May's anthology

Fate

Once the bundle of joy that I gave birth to is in my hands, I feel warmth and love I have never felt before. Something I was never planning to feel since I had decided long ago that motherhood wasn't for me.

Suddenly the warm little angel is snatched from my arms as a scream fills the room.

The delivery nurse is screeching, having only now noticed what we both should have noticed the moment the child was born but were too focused on the magic that was a new life.

The mark. It was like nothing I had seen before, but from the nurse's wide-open eyes, I can see that she has seen this particular mark before.

Cold sweat covers my skin as I see her heading towards the baby disposal hatch. The horrible place where all babies with undesirable marks, marking their destinies, went.

"What is it? I deserve to know!" I yell at the nurse from the top of my lungs.

"It has the mark of a murderer. This child is fated to become a murderer," the nurse's cold voice answers.

Without thinking and with the strength I didn't know I had in me, I spring at the nurse and grab my precious baby. I don't think about anything but keeping my baby alive, as I jump through the first story window, the baby safely cradled in my arms.

My running footsteps are followed by the blaring of sirens, alerting everyone to my escape.

However, I don't pay attention to anything as I run as far as possible from the people who want to hurt my baby.

When I reach the thicket of the familiar forest, I am finally able to slow down. They won't expect me to be here. No one would think I was crazy enough to come to this place of no return. No one knows about my secret cottage.

Panting for air, I check my precious cargo. Huge blue eyes stare at me innocently, and all I see in them is love.

The innocent little face that stares at me is covered with a huge black mark that looks like a scythe, the sign of a killer, according to the nurse.

Yet, I can't believe it. I refuse to believe that this precious baby was born to be a killer!

Then again, the mark has never been wrong before.

I am not sure what I should do, but I know one thing, I will protect my baby.

Whatever comes, I'll fight for her because she is my life even if she is a bringer of death.

Maybe she won't be evil. Perhaps, she will only kill for the well-being of humanity. But how can any murder be good?

Who gives us the right to decide whether someone lives or dies? Even if she will bring evil to the world, it's not my place to take away her chance at life. And it's most definitely not that nurse's right to do so.

My baby was destined to become a killer for a reason, and I have to believe that some higher power is trying to maintain balance, that there is some purpose to all of this. Because if there is nothing, then what's the point of being alive?

I hope that my little girl gets to live and make her own decisions.

Happen what may, all I know for sure is that I will protect my child with my life, if necessary.

Whatever the future brings, I hope to be ready for it.

We will stay out here together, away from everyone who wants to harm her and hopefully will be able to have a new life, a life free of humans afraid of what my baby is fated to do.

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Years are flying by much faster than I could have anticipated and we are happy. I love my little girl. She is the sweetest child that I have ever seen. Every day my certainty that the mark was wrong grows, and I feel happier.

Belinda is a bright, carefree child, and that's all that matters. Even though we have never once left the forest, she doesn't complain. She has made friends with all the animals, and she is never asking for more than we have.

In a way, she is the most perfect child any parent could wish for, yet I can't shake away the presentiment that something bad is coming our way. The rational part of my brain is telling me that they have forgotten all about us, and yet I can't shake away my concern.

Whenever I lose sight of Belinda for more than a second, my hands shake in terror. Every time she cries out, having tripped and fallen, I am afraid someone had come to finish what they started thirteen years ago when she was just a baby.

Yet, all of these situations are followed by a chirpy voice reassuring me.

"I am fine mommy," my angel would say.

She is the complete opposite of what one would expect from someone born with such a dark mark. Looking at her optimism, it's more like there is an incredible light shining in her heart, not darkness.

I was careful in searching for any signs of her evil nature, but all I've found is kindness. Belinda is such a good and sensitive girl that I can't possibly imagine why she would have been marked as a killer.

Maybe all those other babies that were disposed of were as innocent as Belinda. What if the system is wrong? If it's not working properly?

Surely, I should do something to save those poor babies. I can't let the practice go on.

Thus, with a heavy heart, I will leave the safety of the forest to try and see what the world is like. If I can make it better.

Belinda has clear instructions to stay hidden and not open the door for anyone but me. Her wolf friends are inside, ensuring her safety. There is nothing to worry about, and yet I do worry.

The moment I leave the safety of the forest, I have a feeling that I am making a terrible mistake. Yet I ignore the feeling thinking it was fear and go on.

The civilization had only become worse, and I can't even reach the center before I am attacked by thugs, multiple times. I manage to escape, but it makes it clear to me that humanity has gone down a dark path and that it would be better for me to just go back home.

Having been so safe for such a long time, I lull myself into a false sense of security as I enter the forest, my home. I don't hear the light footsteps that are following me.

Only when I reach our cottage, do I realize what's going on.

"Mommy, look out!" Belinda screams from the house.

Before I have the chance to do anything, there is a huge blade sticking out from my stomach, blood gushing out.

Yet, all I can think is that I have failed Belinda. I brought danger to our home. I am about to lose everything for what? For the people who murderer babies? Who was I trying to save?

As I crumble to the ground, my hands instinctively trying to stop the bleeding, I can see the fury in Belinda's usually gentle face. The type of anger I have never seen in anyone before. Murderous rage.

The last thing my dropping eyes see is Belinda murdering the man who murdered me with one movement of her hand, her magic stronger than any I have ever seen. Fulfilling her destiny, becoming a murderer didn't change how I feel about her, I still love my daughter more than life itself.

"Belinda..." I croak with barely any strength left in me.

"Mommy! Mommy! What can I do? Oh, mommy, this is all my fault." Belinda says as tears stream down her face.

"There is nothing you can do for me, and this is not your fault. It's mine." I say.

"Can you just promise me one thing?" I ask.

"Anything mommy." She says sobbing.

"No more killing," I say.

"No more killing." She promises.

That's when I close my eyes for the final time praying that my daughter survives all by herself and I am swallowed by the peace that death is to me after years of fear.

Fate is not unalterable, but it is open to interpretation. I hope, in the next life, I carry that knowledge with me.