Time seemed to stand still from the moment Invidia left me on this slab. I have no idea how long she’s been gone. It could be hours; it might even be days. The existence of time has been erased from my mind as I lay here on the cold steel of the autopsy table with my hands against my lower abdomen in a self-soothing attempt to shield my unborn child from the horrors that await us both.
I stare at the flickering flame of the candle against the wall as the magic that gives it life keeps it from burning down. Just gazing upon its warm glow reminds me of how much I have lived to see. Almost two thousand years ago, candles were used to measure time. The wax measured 30cm long with 12 perfectly spaced markings down the length of the wax. Each marking measured 20 minutes, with the candle’s entir
