"God, being pregnant sucks," Aurelia groaned as Max helped her into the car. She was quite literally sick and tired of all these parenting and pregnancy classes.
Max quickly entered the driver's side, already soaked from the rain. The forecast called for a storm, but bad weather never stopped the two of them.
"Look at the bright side! Only two more months to go before we get to meet our daughter!" Max tried reassuring her. The death glare he was given in response immediately shut him up.
She couldn't help how moody she was these days. It was all of the stupid hormones that wouldn't give her a damn break. She had wished that being immortal would somehow make her immune to all of the pregnancy symptoms, but that was clearly not how things worked.
"I'm just looking forward to going home and relaxing," she sighed as she struggled to buckle her seatbelt.
After moving back with Max, Elaine was more than happy to give Aurelia her job back. Fortunately for her, Elaine was very generous with the terms of her maternity leave, and she had little to worry about during her time off.
Aurelia felt like she was home for once, a feeling that had been long lost on her centuries ago. Life felt a lot less meaningless than it once did.
She didn't know what the future would bring, but for once, she knew she was finally happy.
"Me too," Max chuckled. "I say we order takeout tonight."
They debated what to order. Aurelia insisted she wanted pizza, but they had just gotten pizza, Max whined.
The rain grew heavier and heavier as they continued on their route home. The window wipers were on at their highest speed, but Max still squinted to try and make out what was in front of them.
An uneasy feeling filled Aurelia's chest. "Maybe we should pull over and wait out the storm," she suggested.
"No, we're almost home," Max said. "It'll be much more comfortable for you to rest there."
They suddenly heard loud honking and a light that grew unbearably bright.
"Watch out!"
-
Even with her eyes shut, Aurelia could tell how painfully bright the room was. It was quiet, besides some soft beeping and muffled footsteps. She felt exhausted and everything was sore, a dull ache radiated through her body, but her lower abdomen felt numb.
It took all of her willpower to slowly peel one eye open, and she found herself staring at a plain white ceiling.
What the hell happened?
She looked around, and saw two nurses quietly speaking with a doctor. "H-hello?" she croaked, her throat felt dry and rough as sandpaper. She gripped tightly onto the railing along the bed to pull herself up. "What happened?"
"Hello Ms. Taylor, I'm Doctor Evans," he spoke gently, the same way one would before breaking bad news. "You were in an accident... we had to perform an emergency C-section."
The room spun, but she fought through the lightheadedness to stay alert. "Is she alright? Where is she? What about my husband?" she demanded.
The doctor sighed and sat down next to the bed.
He didn't need to say anything.
Aurelia's blood went cold and she felt her soul leave her body.
Excruciating grief took over as uncontrollable tears began to pour down her cheeks and breathless sobs squeezed at her chest. She tucked her knees up against her torso and hugged her legs tightly, curling up into a trembling ball.
"No," she sobbed into her hands, "not again..."
Her sobs tore at her lungs, leaving her throat raw and burning. Her eyes stung and her vision was warped, trying to see through a never-ending wall of tears. She couldn't speak, she could barely breathe. The feeling of emptiness she thought she had shaken off had returned at full blast; the bottomless pit that sat in her chest opened up as she cried.
The doctors and nurses tried calming her down, but she was inconsolable. How does one comfort someone who just lost everything?
-
A nurse took Aurelia to the NICU and brought her a seat next to her baby. She was tiny, surrounded by a soft blanket and hooked up to multiple tubes.
"I'm so sorry Ms. Taylor," she whispered. "We don't think she'll make it through the night."
Aurelia wordlessly nodded, completely numb to her words. The doctor had explained enough earlier. Premature, complications with her heart, breathing problems, and more issues she didn't have the heart to listen to. "Could you please give me some time alone?"
"Of course."
She reached inside and touched the tiny baby's hand. They were planning on naming her Mariana, but it felt meaningless now. Her throat was raw and dry, and her cheeks stung from all of the crying. She had no idea how much grief she was capable of feeling. Grief filled her entire soul and spilled out over the edges, leaving her in a sea of despair. She was utterly exhausted, feeling too weak to even go on.
But she knew she would go on.
She always would, whether she liked it or not.
Suddenly, a bright light blinded her. Fortunately, the curtains were drawn around her area, leaving the other babies' eyes protected.
"Azrael?" Aurelia weakly whispered.
He appeared once again, but Aurelia was too exhausted to feel anything towards him this time.
He moved slowly towards her. She realized he didn't leave the sound of footsteps. "Aurelia, I am so sorry this happened," he said softly and crouched down next to her. "I can not do anything about Max now, but I believe I can help your baby."
"Her name's Mariana," she sniffled. "What can you do?"
"I can grant Mariana immortality," he said. "She has half of your genes, it would not take much work for me to make up the difference and make her immortal, just like you."
Aurelia stared at him in stunned silence. This little baby was the only piece of Max and Derek she had left, and would ever have again. If she was immortal, she would never lose that piece. She would never have to say goodbye.
Aurelia touched Mariana's soft hand and sighed. The easy option was tantalizingly close, but what was easy wasn't necessarily right.
"As much as I want my daughter to live, I know she won't be living a real life," she said, "It's selfish to ask for that. I'd be cursing her with immortality."
Azrael paused, looking taken aback. "Are you sure, Aurelia?"
She tried to smile through the tears, she knew she was doing the right thing, "I finally understand what you spoke about all those years ago," she said. "The fragility and temporary nature of life is what makes it beautiful – I shouldn't have been so resentful and angry at life the way I was. I was forcing myself to live a life without meaning."
He nodded. It felt like a thousand knives were piercing through her heart as Azrael slowly approached Mariana. She wanted to scream, to hold her baby tight and never let her go, but she knew this was the right thing to do.
"Wait!"
Aurelia flinched as another angel appeared in a burst of blinding light. Her vision readjusted and she found herself staring at a glowing figure with long brown hair and white feathery wings, wearing an off white and blue robe. She had done quite a bit of research on these celestial beings over the last few centuries. This was Gabriel, the messenger.
He rushed over to Azrael, moving just as smoothly. "A-Azrael, I have a message from dad," he said, catching his breath. He leaned closer and whispered into his ear. Azrael looked at Aurelia as he listened; he ever so slightly raised his brows but didn't say anything.
"Thanks for letting me know," Azrael mumbled.
"Aurelia," Gabriel said and gave Aurelia a brief nod. Just as quickly as he had appeared, he left in a flash.
"What's going on?" Aurelia asked.
Azrael smiled, it was the first time she had ever seen that. Was it supposed to be a good thing when the angel of death smiled?
"The angels have decided that you've learned your lesson – you understand the value of what your mother gave you," he said. "You also demonstrated an incredible act of selflessness; you would rather give up your daughter than have her live what you consider to be a lacking life – I do not think you realize how powerful of an act this was."
She raised an eyebrow. "So what are you saying?"
"I've been given permission and the power to help both of you," he said. "Your daughter can live, and you will start aging from today."
Aurelia gasped, throwing herself against Azrael into a tight hug. She had no idea whether archangels were even allowed to hug humans, but she didn't care. Tears of all sorts of emotions stung her eyes.
He took Aurelia's hand in his, and lightly rested his other hand over Mariana's heart.
"With this, I grant your daughter a second chance at life, and I grant you with mortality."
