This Is Us - Chapter 71: Chapter 71
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*THOMAS POV*
"Where are they?"
A short younger woman asked with dark skin and long black hair threaded in a complicated braid with small white island flowers threaded through it. She came in a long white dress wearing a silver cape and a crown of gold with a stance that seemed to demand respect. As soon as she stepped into the room, Mika and Pierce bowed down to one knee with Luca and I following their footsteps.
We had already packed Nakoa, Rumi, and Novalee into their car seats with tiny Mika-Ji still sucking from Matty's chest. He was the only one allowed to drink Matty's breast milk since he's so tiny while the others were big enough to bottle feed formula.
"They're right here," Matty gently nudged our smallest one awake and I felt my muscles get tense. Ready to strike the moment this stranger even tries to harm just one of my little guys or Matty.
But she simply smiled in a non-threatening way and stood by Matty's bedside. Matty gently pulled Mika-Ji from his chest and the little one opened his eyes in confusion.
"And their name?" The woman asked as she touched the top of my baby's full head of light brown hair.
"Mika-Ji Hakeem Jackson," Matty told her and she smiled.
"What a beautiful name for a beautiful baby, I see you hold high hopes for this little one," She says in more of a rhetorical manner, pulling a small leather satchel to the bed and reaching in. She pulled out a small round wooden container with Japanese characters engraved on it as she put it to the side.
Reaching out, she lifted the sleeve of his little jumper to reveal the small brown birthmark Mika-Ji wore on his right arm in the shape of a single teardrop. The same mark his mother and grandfather bore on their right arms, just above their elbows.
"I see they bear the curse of the Mahu," She looks up and seems to find the confusion in my eyes and Luca's as well.
"Your baby stands on the line between male and female, born without a gender, known as Mahu. In many countries, this has been treated as a curse and there are those who dedicate their lives to hunt and sell or kill Mahu people for their rarity. This is what almost happened to this precious child's grandfather who identifies as male...am I correct?" She turns her gaze to Mika, who slowly nods with a solemn look on his face.
"Why did you name this child after your father?" She asked Matty and he cleared his throat.
"I named them Mika because I want them to grow to look at the bright side in every situation, to see that even when they're at their lowest of lows they can still overcome, and to be strong enough to do what's right when everyone tells them their wrong, to use their wisdom to guide those who are without, and to grow to be the most selfless, self-sacrificing, and inspirational man I know. My Appa," Matty says with honestly in every word as he recalls the true meaning behind our child's name.
"I see," The woman mutters as she opens the wooden box and spreads a type of purple clay on her fingers.
"To the mother, who giveth true wisdom I bless," She places a few strange symbols on Matty's forehead before turning to our baby and with her pinky, she draws a single symbol on his tiny forehead in purple.
"And to the child, Mika-Ji Hakeem Jackson, whose wisdom shall be gained through lessons learned I bless, to protect their identity as a Mahu and to keep them safe as once they leave the safe haven that is Bridgeport, their true home, and return to their country of origin. I bless their journey through life as they find their identity and pray they find comfort and solace in their difference instead of adversity. To the Gods, I beg for Mika-Ji's acceptance as a Mahu," The woman says, decorating my child's face with lavender oil after the clay before kissing Matty's cheek and leaving the room.
"Well that was different," Luca comments as he checks out the symbols on the faces of our husband and smallest newborn.
"Legend has it on the island, that only one true Mahu child is born every hundred years if that. It's our culture for the eldest Mahu to bless the newborns as a form of giving back to the gods for being blessed with a life in between the lines," Matty explains and cradles Mika-Ji close to his chest, kissing his head before placing him in the car seat. The poor little guy looked so tiny compared to his siblings but we took a little extra care in making sure he was buckled, supported, and under a warm blanket.
I looked at all four car seats, for the first time feeling a little intimidated by the sheer amount of newborns we were bringing home. Luca gulped as he stood beside me, seeing the same thing I was seeing.
"You two will be just fine. If I had any doubts in my mind about us being able to do this, I wouldn't have gone through with it." Matty says as he rests a gentle reassuring hand on both of our shoulders.
"I'm a father of five Matthias," Luca stutters and Matty ruffles his hair a little.
"Being a father of five is better than being a father of none, now come on. I want to go home, lay down, and watch Netflix til I'm caught up on all my shows," Matty shrugs as he tugs up the hood of his sweatshirt and slips on his cozy brown slippers.
I pick up Nova and Roo's car seats while Luca grabs Koa and Roo with Matty in front of us holding Jaydean's hand as we walked out of the hospital together.
As a family of eight.
"Where are they?"
A short younger woman asked with dark skin and long black hair threaded in a complicated braid with small white island flowers threaded through it. She came in a long white dress wearing a silver cape and a crown of gold with a stance that seemed to demand respect. As soon as she stepped into the room, Mika and Pierce bowed down to one knee with Luca and I following their footsteps.
We had already packed Nakoa, Rumi, and Novalee into their car seats with tiny Mika-Ji still sucking from Matty's chest. He was the only one allowed to drink Matty's breast milk since he's so tiny while the others were big enough to bottle feed formula.
"They're right here," Matty gently nudged our smallest one awake and I felt my muscles get tense. Ready to strike the moment this stranger even tries to harm just one of my little guys or Matty.
But she simply smiled in a non-threatening way and stood by Matty's bedside. Matty gently pulled Mika-Ji from his chest and the little one opened his eyes in confusion.
"And their name?" The woman asked as she touched the top of my baby's full head of light brown hair.
"Mika-Ji Hakeem Jackson," Matty told her and she smiled.
"What a beautiful name for a beautiful baby, I see you hold high hopes for this little one," She says in more of a rhetorical manner, pulling a small leather satchel to the bed and reaching in. She pulled out a small round wooden container with Japanese characters engraved on it as she put it to the side.
Reaching out, she lifted the sleeve of his little jumper to reveal the small brown birthmark Mika-Ji wore on his right arm in the shape of a single teardrop. The same mark his mother and grandfather bore on their right arms, just above their elbows.
"I see they bear the curse of the Mahu," She looks up and seems to find the confusion in my eyes and Luca's as well.
"Your baby stands on the line between male and female, born without a gender, known as Mahu. In many countries, this has been treated as a curse and there are those who dedicate their lives to hunt and sell or kill Mahu people for their rarity. This is what almost happened to this precious child's grandfather who identifies as male...am I correct?" She turns her gaze to Mika, who slowly nods with a solemn look on his face.
"Why did you name this child after your father?" She asked Matty and he cleared his throat.
"I named them Mika because I want them to grow to look at the bright side in every situation, to see that even when they're at their lowest of lows they can still overcome, and to be strong enough to do what's right when everyone tells them their wrong, to use their wisdom to guide those who are without, and to grow to be the most selfless, self-sacrificing, and inspirational man I know. My Appa," Matty says with honestly in every word as he recalls the true meaning behind our child's name.
"I see," The woman mutters as she opens the wooden box and spreads a type of purple clay on her fingers.
"To the mother, who giveth true wisdom I bless," She places a few strange symbols on Matty's forehead before turning to our baby and with her pinky, she draws a single symbol on his tiny forehead in purple.
"And to the child, Mika-Ji Hakeem Jackson, whose wisdom shall be gained through lessons learned I bless, to protect their identity as a Mahu and to keep them safe as once they leave the safe haven that is Bridgeport, their true home, and return to their country of origin. I bless their journey through life as they find their identity and pray they find comfort and solace in their difference instead of adversity. To the Gods, I beg for Mika-Ji's acceptance as a Mahu," The woman says, decorating my child's face with lavender oil after the clay before kissing Matty's cheek and leaving the room.
"Well that was different," Luca comments as he checks out the symbols on the faces of our husband and smallest newborn.
"Legend has it on the island, that only one true Mahu child is born every hundred years if that. It's our culture for the eldest Mahu to bless the newborns as a form of giving back to the gods for being blessed with a life in between the lines," Matty explains and cradles Mika-Ji close to his chest, kissing his head before placing him in the car seat. The poor little guy looked so tiny compared to his siblings but we took a little extra care in making sure he was buckled, supported, and under a warm blanket.
I looked at all four car seats, for the first time feeling a little intimidated by the sheer amount of newborns we were bringing home. Luca gulped as he stood beside me, seeing the same thing I was seeing.
"You two will be just fine. If I had any doubts in my mind about us being able to do this, I wouldn't have gone through with it." Matty says as he rests a gentle reassuring hand on both of our shoulders.
"I'm a father of five Matthias," Luca stutters and Matty ruffles his hair a little.
"Being a father of five is better than being a father of none, now come on. I want to go home, lay down, and watch Netflix til I'm caught up on all my shows," Matty shrugs as he tugs up the hood of his sweatshirt and slips on his cozy brown slippers.
I pick up Nova and Roo's car seats while Luca grabs Koa and Roo with Matty in front of us holding Jaydean's hand as we walked out of the hospital together.
As a family of eight.
End of This Is Us Chapter 71. Continue reading Chapter 72 or return to This Is Us book page.