Unseen Beginnings

All I remember opening the coffee beans this morning before the family woke. The aroma of robust beans teased my senses that an energy award was near. Before taking the fresh beans to the grinder, an ear-piercing scream scattered my solitude. Startled from the coffee, I ran towards my wife’s cry for help. Taking the steps two at a time, I followed her panicked cry for “Call 911” a faint whimpering sound echoed down the hallway.

I pulled out my iPhone and ran to our teenage daughter’s bedroom straight into the adjoining bathroom. Just as I stepped foot into the messy bathroom, the first thing that hit me was the stench of blood, thick and suffocating like an invisible force field. Next was how hot and moist the small bathroom felt, as if a steam shower ran all night.

Then, my eyes shifted down to the tile floor. My brain couldn’t process what was before me. My confused gaze first landed on my wife, who was crunched down between our daughter’s legs; she was holding some kind of membrane. A pool of sanguine looked so out of place against the vanilla ceramic tiles.

Then my eyes traveled to our daughter, her sweaty, matted hair, her once porcelain skin now blotchy crimson. She was saying something, but the rushing in my ears drowned out the words. It was like she was on TV, but the sound was on mute; I could feel the smooth, cold iPhone slide from my sweaty hands and hear a distant crack as the iPhone slammed onto the floor. I could taste a metallic acid coating my tongue as my eyes landed on the tiny red, wrinkled baby in my sixteen-year-old daughter’s arms. My God, she had just given birth…and we hadn’t even known she was pregnant.

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Word Count: 300 Words