced herself to sleep. The days ahead would be long ones.

As soon as sunlight showed the first orange on the horizon, Cleda rose and began her trek. Using her compass and her knowledge of the area, she kept moving in the direction where safety might lie.

She stopped only long enough to refill her canteen. Although she listened for dogs in the distance, the sounds of the woods were all that greeted her. She prayed that would be the only sound she heard.

Another day passed the same way. She had little food left. This time Cleda did more than pray. She cried until there were no more tears left to shed. It was then that she felt it again; the tiniest flutter in her stomach. It was as if her daughter were spurring her on.

She found an abandoned cabin to camp in for the night. She knew it was risky but the thought of a bed beneath her was too tempting to dismiss.

Cleda pulled her blanket from the backpack and put if over the soiled mattress. After lighting a fire in the fireplace, she laid down to rest. Within seconds she was asleep.

Shouting outside the cabin woke her. She rushed to put out the fire and gain darkness to help her hide.

"I'm telling you. I saw fire coming out of that chimney," a man's voice insisted. "I bet it's another runner."

Cleda froze in her tracks. She realized she had nothing with which to defend herself. It seemed her death was just minutes away. She rolled herself into a ball in the corner of the room and prayed.

She didn't have to wait long. A kick threw the door open and a lantern revealed her hiding place.

"You're right. It's a runner," came a second man's voice. "Aren't you girls ever going to learn?" Her assailant flashed light in Cleda's face. "If you want to stay hidden, don't send out smoke signals."

He moved closer toward Cleda so she could see him clearly. He was unusually tall at 6' 5'' and well-built for 250 pounds. Hair came down to his shoulders and a beard covered most of his face. But something strange struck her as she gazed at him. It was the look in his eyes. It was that of compassion.

"Come on. Let's get you to safety. There's a patrol a few miles down the road, looking for a young redhead. We were searching for her when we caught sight of your fire."

Without a word, Cleda raised a hand to remove the blonde wig. "Then you found what you were looking for," she said before throwing herself at her big, burly savior. "My baby and I both thank you!"

Months later inside the Blue Ridge Mountains, a baby's first cry brought yelps of joy from the compound's inhabitants. She was the 25 ^th girl born since the abortion panel's ruling against the birth of females.

As Cleda looked down at her tiny redheaded daughter, she smiled. Then she reached out to take that of her husband's. She knew Charlotte would the first in a long line of children for their family.