Hoke followed after the strange woman and stood in the doorway, watching as she began pulling strange items out of her bag. He began wondering just who he had called when crystals, bones, and vials were placed on his bedside table.

                Ynes looked up at him, “Can you undress her please? I need to cleanse her…”

                Hoke began to comply without questioning the other woman, but silently wondered at what time he should ignore his wife’s wishes and simply call the hospital.

                “That won’t be necessary,” he heard the woman say. “The hospital… It won’t be necessary. Besides, they would be useless now anyway, doctors aren’t any good at bringing the dead back to life.”

                Hoke’s question about the woman being psychic evaporated in his mind when he heard her talk about the dead. “Who’s dead?” he asked frantically, his eyes looking at his wife, trying to see if he could see her chest rise and fall still.

                “The baby…. Which is why he can’t be delivered yet,” Ynes explained.

                “So what do we do then?” he asked all worries about this woman flying out of his head. New fears flooded his mind, thinking if the baby was dead, would his wife be next?

                “Thoughts like that kill people, stop… Stop it now… and get me hot water and towels,” Ynes ordered the man who was just seconds away from a meltdown. She needed to keep him busy to keep his mind off his dead son and focus him on the fact his wife was still alive. The thoughts of life were what would bring his child back.

                While Hoke was gone, Ynes set everything up for what she would need to do. This was olde magik- Santeria, to be exact- and it wasn’t to be taken lightly or rushed. She picked up the poor woman’s hand, cutting into her finger and holding an empty vile up to the dripping blood until the vile was full. Only then did she rip apart a clothe to bandage the girls fingers and stop the flow of blood.        

                Hoke came back and saw the all ready blood soaked bandage on his wife’s hand. “What the hell happened?” he asked, panic written all over his face.

                “Put the water over there,” she said, pointing next to her bag. “When you’re done, come over here and help me.”

                Hoke didn’t even realize his question had been ignored as he moved to follow the orders. He watched as Ynes grabbed what she would need and began chanting, ''Moarte va vine in viata.” He listened to the foreign words, wondering just what she was saying and what it all meant. He tried to simply focus on her words, repeating them again in his head, hearing her words get louder and louder as time went on.

                Hoke didn’t know how much time had passed, but soon he saw Paula moving and realized her contractions had started again.

                Ynes looked up at him, “Don’t just stand there, help me deliver your son! Ugh, useless man!” she muttered before telling him what needed to be done.

                Minutes later, his son was born, and he briefly wondered how Ynes had known it would be a boy since he and Paula didn’t even know.

                He looked at the woman as she held his silent baby, and the question was out of his mouth before it had finished forming in his mind. “Isn’t he supposed to be crying?”

                “Only babies that are alive cry,” she responded. “Now stop interrupting and let me work!” she took the vile of Paula’s blood and placed some on her fingertips before smearing it in the still infants mouth, repeating, ''Moarte va vine in viata.”

                Hoke spoke the words quietly with the woman and watched as his baby began to change from deathly pale to a healthy pink. He slowly began to fuss, and then finally cry.

                Ynes kept a hold of the baby, the words she was chanting changing now, “Protect this child with all your might, oh Goddess gracious day and night!” before finally lighting a bundle of herbs and letting the smoke surround the child. “Thrice around the circle’s bound, sink all evil into the ground…” she said, continuing to chant until the smoke dissipated completely.

                After several moments of silence, Ynes spoke again, “Child born of death, take your first breath. Live your life, don’t suffer the strife. Be protected from harm until you lose this charm. Then slowly return to death, no longer needing breath.” Once the spell was cast, she place a leather bound crystal on the baby’s skin and looked up as Hoke asked another question.

                “What does that mean?” he asked softly, watching her hold his son, hearing her chanting again.

                When Ynes was quiet again, she looked at Hoke, “Keep this hanging over his bed until he turns 16, then he needs to wear it from dawn to dusk, every day. If you don’t follow these instructions, or this charm gets lost, well… I’m afraid I won’t be able to help you.”

                Hoke was going to ask more but was distracted when he heard Paula speaking. He knelt by her, reaching for her hand and simply heard her whisper, “Baby…”

                He looked up at Ynes who simply nodded and handed over the infant with a smile. “Be well,” she said before putting everything away, leaving the charm and the vile of blood behind. “You will need this,” she said, handing the vile directly to Hoke, “You will know when…”

                With that, the woman disappeared, leaving Hoke and Paula to fuss over their new son.