The Magical Ones (Chapter 1)

                “Come now Cecilia, you don’t want to be late for the appointment, now do you?” Mother smiled down at me, her beautiful hazel eyes crinkling at the corners and her small pink lips curling.

                I grabbed her hand firmly, knowing that if I let go, terrible things could happen. Mother had engraved this into my head at an early age. Every time we left the enclosure, she would repeat this to me, just as she did now.

                “Don’t ever let go, sweetheart. Don’t let go until we’re inside, alright?” Her expression looked worried, as it always did when she said this.

                I nodded my head, my brown straight hair bobbing up and down.

                We travelled on foot, as we always did. Mother and I didn’t have enough money to afford a car like some of the other families in the neighborhood did. Mother had an electric scooter that she used sometimes to go to places that were too far to walk to, but using that also was very seldom. The cost of gas these days was very expensive. In fact, all of Mother’s earnings from the past two years had been thrown together just to arrange for this appointment. It was a very, very important appointment, this much I knew.

                We started through the red and yellow trees. The air was cooler at this time of year and my sheep skin coat wasn’t doing a very good job of keeping me warm. I walked in large steps just so that I could step on an especially crispy looking autumn leaf and hear it crunch. I glanced up at Mother from time to time, worried regarding her condition. I was young, but I was old enough to know that it wasn’t good for Mother to be traveling right now. Her belly had been swelling up more and more each day for the past eight months. It had reached the size of a watermelon now, and I knew that my baby sister or brother would come out soon.

                We walked, and walked, and walked for more than two hours. All the while, Mother’s hand as if my life depended on it. The forest of red and yellow seemed to be never ending. I knew that Mother was tired, and so was I.

                “How much longer?” I couldn’t help but ask her from time to time.

                “We’re almost there, Sweetheart.” She would tell me.

                Finally, we broke free from the woods. I could see a clearing up ahead. The whiz of cars driving by on a road could be heard. On reaching the road, I saw that we had reached a suburban area. Houses and stores lined the street and people were seen walking down the sidewalk. There was a doctor’s office on the other side of the street in front of us and a nearby park in which I could hear other children laughing and screaming. I pulled at Mother’s hand to let me go play for a while, but she reminded me that the appointment was very important.

                “How much longer?” I asked again, growing impatient.

                “It’s just down that road.” Mother told me.

                As we walked farther down the street, the suburban looking feel of the area reduced and the road became more and more deserted. I began to see very few cars travelling down the road and hardly any buildings were in sight. The only motion now was the steady changing of an occasional signal light.

                Suddenly, Mother’s grip on my hand tightened. I looked up at her face, wondering what was wrong. Her face had instantly grown pale and the hand which wasn’t clasped onto mine was holding her belly. Her face twisted in pain and she let out a small scream. I froze in terror. She dropped to the sidewalk, her legs giving way.            

                “Cecilia, it’s coming. The baby is coming.” She whispered.

                Even though I was still little, I knew what I had to do. I had seen Grandmother do this many times, as she had been a midwife. I struggled to help Mother over to a clump of trees adjacent the road. She was breathing very heavily and I knew she was in great pain. I helped her lie down in the grass and I brushed her brown curls away from her face. All through the childbirth, Mother gripped my hand tightly, refusing to let go.

                                                       *                                    *                                   *

                What seemed like a long time later, a little baby girl lay bloody and crying in my lap. Mother was lying next to me in the clump of trees, sweat beading on her face. “Evalina,” she whispered. I understood. The baby’s name would be Evalina.

                “Listen to me, darling. You cannot miss this appointment. You are already late. Take the baby and keep walking until you see a large red brick building. Tell them your name and they will do the rest. Now go, and don’t worry about me.”

                I did as Mother told me to. I hesitantly let go of my Mother’s hand for the first time out in the open. I took Evalina in my arms and started running as fast as I could. I glanced back only once and what I saw made my heart stop.

                My Mother’s body was gone.