Twilight

“Breathe!” said the cleric, “Just Breathe!”

Desperately the lady breathed the best she could, but it was so hard, and it hurt so much.

“You’re doing fine…during the next contraction I want you to push”

With a reluctant look on her face the soon-to-be mother nodded in agreement...and not a second later felt a contraction. With all she had in her she pushed the baby out, and felt it start to progress.

“Stop pushing!!!” yelled the cleric. “We have a problem!!!”

“What is it” asked the father, a note of panic in his voice.”

“With a wave of the cleric’s hands and a small incantation the woman was asleep.”

“Why did you do that?” Yelled the man…frantic at what was happening.

“I believe you have two sons…and they’re both coming out at the same time.”

“What?!!” asked the father, shocked at what he just heard. “Two sons? At the same time? What the hell are you talking about? We only consummated our marriage once! We can’t have two sons!”

“I have no time to argue, we’re going to have to cut her open.”

“Cut her open?!!...Are you crazy?”

“It’s the only way to get them out”

“Why can’t she just push them both out?”

“For lack of better words…they won’t fit. It would be too painful for her and she could die.”

“Too painful? Didn’t you just say you were going to cut her open? How could it be more painful than that?”

“That is why I put her to sleep…she won’t be awake for it.”

“I hope you know what you’re doing” said the man, “I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

“You might want to leave the room for this”

“No! I’m staying here with her. I want to see what you’re doing to her, and I want to be here if something happens.

“Very well,” said the cleric.

The cleric grabbed a very small, but very sharp knife, and began to cut into the woman, slowly downward from the bottom of the baby’s heads. The husband cringed as he watched... but it was soon over. The cleric then began to slowly pull the babies out of the womb. Once the shoulders were through the rest was easy. As soon as they were out he did first aid on the lady, then casted a couple of healing spells on her.

The man noticed that the cleric’s mood had changed and he had become very quiet, seemingly in serious thought, as the sound of two babies crying rang in his ears. It was not long before he realized what caused the cleric’s silence, for it seemed the two baby’s backs were somehow attached to each other. He stared in wonder at them…for he had never seen or even heard of anything this strange.

“What is wrong with them? Why are they attached like that? Do something!”

“I could separate them, but it would be risky. However, I do not know if they could survive if they remain attached.”

“Well how did they get stuck to each other like that?”

“I wish I could give you an answer, but I can’t. Only the god’s could understand such a phenomenon. All I can do is try my best to separate them.”

“Should I wake up my wife?”

“No, she is resting now, I would not disturb her with this”

“Ok then, do what you can. They can’t very well remain like they are now.”

“As you wish” said the cleric.

Soon the crying of the two babies ceased as the cleric casted sleep spells on both of them. Taking the knife he began to work at separating the two babies. It seemed as if there was some sort of curved bone beginning from the right shoulder of one baby, looping across the back, and ending near the lower right torso of the same baby. However the bone was still soft considering the fact they were newborn babies. Multiple times through the process the cleric stopped cutting and casted healing spells on both children…as the father sat and watched, a look of shock and concern on his face.

“Almost finished” said the cleric, as he completed the separation. Next he took a salve and wiped it along the cuts he had just created, and they instantly healed into scars. Then he woke up the two babies.

“There we go” he said, as he gently wrapped both baby’s in separate cloths.

“Can I hold them?” asked the father.

“Sure”, said the cleric, handing one of the babies over to the man.

“Wow, this is amazing. He is so tiny and so precious”

“Yes, so is this one. Life truly is amazing.”

“Can I hold him too?” asked the proud father. “I want to see both of my sons.”

The man noticed a strange look on the cleric’s face as he asked this question.

“Well, I don’t know if you really need to hold this one.”

“What? What do you mean? I’d really like to hold him.”

“It’s probably best if you just hold one baby at a time.”

“Huh?” said the man, a confused look on his face. “I think I could probably hold both of them.”

“But if you hold him then you might get attached to him.”

“So what? He’s my son! I’m supposed to get attached to him. That’s what father’s do.”

“Well I don’t want you to be upset.”

“Upset? What could I get upset about? Let me hold my son please!? I am his father after all!”

“Yes…you are the father…but if it wasn’t for my skill he would not be alive...” a devious look crossed the cleric’s face as he said this.

“Give me my son now!” said the man, not liking the manner in which the cleric had changed”

“Not today my poor friend, and not tomorrow either. In fact…I don’t think you’ll be seeing him ever again” and with that the cleric and the baby disappeared from the room.

“Come back here!” yelled the man “Come back here you bastard!!!” as he charged towards where the cleric was just sitting. But it was all in vain, for the he was gone.

Tears welled up in the man’s eyes and began to pour out as he knew there was nothing he could do, and he wept in anger and despair for his lost son….the baby in his arms whimpering. For an entire hour the man wept, not knowing what to do, as he clung to the baby he was holding in his arms, darkness beginning to fill the room.

A slight breeze blew through the window from outside and the fresh smell of wet grass on a summer evening filled the room. Looking out the window the man noticed the sun was below the horizon, but the dim light of dusk was still upon the land. He looked down at the babe in his arms with a peculiar look, the breeze hitting his face as he studied his son. Moonlight was coming through the window and shining on his baby’s back, illuminating the freshly created scar...a scar that was in the perfect shape of a crescent moon. The man looked out the window once again, and back to the scar….thinking.

“I will call you Twilight, to forever remind me of this evening, the evening I was betrayed and I lost my son. I will do whatever it takes to have vengeance, and you will be a constant reminder of what happened on this night. Let he who betrayed me know that this is not over.” As he said this he bent over and kissed his child on the forehead, forever sealing the vow he had just made.

“Honey….is our son ok?” asked the woman…drearily waking from her slumber.”

“Yes dear, he is fine…I’m holding him right now” said the man, still staring into Twilight’s eyes.

“Where is the cleric?”

“He’s gone…….but I’ll see him again some day?”

“What do you mean honey? Is everything ok?”

“Everything’s going to be just fine dear…….just fine. Go back to sleep…you’ve had a long night.”

“Can I hold my son?”

“Of course you can., here you go” said the man as he handed the newborn into his mother’s arms.”

“Oh, he’s so beautiful” said the mother as she cradled the baby in her arms. What should we call him?

“Twilight…” said the man.

The lady held up her baby and stared into his eyes. “Well hello Twilight, and welcome to the world.”

“You should get some sleep dear.”

“Ok…goodnight” she whispered, as he bent down and kissed her on the cheek.

And as the mother closed her eyes the man returned to the window…..a bright crescent moon now looming overhead. With a look of determination on his face he looked up into the night’s sky and whispered….

“This is not over…..”