The Other Baby

Okay, I know this isn?t the place to ask for baby advice but I could really use some right now. My name is Toni Wick and I?m sure you already know that kids are expensive! I?m not complaining, really I?m not. My little Honey is the sweetest little angel and I won?t hear a word to the contrary! I really couldn?t have been luckier that she turned as good as she did, especially considering what an ******* her daddy was. There?s a good reason he?s not in the picture. But there?s been some? Well? I don?t know how else to describe it aside from ?occurrences? and I don?t know how to address any of them.
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It started before Honey was born. I don?t have a lot of money so I had to get thrifty as I was getting everything set up (building my little Mommy nest). I don?t really have any older siblings so I couldn?t really get any hand me downs which sucked, but I managed. I got a lot of things through Facebook marketplace and Kijiji. I?m a bit of a haggler and I usually get what I want, especially after I told people I was soon going to be a struggling single mother and they?d be depriving a newborn baby of necessities! It helped me save my money and make it go further, plus I could keep a little bit on the side to take care of Mommy.
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The crib was something I thought was going to be a bit more expensive but I actually found a really good deal on it. It was a used wooden crib that I got for free! I didn?t even have to haggle on it. The lady selling it was just giving it away! I didn?t ask too many questions when I picked it up. I just kinda showed up and took it. The lady didn?t say much. She was pretty quiet overall. The crib was still in a mostly empty nursery but I didn?t actually see the kid around. I figured that the Dad took it for the day or something. None of my business either way. I was just happy for the free crib!
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It was a few weeks later that I noticed anything weird so I can?t definitively say it had anything to do with the crib. It was pretty late at night and I was watching TV before bed. I was starting to doze and I was honestly considering just falling asleep on the couch. As I felt myself drifting off though, I heard it. It sounded distant and it probably was just a dream or something but I could?ve sworn I heard a baby crying. Now, that woke me right up. I sat up on the couch and looked around but I couldn?t hear anything anymore. I figured that maybe it was just a trick of my imagination or something. Like, my mind playing tricks on me, y?know? The house was really quiet and I couldn?t hear anything so I went back to dozing. I?ll admit, I forgot I?d even heard anything soon enough.
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This wasn?t the first time it happened. There were a few instances where I thought I heard something as I was falling asleep or waking up. It was never really consistent though. Like, I always just assumed it was my imagination just messing with me, y?know? I was expecting a baby after all so soon enough I?d be running on zero sleep trying to take care of Honey.
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I kept working on the nursery as I was waiting on her. I was almost to term and I kinda just kept fussing over it, y?know? I bought books and toys and all that stuff just to make it feel like more of a home. I?ll admit, I was kinda doing it for my own benefit more than anything else. Does anyone actually remember their nursery from when they were a baby? Still, it gave me something to do while I waited.
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I actually got this really nice set of toys from one of my friends. She had a friend who had a sister who?d had a baby a while back and she had a whole box of things she wanted to give away! It was so nice of her! They were mostly cute little plushies and whatnot so I figured I?d put them in the corner of the nursery where they were out of the way, but could still be cute! I had set up a hammock in one corner and piled the plushies into there. It was a bit of a reach but I figured I could still handle it (Not like the ****ing babydaddy was going to help me, that useless prick).
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I?ll admit, I wasn?t even looking at the crib so I obviously didn?t expect to see anything in there. I?m still not sure exactly what it was that I saw since I only saw it out of the corner of my eye. For just a moment as I was reaching up to put a teddy bear in the hammock though, I could?ve sworn I saw a baby in that crib. Not just lying there. Standing upright and leaning against the bars to watch me. I turned to look and confirm what I thought I?d just seen when I felt it. My ****ing water broke!
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The crib was empty but I had other concerns on my mind at that moment! I already had a friend who was willing to drive me to the hospital of course so I gave them a call and they came right over!
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The birth went pretty smoothly, honestly. I?ve already said that Honey was the sweetest little thing I?d ever seen and I adored her from the moment I laid eyes on her. She was a beautiful little angel. I remember how I got to hold her for the first time and the way she cried. That cry stayed in the back of my mind.
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When I finally got to bring her home, everything felt right in my world. I didn?t think about any of the weird **** I?d seen in the weeks leading up to her birth since none of it registered as important compared to that one, beautiful moment I was living in. Honey was with me and I could be the best possible Mommy I could to her! That was all I ever wanted, honestly.
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The first few weeks were hard, I?m not going to lie. There were definitely some challenges to being a new mommy but honestly, I was happy! I really feel like I found my calling and I knew that I?d be an amazing mother! There were a few? well. The odd **** never really stopped happening, though. It was never anything major. Sometimes, I?d hear crying and go to check in on Honey only to find her sleeping soundly or smiling at her mobile.
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As time went on, I started noticing that the crying I sometimes heard wasn?t Honey?s at all. They say a Mother can recognize her baby's cry. I see how true that is now. I knew when it was Honey who was crying but this other cry? I didn?t recognize that at all. It almost sounded like it was coming from another baby entirely! I didn?t know what to make of that. I took a look online to find if babies can have two different kinds of cry, or maybe if they could sleep cry but I didn?t really find anything that was particularly helpful. As far as I could tell, neither of those things could happen but babies are weird, right? They do all sorts of things you don?t really expect.
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It was the other night when things came to a head. I?d put Honey down for the night and had gone to relax and watch some TV. I was pretty tired but doing alright. I was starting to get the hang of this Mommy thing! I had a video baby monitor set up and I?d check in on Honey every now and then. She usually slept pretty soundly but I felt better being able to see her. Whenever there was a commercial break, I?d check in on her.
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For most of the evening, everything seemed just fine. Nothing seemed out of place. As it got later and I was getting ready for bed though, I figured I?d check on on her one last time. I picked up the remote and switched to the HDMI channel where I could watch Honey. She was there, in her little crib and fast asleep. But this time she wasn?t alone.
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Another shape was there with her. Another baby. It was older than Honey and standing upright in the crib. It was looking at the camera. At me.
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My heart seized up in my chest as I stared into the spectral pale eyes of the other baby. I watched its mouth open in a scream the moment before I heard it, so loud that it felt as if it shook the house and threatened to split my skull! I watched as the other baby turned towards Honey and took off towards her room at a sprint! I could hear the other baby screaming and I burst through the door.
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Honey looked like she was alone in her crib but I wasn?t going to chance anything! I knew I?d wake her up and I didn?t care! I picked her up out of the crib. I heard the other baby screaming but I didn?t know where it was coming from. Holding my Honey close to my chest, I left as quickly as I could. I got her in the car seat and took off from that house and I had no intention of going back!
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I?m at a motel now. A friend of mine brought me some supplies from the house. They said things were quiet over there. I honestly don?t care. I know what I saw. I know what I heard. It wasn?t a dream. I?m not crazy! The other baby was there and I don?t know what to do about it.
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All of this isn?t why I?m posting though. No, that?s just the background. The reason why I?m posting is because Honey woke up a while ago and as usual, she cried to be fed. What wasn?t usual was the sound of her cry.
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A mother knows her baby?s cry and that was not my baby?s cry.
That was the cry of the other baby.
And I don?t know what to do.


Source.