Birth of a Curse

"Almost there, just one more push." Mason encouraged his wife. For the past eight months, they had been equally excited and cautious about the birth of their children. They believed every word that Lady Fortune had told them. However, they were certain they'd never be in trouble with a curse. Their family was a 'blessed family'. That would lead to their own down fall.

"Ugh!" Crystal groaned in pain as the baby breached and was birthed.

"Ah! Wahh!" A high pitched wail was heard the moment the baby's head was free. A moment later the body followed.

"A baby girl at 21:43 to Mr. Mason and Crystal Luthorient." The doctor announced to the nurses and the parents. The nurse doing the paper work jotted down the information and followed a second nurse as the baby was taken to be weighed and measured, also writing down that information.

"That's Crystal." Crystal managed to say between gasps while trying to catch her breath. She squeezed Mason's hand. The name Crystal was passed down from first born female to first born female in the family. It was a tradition and Crystal, wasn't going to break the tradition. Before she could say what the child's middle name was, labor pains hit again, and the second child told her body it was time to birth.

After a frustrating twenty minutes of labor, the entire room, including a now sleeping baby, was startled by the sound of a deep wail when the baby's body was free of the mother. Neither Mason or Crystal could see the child so they waited for the doctor to say the child's information.

"A baby boy, born at 22:04 to Mr. Mason and Crystal Luthorient." The doctor said aloud to the nurse writing the information. Once again the child was taken from the doctor to have it's weight and height recorded.

Crystal looked up at her husbandm, her fear was evident on her face. Mason remained silent and just squeezed her hand gently.

"We can always try again." Mason said quietly for just Crystal to hear. Crystal nodded, her face now determined.

"That's Bane." Crystal made her voice carry the same tone she had when she said named her daughter. It was too late to remove the name she'd given her daughter, but maybe she could make up for it with her son's name. Her thoughts were to cast the curse on the twins and not the family by binding the twins together and pass the curse to them.

"Their middle name is Fluch." Crystal said for the nurse who was writing the information. The nurses eyes went wide, but she said nothing. She recognized the word, it was German for 'curse'. She had no idea why the parents wanted their children to have the middle name of curse, but it wasn't her postition to say anything about it.

Once the doctors and nurses left Crystal, who had been encouraged by the nurses to hold the children, set them down in the bassinet. She left Mason with the children and went into the bathroom where she showered and washed away all traces of giving birth.

A couple hours later, once they were released with healthy bills of health from the doctor, Crystal and Mason drove into a shady part of town. There they left Bane and Crystal in a basket with the hospital blankets loosely wrapped around them.

There they left the children, and disowned them. They wouldn't even think about them again.

Unknown to Crystal, Mason had bottle fed the children. He loved them, and though he was superstitious like his wife, he wasn't as convinced that they were a danger to their family. So he gave the children a higher chance of survival by feeding them and he even snuck two pillow cases into the bundle so that they'd stay warmer longer.

The children, unaware of their situation smiled and laughed as they watched the snowflakes whisper to the ground like feathers. Their tiny faces alight with curiousity and interest in everything around them. Time and cold eventually made them cranky and hungry, an hour had passed.

An elderly lady was walking down the lifeless street on her way home. She heard the cries of the children, and followed the cries. When she saw the basket her tongue 'tsked' in a way fitting a grandmother finding her grandchild left her yarn in tangles.

"Now, now. Gran's here, no need to cry." The woman picked up the basket and carried them home with her. When she got to the old and rickety house that she called home, she went inside and poked the embers in the fireplace. A small flame licked the embers as Gran aggitated their peaceful sleep. Once the fire was flickering and took the chill out of the air, she pulled open the blankets and noticed the bracelets on the children, as well as some quickly hand carved wooden pendants with their names around their necks.

"Well now, Crystal and Bane, I'm Gran and I'll be taking care of you." Gran rewrapped the children in the two blankets and pillowcases and went to the small barren kitchen to make some warm goats milk for the children. The kitchen was bare, but with Gran moving about familiarly and humming quietly, and out of tune.

The milk was warm and ready quickly, Gran took three bottles into the main room. She set the bottles down next to one of the threadbare, and very old lounge chairs that graced the room. Being careful not to startle Crystal and Bane, she moves the basket closer to the chair. She sat down and carefully pulled them out of the basket. Experienced eyes ran over the children, and she recognized them for the age they were. They were newborns.

"Welcome home." Was all Gran said. It made her sad that they'd been abandoned.