1 Birth

Trembling with uncontrollable fear and fury, pistol ready to fire, finger resting on the trigger. Such rage coated his surroundings in a carmine tint. The veins which span across his forearm throbbed, synchronized with the vessels on his forehead. Droplets trickled down his face as his tender grip loosened though the trigger was still choked in a tight grasp of hatred.

An overwhelming force rammed his eyes shut; his breaths now under conscious control. He took a moment. A moment to consider. A moment to reminisce on what had led him here. Just a moment to truly acknowledge the severity of his current state.

The birth of a child; a magnificent feat. A loving mother bearing her offspring for countless months - a treacherous period of time, a test of endurance - and ending it all in excruciating pain quickly followed by ecstasy. 

A worn down wooden frame held a snapshot of a fraction of a second, yet just a momentary glance could narrate a thousand words to the observer. In a hospital bed lay a dreary mother at a final peace, tears of pain and joy cascading down her cheeks as they fused with the beads of sweat that closely followed. She was awestruck by the miniature being that she had produced; seemingly unable to fathom the beauty of this child. Closely beside knelt a gracious father beaming with a radiant glow as he gazed at his beloved, tears rushing down his visage.

Tufts of ebony gasped as they escaped the warm soft trap which swaddled the newborn. A weeping child rested in the gentle embrace of its mother, wriggling and writhing in an attempt to escape the constricting sheets. 

"Don't worry, it's alright sugar." The wailing halted as the mellow tone of his mother's voice caressed the drums of his ears and soothed his discomfort. Two beads of emerald sheepishly peered up at their mother, a faint grin emerging from the corner of his lips. A bond so strong - on the verge of visibility - formed and her mind was made up.

"Jack," she began in her delicate voice,  "we'll name him Jack". Tranquility pranced through the air as they admired their dainty, perfect, newborn son.