Original subtitles

I, Katie, take thee, Norman, to be my wedded husband,

to have and to hold, from this day forward,

in sickness and in health, for better, for worse,

to love and to cherish,

till death do us part.

You may kiss the bride.

We did it!

Oh, my...

Oh, my goodness, Norman!

This house is beautiful!

It's our house now.

Your parents are too generous.

I cannot believe that they gave us

your grandparents' house.

This is everything I could have ever asked for.

Hasn't changed a bit, honestly.

Come on!

You like it?

I can just picture it now. We'll put...

we'll put the crib here, and...

and the rocking chair right by the window.

We can do whatever you choose.

Whoops, sorry.

Great. This should come off.

I've been waiting for this day.

I stayed pure for you.

- Go see Anna for some food. - Here, have some of these.

Thank you so much.

Just fill it up with some diapers, some snacks.

How many toys do we have? We have toys...

Can you...

It can seem hard, doing on your own,

but I think we focus on the negative so much

that we miss the miracle that's right in front of us.

You've been blessed with this life-changing gift.

I was in your very shoes a few short years ago,

and I know it can feel overwhelming

at times, but I can't imagine a life without my Kyle now.

And you're not as alone as you think.

- Mm-hmm. - We are your community.

We are here to support your best interests.

Excuse me. Okay.

Norman?

- Norman? -Yeah?

- Norman, come, come look. - What?

I'm gonna be a father?

Yeah!

Oh!

Our prayers have been answered.

Do you want a boy or a girl?

I... I don't care, as long as they're healthy!

I love you so much.

If it's a girl, I... I like the name Violet.

That's a pretty name.

Or Veronica?

I don't know, I'm drawn to the letter V...

...for some reason.

What about if it's a boy?

I like the name David.

Very strong.

Tough.

Oh!

- Ow. -Katie? You okay?

- Ow! -Katie? You okay?

Baby? Talk to me.

What's goin' on, honey?

Katie?

- Ow! -Katie, you okay?

Katie...

What happened? What happened? What happened?

- Ow! - What's happening?

What's happening? What's happening?

Katie, Katie! No, no, no,

no, no, it's okay, it's okay!

Please wait a minute.

What's going on?

The doctor will be with you shortly.

I'm afraid I have some bad news.

The fetus has anencephaly,

which is a severe congenital condition

where a large part of the skull is absent,

along with a part of the brain.

I'm very sorry, but it is a fatal condition.

If it is born,

it will die within a few hours or days

or, at the most, weeks.

We should probably begin discussions around termination.

What did you say?

Our front desk handles the scheduling.

I think it's likely best we get something

on the calendar soon.

You want to abort our baby?

Sir, the fetus is not viable.

You cannot force me to commit a sin!

It is in the best interest of your wife.

If she carries that child to term,

she could die.

Her health is very much at risk here.

I understand the emotions around this,

but there is a very real danger here

that I would beg you to consider.

You want to condone murder, huh?

I know that this is very difficult,

and a lot to take in,

so I will leave you both for now.

If you need anything,

Nurse Cora here will take care of you.

Is it a boy or a girl?

I need to know, is it a son or a daughter?

I have a right to know this information!

How are you doing, hon?

Do you believe in God?

I do.

What would God do in a moment like this?

My God is a forgiving one.

He values all lives, not just the new ones.

I'd like to book that appointment.

Oh, my God!

Oh.

Norman?

What are you doing?

Oh, I'm sorry. Did I wake you up?

I just couldn't wait.

I'll try to be a bit more quiet.

Uh, are you sure that...

we should be...

We have a lot of work to do to prepare for our son.

Son?

The Lord gave us a son.

A son! He's definitely my boy.

He's got those strong cheekbones.

Norman...

Okay, okay, I admit, I prayed for a son,

but we can pray for a daughter next.

But... but they said that it...

...that it's not gonna...

God will take care of us and our baby.

Don't you have faith?

Too bad I sold all my maternity clothes.

I would have let you have them.

Well, Norman's parents are so supportive.

They're taking care of everything.

Oh, my goodness, Katie, you have to see this one!

Anna, can I ask you something?

Of course, anything.

Do you think...

there are any exceptions to the Church's teachings?

You're the one that taught me that even if you can't see it,

the Lord has a plan for you.

God's a provider, and...

Kyle is the best gift I've ever received.

What are you actually asking about?

Nothing.

N... nothing.

Lord of the Nations,

you display your power in all the world.

You made the lame walk,

you healed the sick, and you raised the dead.

You... you conquered death in your own resurrection.

Lord, bless me and keep me.

Make your faith shine upon me.

Turn your face towards me and give me peace.

Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Katie?

Is everything all right?

Hey, why don't you just...

come join me over here for a minute?

How do we know that the things...

that we do are just?

It's...

not so easy to see the right path.

And what does your heart tell you?

Just... just know that whatever you choose

has implications beyond just yourself.

Some sins cannot be forgiven.

And God's justice is perfect.

He has all the answers.

You just need to know which questions to ask.

Shame on you!

Shame on you! Shame on you!

Shame on you! Shame on you! Shame on you!

Shame on you! Shame on you! Shame on you! Shame on you!

Murderer!

Shame on you!

Shame on you! Shame on you! Shame on you!

Murderer!

Shame on you! Shame on you!

Pro-choice, that's a lie!

Babies never choose to die!

Pro-choice, that's a lie!

Babies never choose to die!

Don't forget to take your prenatals!

See you tonight, my love.

And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us,

and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,

for thine is the kingdom,

the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

Norman, Norman, Norman...

Norman, I... I don't want it.

Don't want what?

I don't want this.

Its brain is leaking.

And it doesn't have a skull.

- Please? - Katie...

I thought you loved me.

Of course I love you, but I...

I'm...

...I'm really, really scared.

What would your family think of you?

-But... - Your friends? Huh?

But, what about me?

It is a mortal sin.

A sin that will damn you to the pits of hell.

And what about me, huh?

I'm really, really scared.

So you wanna kill our baby?

-What? - Is that what you're saying?

I don't know.

You wanna kill our baby?

I... I don't know.

You wanna hurt our beautiful,

- little baby boy, huh? - I can't, I can't!

You wanna kill our baby?!

I'm sorry, Norman. I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

- I'm sorry. - It's okay.

- It's okay. It's okay. - I am sorry.

I forgive you, I forgive you, I forgive you.

It's okay, it's okay, it's okay.

It's okay, I forgive you.

- Here comes the cake! - Yay!

Hmm.

Hmm.

Stop!

It's gonna die.

Are you okay?

Get her some water!

Um, call Norman! Somebody get Norman!

She needs help! Somebody call 911.

I don't know what to do!

David couldn't wait,

so he's just coming a bit early, okay?

I want it out!

I'm right here for you, baby.

- I'm right here. -No, don't touch me!

Breathe. Push. You can do it.

Get it out of me!

Just breathe and push.

You're doin' great. You're doin' great.

Push! And breathe.

Push. You can do it, okay?

Son's almost here.

Oh, I can't believe you made me do this!

He's almost here. He's almost here.

Keep pushing!

That's it, baby. Fight, fight, fight.

Breathe right through it...

Shame on you, shame on you!

Breathe and push! I'm right here!

I, Katie, take thee, Norman...

Even if you can't see it, the Lord has a plan for you.

God's justice is perfect.

That will damn you to the pits of hell.

If she carries that child to term,

she could die.

You wanna kill our baby?

Shame on you! Shame on you!

Welcome back from The Void.

Thanks for watching.

I'm David Cummings,

the host and creator of The NoSleep Podcast.

Today, we're joined by author Grayson Grume,

writer of the NoSleep story, Pro-Life,

which we adapted into the episode titled "Carry."

Welcome, Grayson. Thanks for joining us today.

Hello, David!

What is it about the NoSleep community

that appealed to you in terms of the interaction

that you have there?

We all know the internet can be--

There's a lot of people with negative criticism

and NoSleep seems to be a place

where there's some positivity to encourage writing.

Is that something that you found

when you were submitting stories?

Um, absolutely.

Uh, the audience buy-in is, in my opinion,

what makes NoSleep truly special.

Uh, it's, it's,

treating each story as if it were true,

as this sort of beautiful, new dimension.

You know it is fiction,

but treating it as if it wasn't is this exercise in immersion.

Um, and it adds this emergent element

to the stories where the comments of the audience

are then layered and added in to the original work.

It's a very unique medium

for sharing these types of stories.

Mm. Now, your story that we have adapted

is called Pro-Life.

It's a fascinating story, a very creepy story,

and I'm very interested to know what inspired that.

How did that form in your mind?

This will leave you scratching your head, David,

but Pro-Life is not about pregnancy.

Uh, pregnancy is the metaphor,

this foundational and transitional,

irrevocable decision that the narrator allowed

to be made for her.

When I wrote the story,

I was in the midst of this painful,

drawn-out breakup of my first serious relationship,

just this never-ending, slow-motion shot

of everything falling apart around us and neither of us

wanting to put it out of its misery.

I realized I had compromised myself,

who I was as a person, um, because I loved them,

but in giving up these fundamental parts of myself,

I was breeding this frightening resentment.

I had made all these life-changing decisions

about moving and quitting jobs, and so forth,

and it made it unhappy,

and my unhappiness made them unhappy.

Uh, pregnancy was a much more succinct example

of the same concept.

Now, you wrote and posted this story

about ten years ago,

and, at the time,

again, taking it on a literal level,

you're talking about the idea

of a woman's body autonomy,

the control a woman has over her own body.

Uh, when you were writing it, did you think in those terms,

knowing that there was a-- almost a political bent to it?

In truth, when I wrote this a decade ago,

I wasn't thinking about socio-political themes at all.

I very naively expected to say,

"This is just a metaphor for my decaying relationship,"

and everyone would nod and get it.

I realized my mistake almost instantly.

The story gained some traction and was exposed to an audience

who didn't understand the NoSleep context.

My inbox was flooded with women sharing their experiences

with miscarriage, with abortion,

with their regrets in both directions,

thanking me for bravely sharing my story.

I realized, I had trespassed

and strongly debated deleting the story.

But, I'm a gay man with a religious upbringing.

Believe me when I say,

I sympathize with compromising yourself

to satisfy the moral norms of your peers and family.

This story was affirmation and validation to women

dealing with these tremendously complex feelings,

so I left it up, and here we are today.

By way of apology, it is my sincere hope

that Pro-Life continues

to spark these internal dialogues.

Grayson, you mentioned, as you wrote this story,

there was a really deep personal aspect

of your own life in there,

that you felt that you were being forced to be something

that wasn't true to who you were.

And as we adapted your story, that sort of spirit

was very much a part of Katie, the main character.

And so, I'm curious, what is it about that sense,

that approach, that...

that you think will resonate with the audience?

Assuming that they're-- if they could...

turn away and not focus so much on the hot-button issue

of things like abortion,

but seeing it as more of a personal choice,

a person's lifestyle, and how they live,

how do you think that's gonna impact

the audience?

Um, I hope that the shocking

and upsetting portions of the story... I...

don't take away from that underlying introspection

of what it means to pledge yourself to someone,

to be in love,

the transactional nature of relationships,

that by being with someone,

there are doors that are closing,

even if both of you have each other's

best interest in mind.

There's a very real sense of sacrifice there

that the main character struggles with,

um, for right or for wrong.

And I hope that the audience is able to see that,

that this isn't a story about abortion,

this isn't a story about waggling your finger

at the choices people make,

but about determining where the edges

of what you are willing to give to others are,

and how to navigate those boundaries

without losing who you are.

Grayson, thank you for joining us today,

for sharing your experience

and your thoughtful writing with us,

and all the best with all your future endeavors.

Thank you, David. It's been a pleasure.

Thanks for watching Tales from the Void.

We look forward to you joining us next time.