"Push, daughter, push! The baby is about to come out!"
"Push harder, I can see the baby's head...yes, that's it,she's coming out!"
"Oh, what a lovely little girl! Your wish has been fulfilled!"
As they spoke, I noticed that apart from a small flicker of light the size of a sesame seed in that tiny room, everything else was pitch dark.
"Thank God," someone said, "finally, a girl in our house. We already have four grandsons—having a granddaughter is the best blessing."
"Aunt Sharma, your granddaughter is a blessing indeed. There's a famine outside, yet she was born healthy and fair. Take good care of her."
"Thank you, Chandu's mother. Before you leave, drink a bowl of sugar water."
The midwife's son was named Shankar, though everyone called him Chandu.
The midwife replied, "I don't want to drink it. Save it for the baby's mother. There's hardly anything to eat now. I'm not even sure if her mother has milk for her."
I felt someone holding me, and then everything went blurry as I drifted into a deep sleep.
"Mother, why hasn't my little sister woken up to eat yet?"
Four-year-old Sameer sat by the bed, staring curiously at his newborn sister, trying to touch her pink cheeks with his tiny finger.
Mother Chandni smiled. "Maybe she's tired, she'll wake up soon. What are your father and the others doing?"
"Papa went up the mountain. He said he'll try to hunt something.so you can have some nourishment. My elder brothers went to gather wild greens and fetch water."
The land outside was cracked and dry from the drought.
Grandmother was cooking breakfast.
Sameer's innocent voice described everyone's activities clearly.
"Daughter Chandni, eat something first," said the grandmother. "See if you can nurse her. If not, give the baby some rice porridge. With a little rice left, porridge is the best we can manage for now."
That night, the whole family sat together and named the baby Yashika. After a short discussion, everyone agreed happily.
Lying in her cradle, Yashika listened to their joyful chatter and rolled her tiny eyes.
The Sharma family had once been quite well-off in the village.
When old Mr. Sharma was young, he had worked for a few years as a courier. Later, he married Aunt Sharma, and they had a son , Yashwardhan.
Grandmother Sharma was a skilled homemaker, and for many years, the family lived comfortably on their courier savings and the crops from their land.
When Yashwardhan grew up, his old nurse introduced him to a village girl named Chandni, who became his wife and gave birth to their first son, Sunil, the following year.
But soon after, old Mr. Sharma spent most of his wealth on medical treatment before passing away.
Children kept coming, and with several years of drought, whatever little savings remained were gone.
Their village was called Spring Mountain Village, with about a hundred households.
It wasn't too far from the county town, but because a mountain blocked the way, one had to go around it ,making it feel isolated and remote.
For the past two years, rain had been scarce and the harvests poor.
The family's remaining food was already exhausted.
Forget wild vegetables ,there wasn't even grass left to graze.
And now, another child had been born into the Sharma family, it's truly a matter of worry.
The adults could still manage, but what about the newborn?
Chandni looked down at the baby in her arms. The little one had just woken up and been fed a few spoonfuls of porridge.
Now her bright eyes darted around the room, full of curiosity at everything.
But inside that baby was Sneha, a former special forces soldier, who had just completed her mission and gone home on leave.
She had gone to the supermarket to buy some daily necessities when, after being jostled by a few older women, she somehow crossed through time and space
and was now reborn as a newborn baby!
Ugh, what kind of fate is this?
If only I had brought milk powder with me, I wouldn't be starving like this!
Chandni gazed at her daughter's wide eyes
Did she just hear something?
Why did her arms suddenly feel heavy?
And what was that in the baby's hands?
Yashika stretched her arms and legs, and her little palm brushed against something hard — a small jar.
Huh? Why does this feel so familiar? I need to see what it is!
Chandni nearly screamed when she noticed the jar in her baby's grasp.
Had she not known it came from her own child, she might have fainted on the spot.
She turned the jar over and over, showing it to the baby.
"Yaaay! It's baby formula! Now I don't have to worry about being hungry!"
Chandni muttered to herself, "What is this? I don't understand…"
"It's powdered milk , specially made for babies. Open it and mix it with warm water," thought Yashika (Sneha) to herself.
Good Lord!
Of all the people who travel through time, others get magical powers or treasures and me? I brought baby food!