Sixty Flashes of Life

Chapter 1

Chapter 1. 

[23:00]

A six feet tall man, with a slightly peeking stubble underneath a light, black hood of the winter jacket, which covered the top of his head, trotted his way through fluffy snow that pounded against his frostbitten face.

There was a reason why his pace hastened with every step, and in a few minutes, he will be there to see it with his own eyes.

He rushed by a brothel with a peculiar name of Sweet Mommy, which was usually full of customers on Saturday nights. Now and then, he would also visit this cathouse with the weirdest request that Sweet Mommy girls ever received.

"Look, the Once-over Lee came by. What do you think happened this time?" A prostitute would ask another girl, and then nod to him.

No regular deals, but a special order was the only thing he would ask all the time, and the girls actually did not mind even though it was a bit uncomfortable for them to chat with him without doing their ordinary service.

He looked them over most of the time, examining their slim, temping bodies; but there were occasions when he would pour out his heart, and they all listened mindfully.

That evening, neither alcohol nor gripping, thrilling bodies of girls were on his mind.

Some figure from the window of a residential house next to the brothel called to him in a greeting manner, but received a mere hand in return before his shadow dissolved in the darkness.

Lee bustled through a couple of deserted districts before making his final stop by the door of Saint Judith Hospital. No occasional smokers nor chatterboxes were next to it, probably for fear of having a frostbite.

He took a deep breath, and started to cross himself.

"Oh, Lord. May you give us calmness and purpose; strength and endurance; faith and love, as we go through this labor. We are your loving servants, and our souls are your souls. May you grant us a beautiful child matched to our faithful hearts," he murmured, as his hand whirled through the space, drawing a cross on his sturdy body.

The door swung open as he entered the labor room. Many silhouettes hurried here and forth without paying any attention to him. They did almost everything in silence, occasionally exchanging a few words; but mostly, the room was filled with screams of a woman who lay with her legs sprawled.

"Come on, now! You gotta keep pushing! Just a little more!" Another voice yelped, which belonged to a mature woman of around forty years old, cladded in a long white coat with her grayish hair in a bun.

His eyes swept through the room to find the one whom he had given up all his daily chores, and hurried through a blizzard in its early beginning. She was the one whom the mature woman stooped over, hovering like an eagle on its mundane task. He was shocked by the scream his wife produced. It sounded as if a wounded, trapped in the corner, bear bellowed at the top of its lungs from excruciating pain. He never saw her like this. Did it mean he loved her less?

"My little dove, I am here. With you," he flung his body on a knee next to the bed where she lay, grasping her pale hand in his own. He gave her hand a slight kiss, and pressed it against his cheek.

Their eyes crossed; he could read genuine gratitude and happiness in her eyes, as she took a break before the next push. Her lips pulled up, forming a mild smile.

"Pretty soon... We will have a baby, darling. Our beautiful, sweet girl. Remember the name we dreamed of?"

He giggled. Of course, he remembered. His fingers brushed through her, resting on the pillow, white hair.

"You thinking about the name in this situation?" His eyes were watery a bit, but he thought it would not hurt to stop being a level-headed man for at least that evening.

"You bet. Charming July, as the month when her lovely mother was born," he said, and gripped the hand of his wife even harder with all his affection he had.

However, their dream, as many others they would have later on, was not meant to be.

The born child happened to be a boy.

And no matter what anyone would say – it caused a drastic turn in all of their lives.