A Collection of Short Stories

The Baby of Gold

(Written: 2-9-22)

The woman held her baby tightly in her arms. She tried shushing him as he wailed, but nothing seemed to calm him. She placed her hands over his mouth as a last resort, which muffled the loud cries slightly. But, she was positive the men who were running after her would still be able to hear it.

She pulled her cloak around her baby to warm him and continued running. She did her best to dodge branches and the arrows the men were shooting at her from behind. She ignored the excruciating pain that spread through her body when an arrow just barely grazed her arm, breaking the skin and drawing blood.

The tears that poured down her son's red face were mirroring her own. She knew she couldn't keep him, it was too dangerous. She wasn't strong enough to keep him, she couldn't keep him safe. 

He was a gift, not just because of the riches that he would bring, but because of the insane circumstances that gave him life. His mother was unable to have children, which was why she wasn't married, she was seen as practically useless to the men in her time. Despite her being unable to, she had always wanted to have children.

She wasn't sure what changed that allowed her to have a child, but something did and she was overjoyed. The pregnancy was hard and difficult. Unlike anything, she had ever heard about from her mother or the people in the village. Although, she was too grateful to question it or see a doctor.

The day he was born he actually had no hair, which is why the doctors didn't take him away, right then and there. He seemed normal. But, when his hair did start to grow she noticed that it wasn't just...hair.

For starters, it was a bright blonde, which didn't match her dark brown hair in the slightest. She always knew her child was a miracle, but the day she found out he was a gift, was both the best and worst day of her life.

Little pebbles of golden rocks would occasionally fall from the top of his head, only they weren't rocks, they were gold. She thought she was going mad when she first witnessed it. But, when he tore out a piece of his hair and it immediately turned to gold she knew this had to be real.

She tried keeping him hidden, but the town was small and word got around. Men from around the world were trying to search for this gold-bearing child, just to use him for their greed. She couldn't let that happen and she knew she needed to give up her miracle.

She knew exactly where to bring him. She had a family friend that lived so deep into the forest that no one would ever dare look for her son there. But, this friend was a wizard of sorts. He knew how to protect things, important things. And in this case, an important someone.

She grabbed a large rock from the ground and threw it behind her. It hit one of the men in the head, causing him to fall off his horse. The other men didn't seem to even care about their fallen soldier, because they continued chasing the woman.

She noticed little pebbles of gold falling from her son's head again. She got an idea and desperately hoped it would work. She grabbed a few and threw them at the soldiers. They stopped and tried grabbing the pieces of wealth.

"Is that what you want?!" She screamed crazily. "There! Now you have it! So, leave us alone!"

The men were blocking her out and instead focusing on the gold. She took this as a chance to run. She was able to lose the soldiers and slowed her run to a walk. She was breathing heavily and was incredibly grateful when she saw a cottage come into view.

She lied her son on the doorstep and kissed his cheek. She could feel herself start to cry again as she pulled out the note. She comforted the upset child as she placed the note inside his blanket.

"Goodbye, Aurelian."