Free From – Chapter 12 – July 12th

I hope you will join me this month as we JOURNEY each day through our short story. It is about finding FREEDOM in the midst of all the captivating pieces in life that steal our peace which we need FREE FROM!

FREE FROM
July 12, 2021

Psalm 139:15-16, ‘You even formed every bone in my body when You created me in the secret place; carefully, skillfully, You shaped me from nothing to something. You saw who You created me to be before I became me! Before I’d even seen the light of day, the number of days You planned for me were already recorded in Your book.’ (TPT)

Chapter 12

Breize was born on a winter morning so cold the car wouldn’t start nor were the door locks thawed. Had they still lived in their first home, the bachelor pad Annie had re-birthed which rested at the other end of the block from the hospital, Legend would have snatched Annie up with the first intense contraction. He would have carried her the distance to the ER just as he had a handful of months previously. But the kids, being grown up now, and expecting, and becoming a family, had finally convinced each other they needed something more than a flat to call home.
Legend had frozen just like the car and its locks when Annie nudged him awake, and said, “It’s time.” Sleep was strung like cobwebs across his mind as he tried to recall what it was time for. Then he felt a warm wet liquid pool around his thighs. Yup. Time. They dressed in a frenzy, fear and faith having a sword fight; fear was winning He watched Annie’s lips move as she waddled around their little home, checking the bassinet to make sure it really did exist and fingering the tiny little diapers and t-shirts. He realized she was praying; he should pray too, he told himself, but couldn’t form a plea in his head that made sense. Then the door wouldn’t open without a fight, and a pan of boiling water barely freed the lock so he could climb inside the car, only to find it wouldn’t start. He panicked. Better pray, as he moved his lips, rushing back inside to dial up his boss.
Tendrils of exhaust trailed them all the way to the hospital while Annie chewed on her lip and gripped Legend’s hand with such force, he wondered if she was angry with him. He hadn’t had another choice but to call his boss, who had also become his closest friend. It’s not like they had a plethora of family members knocking down their door to spur them on to the finish line. Annie looked like she might break as she unfolded herself from the truck seat, another contraction stealing her breath like a thief. She panted through it, and only then did Legend recognize the sheen of embarrassment coloring her cheeks. Ah, she hadn’t wanted to be found in this condition by another man; he got it, as he and his boss high-fived before she wobbled toward the hospital entrance.
Legend watched her with such awe. Annie was the most beautiful and strong pregnant woman he had ever seen. Uh, wait, he had never even known another pregnant woman, but still she made him so proud as he watched her waddle with grace. He couldn’t breathe as the memories of what his life before Annie had been like consumed him.
Time hung suspended and the air was coated with expectancy. Legend had always wondered why one referred to it as ‘expecting a baby’, but now he knew. Every moment was buoyant and anticipatory, throbbing with life, and he finally knew what they had been waiting for. The contractions were hard and fast and close together, and only then, did they look one another in the eyes with an unspoken concern, ‘Can we do this? Will we have better luck? Did we make a mistake?’ Suddenly, Annie shrugged, and Legend immediately knew they’d do just fine. “It’s time to push,” Angel clapped her hands. “It’s time to meet your baby!”
Breize broke into their lives like a boulder shattering a window, her arrival loud and sure. She began yelling at her parents with gusty lungs almost before she was fully born, and she never stopped. She was angry and annoyed, interrupted and distressed by the chill. But no matter, her parents were in awe of their baby, so completely in love with this tiny hostile being their love for one another had grown. Legend couldn’t tear his eyes away from her, didn’t want an inch of space between he and Annie. He was so terrified his little family was just an apparition that would disappear if he blinked. A steady stream of tears ran like a river from Annie’s eyes as she shushed and kissed every bare centimeter of skin on her daughter’s body, the baby screaming at high decibels and flailing enraged fists back at her doting parents.
Annie shrugged, a grin beginning to eat her face. “It’s a good life,” she whispered between the gusts of fury. “It’s gonna be a good life,” she prophesied.

To Be Continued…