Innocence

It was a cold night, but the fire in his heart warmed him.

It's not every time can he smile that genuine smile of contentedness and joy that brightens his day by a few thousand candellas. Heaven forbid she wake up now, as the little bundle of joy that was the product of love wriggled in his arms, about to peal out in frustration of being brought to existence so suddenly. He could imagine room service was always on point during the first nine months, and now, his beautiful newborn daughter would have to wait patiently for food served in spoonfuls. But patience was not going to come easy, and as an excited father he was looking forward to it.

Never had he seen his wife so beautiful than she was now. Drenched in sweat and her face a bright sheen in the harsh ceiling lights, she smiled at him in that soft way that melted his heart. She fought a long and hard battle against her body over the night, and how one so beautiful and fragile could show so much strength, he would never know, but would forever be grateful for.

Words couldn't describe the moment, but poetry could try. He looked at their daughter with a glint in his eye, trying to delve into her mind to see what he could find, was she thinking of herself while she let out a sigh, nearly inaudible yet as loud as a cry to the man that would treasure her even beyond the end of his life. Images flashed before him, showing him what he imagined, the day she would laugh and the day she would talk, the day she would crawl and the day she would walk, the year she would grow tall and strong and the day she'd learn right from wrong, the minute she'd fall in love so strong and the time she'd lose hope over what was lost, the day he'd walk her to school and back and the day he'd walk her down the aisle, the day they'd share dinner with friends and the day she'd say goodbye.

 

Tears came unbidden, of joy and love and of fears deep hidden, he wondered at the magic of the moment, when in his arms held a soul who was potent in changing their world when she learns to love it. He couldn't imagine a way to convey his joy to the one he called daughter, to this epitome of innocence embodied. There was a magic in the air that long, fruitful night, a lesson to be learnt of happiness, bliss and gratitude. Where millions had been unfortunate his family had triumphed, that dangerous dance with fate when a mother is to bring another to life, where a fickle fortune would've had the audacity to snatch either one of them away. How fragile, life seemed to him at that moment, but akin and in hand with that feeling came a feeling of immortality, that he could chain this moment to his mind to relive the joy again and again.

Innocent eyes opened and gazed at him, and even though he knew they would be blurry, he watched her soul through them. Here was a force of nature strong enough to move mountains and fragile enough to break where grass would bend. Here was his lineage, his blood, his family in a moment of triumph over life and the beauty of living.

As he handed to his wife their daughter, he out his arm around her, encircling within his embrace everything that mattered to him on this lonely planet Earth. Here, he knew, was innocence. May she learn to love like the seas love the beach, how the rain loves the sun, how the moon loves the night. 

His prayers were naught but an echo of his love for her.