(Past)

In their fourth year of marriage, Sarah announced her pregnancy, and that’s when life for the Adam’s family forever changed. Their energies shifted to the task of preparing for the much anticipated new life true love had created.

As Sarah began creating a nook in the bedroom for their much-anticipated addition, Josiah was inspired to provide the perfect gift for his unborn child, hinged on the ability to master his knowledge of Alchemy. On one particular September evening, in a garden shed environment, late night experiments guided by candlelit notes and long-revered ancient incantations, yielded results no one could explain.

Josiah created an unknown product consisting of liquid pulsating light. The substance seemed holographic, yet consisted of real elements. It was translucent, yet solid, as if from an unknown dimension. It appeared fiery in color and form yet was temperate as the outside air. Of everything in the known universe, its visual features would most readily be compared to a holograph of our sun, yet with a pliable shape, self-sustained within a state of perpetual motion.

He immediately called out to Sarah to come and witness the phenomenon. As she hurriedly entered the small space and gazed upon the light source, her heart pounded with strange terror. Within moments, she cradled her unborn child through her stretched-thin belly as if there was no skin at all and winced loudly, fairly certain the strange energy source was toxic to the baby.

“Take it away from here, Josiah!” she yelled while falling into the closest seat she could find.

“Sarah, what is it? Tell me, what is this strange energy?” Josiah said while scrambling to shield its powerful glow from her body.

“Just take it away from here, please,” she pleaded with fading voice, while raising one arm to shield her vision. Josiah frantically scanned the shed and found an empty metal tackle box to contain the strange iridescent source. He quickly exited the shed and brought it out to an open field beyond the cottage gardens, grabbing a shovel on his way. Even through the metal box confinement, it emitted a strange muted glow that pulsated with harmonic vibrations. Not fully understanding the implications of his science project, Josiah immediately did as Sarah asked. He was consumed with guilt for any possible harm he may have caused her or their unborn child.

Although Josiah was not adversely affected by the energy, he experienced onset symptoms that momentarily enhanced his level of perception, while causing a vague sense of dizziness from his prolonged contact. He didn’t feel as if he was going to pass out; it was more like lucid daydreaming.

The atmosphere was brightened by a full moon as Josiah dug a very deep hole. Adrenalin fueled his movements as he dug a pit deeper than his own height. He then placed the metal box seven feet deep and covered it with soil. With each scoop of dirt shoveled over the glowing metal box, pinholes of light won their battle against total obscurity, caused by small rhythmic pulses that shook the loose soil with tiny tremors. Before long, the ground began to shake beneath Josiah, causing him to fill the hole even faster, as if believing he could smother the object of his despair with regular dirt would make it so. Persistence won the battle and finally Josiah created a small hill atop the deeply earthed object. As he finally breathed a sigh of relief, he noticed the newly-manifested six foot tall by eight foot diameter mound still had a slight vibration about its base. Although the light was finally muted by live burial, Josiah knew it would always be there.

Making his way back to the cottage, he couldn’t help but notice that all of his body hair was standing straight up. In fact, every pore in his skin tingled. Josiah decided to wash his face and hands at the cottage well before going to Sarah, fearful he might contaminate her with exposure to the unknown substance. He was relieved to hear nothing but crickets when he made his way through the garden.

Checking the garden shed, Josiah was encouraged to see that Sarah was no longer there, since he had been gone for most of the night. He made his way to the bedroom and found her resting quietly on the bed. He gently approached to see her peacefully asleep on her side, while cradling her womb between her arms. Josiah instantly gave in to exhaustion and lay down beside her.