Chapter Text
PROLOGUE: 183 AG
“Congratulations, you’re a parent now!” The nurse smiled down at the woman covered in sweat and the man sitting beside her, holding her hand and caressing her forehead. “And you too, of course,” she smiled at the man. “It’s a girl. May we welcome this little bundle of joy into your arms, your loving home, and this incredible world.”
She paused to let the new parents admire their little baby. “Have you two decided on a name yet?” This was one of her favorite parts of her job, finding out what the name of a child she just helped bring into the world was. She moved closer towards the couple with the little baby in her arms.
“Not yet, but we already love her, our little girl,” he looked at her daughter with tear stained eyes. Fathers usually cried when having their child in their arms for the first time. It was this sort of switch that happened in their mind and soul, while a mother usually clicked earlier. She’d seen it many times before, and he was no exception. The mother was exhausted, but couldn’t keep her drooping eyes off her newborn.
“Would you like to hold her sir?” She knew the answer but had to ask anyway. It felt like a sort of formality for every new parent to hear. As expected, he answered, nodding his head eagerly with the tears of joy still glistening in his eyes. She told him how to hold his arms before carefully handing him the sleeping baby. The special thing about the little girl was that she had cried when born, but only for a few seconds, before ceasing to a whimper and ultimately drifting to sleep. Even with the loud bangs from fireworks and people celebrating outside, the little baby had drifted off to sleep. She and the other doctors made sure there was nothing wrong with the child before declaring she was just a really calm baby.
The moment he had her in his arms, she stirred. For a second, she thought the little one would start to cry, to make up for lost time. Instead, she slowly opened her eyes and moved her mouth open and closed a few times before focusing on the face in front of her.
“Hi there, my darling,” he spoke in a soft, slightly high pitched voice. “Your mommy and I have been awaiting your arrival.” He regarded his daughter for a while before adding, “You sure are pretty like her.” He glanced up at his partner, proud eyes beaming. “Say hi to mommy,” he brought the two ladies in his life closer to each other. She was slowly regaining some strength but was fighting sleep.
“Oh Honey, what are we going to call her?” she asked her husband. She reached up to pull a bit of the blankets wrapped around the baby back, in order to admire her daughter. “Our little miracle must have a proud and strong name.” There was no way she was going to give her child some common name like Mai or Lee. She wanted her daughter to have a unique and yet elegant name to represent her family.
“Mircalla.”
As she said it, his face brightened even more and he looked up at his wife in wonder. “That’s exactly what we’re going to call her. Our little miracle. Mircalla.” He regarded her reaction, and she smiled.
“Yeah, that’s a strong name. Mircalla Morgan Karnstein.” Both the parents watched their little girl, smiling at their little miracle.
The nurse went to get the official papers in order to name the baby girl, and put the bundle in her crib so the mother could rest. While she slept, the father signed all the papers and watched over his daughter. She smiled as she watched the scene. But she was also glad she could now join her friends and colleagues who were celebrating the New Year in the lounge room. A baby born right on midnight on New Year’s… Talk about a miracle.