Prologue
429 Words
PrologueSpring 1974, Ostend, Belgium
The woman screamed, a primeval howl that represented the unchanging nature of humanity's physical continuance through the ages. Though she'd promised herself she wouldn't no matter how great the pain, she had finally given in to the most natural urge associated with the birth of a child, and, at the moment the head finally forced its way from the birth canal and made its way slowly into the world, her body could take no more. She'd heard that scream so many times in the past, from others in the same position, and had thought those women weak and incapable of self-control. Now, she knew better.
The man in the white coat whose hand she gripped tightly spoke gently to her, reassuring, coaxing. “It won't be long now, it will soon be over, and all will be well.”
She was sweating; her legs ached from being held apart for so long by the stirrups. He'd insisted on them, in case he needed to take immediate action if complications developed, and her back felt as though it would never again be free of pain. Over and over in her head she asked herself if anything was worth the pains and the humiliating exposure she was enduring, and over and again the answer came back to her. Of course it was!
As the man had promised, it was soon over. The pain gradually subsided, and the woman, free at last of the weight she'd carried within her womb for so many months, and with the pain of childbirth receding into memory, slept. The man sat watching her contentedly, knowing that between them, they had achieved something special, perhaps as all men who witness the birth of a child feel, though this was more than special, and he knew it. He had no idea of what the future might have in store for any of them, but for now, he basked in the glow of success as he watched the sleeping woman's breasts heave gently beneath the thin gown as she breathed rhythmically in her deep, well deserved sleep.
Darkness fell over the small isolated cottage, the sound of the ocean waves breaking on the nearby beach. The man checked one last time that his charges were happily sleeping, and as a combined sense of relief and elation crept over him, he finally succumbed to the tiredness in his limbs, his eyes slowly closed, and he too drifted into a peaceful sleep. There was much work to do; it would take time, patience, and much trial and error. But that could wait until tomorrow.
- Writer
