The Children of Time (The Children of Time Trilogy Book 1) Read online

  Soon she would have to take a leave from college because of pregnancy. The doctor’s belly was slowly growing but her pregnancy was healthy. Nicolas noticed that she was eating well when they went out for dinner or for a snack, but he tried to make her feel comfortable.

  ***

  Merko and Lorena went out a lot and everything was quite new to him, because the habits of fun and the rides were quite different from what he was accustomed to do on the planet Vida.

  When he saw police cars passing by and heard telepathically the communications about crimes, he felt an almost irresistible urge to chase criminals. Then, he calmed himself down and thought he shouldn’t get involved in the problems. He turned to the woman he loved and they had fun, as a happy couple.

  ***

  On the planet Vida, everything seemed to be normal after the arrest of the villain Mirov. However, even arrested he stayed walking from one side to the other in his cell, thinking of a way to escape. His servant, Radof, was nervous in the next cell and, one day, he asked:

  “Master, why are you so anxious?”

  “Shut up, Radof. I need to think of a way to get out of here. Where is Captain Fizard? He cowardly hid himself; when, in fact, he’s our only chance to escape.”

  “I don’t understand what you’re saying, master. You can’t escape.”

  “Be quiet. Let me think.”

  Mirov continued his eternal walk in the space where he was imprisoned, articulating a Machiavellian plan to escape from there and, with it, be able get revenge from his enemies.

  ***

  Meanwhile, on Earth, Nicolas and Zara were already thinking about the possibility of living together, because it would be the natural consequence of their relationship, especially now, with the arrival of the girl who would change their lives.

  – XXI. The Wedding –

  Earth – Year 2017

  After so many adventures, Nicolas and Zara only wanted to live a normal life, enjoy their romance and the daughter who would soon be born. They were living in a house on the outskirts of Los Angeles, not far from Lorena, because they wanted to keep living near her. Nicolas went back to study Physics was a bright student, very interested in cosmology and the curvature of space-time, which would allow time travel in the future. Zara continued to study medicine until her due date.

  Lorena insisted that the two lovers should marry in a church, but her son didn’t care for it and neither did Zara. Marriage on her old planet was very simple.

  Merko didn’t want to interfere because he didn’t even know what was like a weeding in a church. But since Nicolas’ mother kept asking them both for a traditional ceremony and they were already living together they decided to do it.

  ***

  The boy went to a jewelry store and bought a pair of gold wedding rings. Since he would marry Zara in a few weeks, according to his mother’s desire, he would like to give his fiancée a perfect gem.

  For the occasion more than special he invited his beloved for a dinner with candles at a restaurant on Melrose Avenue. The place was specialized for couple’s celebrations, especially at night, because there was a dim light over the tables, which provided a romantic atmosphere. A large chandelier of crystals was positioned in the middle of the hall and a vase with red flowers was neatly placed on each table. Two violinists played soft songs.

  Nicolas wore black pants, white shirt and a dark brown blazer. His shoes were black and polished. Zara wore an indigo blue dress reaching her knees with a white shoe.

  “Zara, do you want to marry a simple Earthman?” Nicolas asked after kneeling in front of her with a small velvet box in his hands.

  “Of course I do.” She was visibly touched. “I want to marry the most handsome man on this planet.”

  He put a beautiful engagement ring on her finger and she did the same. Nicolas touched her face and pulled her down for a tender kiss.

  Tears began to fall down her face. Tears of joy, representing her happiness to live and experience the great love she felt for Nicolas.

  ***

  They choose a temple in Salt Lake for the wedding ceremony. The place was one of the most beautiful chapels in the city with several coconut trees adorning the side road to the church. This one had been recently renovated and was painted yellow outside contrasting with the columns painted in white. The inner walls had light beige coating, alternating with other colors in a slightly darker beige color. Statues of saints over pedestals were standing behind the pulpits. White flowers behind the altar provided an air of peace with the help of the angels.

  Lorena was in charge of the preparations and went to the best shops in Los Angeles to choose the dress with Zara. They spent hours on the search. Finally, the doctor decided for a white dress with pearls around her collar and crystals that were shining softly on the light.

  Lorena and Sophia didn’t seem able to talk about other thing and Zara was also so happy, surrounded by the atmosphere. The women prepared the clothes, the party and enjoyed the good fortune that a wedding brings.

  The long-awaited day finally arrived. The guests were anxious to enter the church and everyone wanted to see the arrival of the bride. Sanchez was among the guests, along with college students, teachers and all of the family’s friends. Almost all the men were dressed in suits and the women wore long dresses, each one more beautiful than the other. White and yellow flowers were placed around the main hall, and Nicolas could see that some of flowers were jasmine.

  Seven young people were behind the altar of the church with their violins, cellos and piano. The godparents positioned themselves side by side in the first three rows of the church where they were standing awaiting the arrival of the bride. The maestro sang the song “Ave Maria” by Johann Sebastian Bach and Charles Gounod, which was wonderful in the ears of all people that attended the ceremony. The groom felt the scent of jasmine and waited for his lover beside his mother. The bridesmaid and groomsmen started to walk and everyone was just paying attention to them.

  The music stopped for a few seconds and an absolute silence filled the room. It was the anticipation of the arrival of the bride. Nicolas was anxious and stared at the doorway of the church waiting for Zara. Lorena was at his side with a light pink dress with a strap on the left shoulder and white shoes. Seeing that tears were flowing from her eyes, Nicolas took a handkerchief from his jacket pocket and gave her.

  Sophia entered when the music began to play, sung by a chorus of voices of the singers who were standing on a mezzanine. She wore a white dress and a small wreath, and threw petals of red flowers on the way through which the bride would pass.

  The musicians started to play the wedding march by Mendelssohn. Merko entered the temple arm in arm with Zara, who wore her beautiful white dress with veil and bouquet of flowers on her hand. She smiled happily at Nicolas.

  Merko wore a black suit with a light blue shirt and gray tie with black stripes. He would prefer to use military clothing, but the suit made him feel important in the middle of all these people.

  Zara looked and smiled to everyone on the left and the right side of the hall and realized that at that time she was the center of attention. She was grinning happily and showing them her joy and fulfillment.

  As she walked, she thanked everyone’s presence with a nod, beaming and saying:

  “Thank you.” Her eyes showed all the emotion she was feeling when walking towards the altar.

  Nicolas was holding Lorena arm on the left side of the altar. Lorena’s smile was incessant and she let her son go when Zara arrived. He hugged Merko, that after kissing the bride on her cheek he went to stand by Lorena on the right side of the altar. The groom finally and tenderly kissed Zara’s forehead.

  Lorena was thrilled, almost crying with the whole scene. Merko was nervous not knowing what to do and was just staying close to Lorena. He gave her his arm and she leaned on him, proud to be with her husband at that moment.

  Sophia was standing in the front row and felt that from that moment on s
he had gained a sister, whom she considered beautiful and she knew she was going to be a good friend and a counselor. The girl was very happy to be part of the first wedding in the family, which looked just like a fairy tale.

  Bride and groom were positioned on the altar and stared at each other lovingly, like there was no one around them. The priest asked everyone to join him in a prayer and bless the couple when they were confessing their love for each other.

  The altar boy held the Bible while the priest proceeded with ceremony. He told Nicolas to repeat after him and he was so nervous and anxious that he had problems to follow the simple instructions.

  Zara also repeated the words of love and loyalty that brought hope and joy to her heart.

  The ceremony was very beautiful and everyone was so happy for the young couple. Everywhere in the church you could see someone wiping some tears. Unmarried women waited anxious for the moment when the bride would throw the bouquet, which, according to tradition, would give luck to the one who got it.

  It was the time for the rings, and another bridesmaid entered the hall carrying it on a small white satin pillow embroidered with lace. Step by step, everyone watched the little girl who was now the center of attention. Upon reaching the altar, she gently handed to the couple the symbol of their union. After hearing the words of the priest, the couple exchanged the rings and shared a passionate kiss.

  Now they were married according to the laws of men from the planet Earth. When they left the church, Zara turned her back, and the women anxiously waited for the bouquet. She counted until to three and threw it. A college friend from the university got the flowers and smiled with the luck that the tradition promised her.

  A limousine was waiting for the couple while the guests threw rice grains on the bride and groom, which represent abundance. Everything had been planned by Lorena to provide an air of beauty and perfect joy.

  ***

  After the wedding, there was a party at a club in the region. It was a wonderful place with a lake surrounded by green grass, full of white swans. A white bridge passed over the lake and made the place even more magical. At night the light of the garden were accentuated by the beauty of the arrangements placed throughout the ballroom.

  Plenty of food and drinks were served to the while everyone was dancing to the music that was being played electronically. Then, the stage was opened and a band playing live songs surprised the guests. Everyone was shocked with the good news.

  The young couple had the privilege to dance the first song on the dance floor and soon many joined them dancing and celebrating their union.

  Sanchez walked toward Nicolas and Zara to greet them:

  “Congratulations, Nicolas, for this time of happiness. I could never imagine you would date a beautiful student who arrived at our college. Congratulations for you too, Zara. I wish a lot of happiness to the couple! And I ask you to take good care of my friend. He’s a special guy!”

  “Thanks, Sanchez. I’ll wait for your visit and I’d like you to come to my new home. One of these days, I’ll be at your wedding...” Nicolas replied smiling.

  “Thank you, Sanchez. Friends of my husband are my friends too.”

  Lorena asked the music to stop for a moment and got the microphone from the stage saying:

  “Let’s make a toast for the bride and the groom and their happiness!”

  Everyone raised their glasses of champagne and shouted aloud:

  “Congratulations to the new family!”

  Zara and Nicolas stared at each other, happy, and kissed for a few seconds in the middle of the hall. Then the audience clapped and everyone smiled happily.

  The party was wonderful, and everything worked according to Lorena’s plan. Now she was very happy because her son was married to a good girl. But she was wondering: Why the bride’s family did not attend the ceremony, not even one person?

  Merko read her mind and approaching said: “Honey, you look worried. What happened? The party is beautiful, your son is happy, there is no reason to be concerned today.”

  “Oh, my love, I can’t stop thinking about the reasons that prevented the girl’s family to attend the wedding.”

  “Lorena, we’ve already talked about this. She only has her parents. They came to America when they were both very young and lost contact with the rest of the family. They are very old and couldn’t make it to the wedding. One day we’ll go visit them and you will understand what I mean.” Merko said, hugging and kissing her.

  Thought if she knew Zara’s parents, she would faint with the surprise. He thought smiled.

  “Why are you laughing, Merko?”

  “It’s nothing, my love. I’m just happy for this moment and was thinking about your silly concern.” He replied, kissing her tenderly on the lips. Grabbing her by the arms, he led her to the dance floor, adding: “Come on, let’s celebrate this special day!”

  Merko and Lorena were on the dance floor when he affectionately touched her face with his, and whispered in her ear:

  “I want to enjoy this wonderful moment and ask you to marry me. Will you agree to be my wife?” He said looking directly into her eyes.

  “Of course I agree my love. I want to live with you forever!”

  Merko and Lorena decided to get married in a simple ceremony at the registry office of the city, and that he now moved to her house.

  – XXII. Helen’s birth –

  After a few months passed Zara belly began to grow, and she was now eight months pregnant. The preparations for the birth of the child were being made, and everyone was anxious for Helen’s arrival.

  During one beautiful night Nicolas spoke with Zara on the balcony about the arrival of their baby.

  “Zara, do you think our daughter will be born in the human form or will she have the evolved appearance like the people from your planet?”

  “I have done prenatal work at our ship, while you and Merko just talked about the stars and the cosmos. I see that you always get lost on the subjects when you two are talking, and even more when he is teaching you how to fly. That’s why I have kept the details out and just said that everything is okay with our daughter. And it is true, you don’t need to worry, Helen is fine. But it’s important that we discuss the future of our daughter. Z8 showed me that the gene predominant is in his earthly form. I prefer to be in our laboratory inside the ship because I think it’s safer to her and to avoid any problem. The doctor’s in Earth would never understand if they saw a baby with alien features. I had some doubts about the genetic dominance of our races. She is hybrid like you are and she’ll also be born in the same way you did, she will be the daughter of a hybrid human and an evolved human from the future. This will facilitate her life here on earth, because she won’t have to wear transmutation glasses. She’ll need them only if she decides to become an evolved human, or maybe, someday, if we travel to planet Vida. After knowing that our daughter will have human features like everybody else here in earth, I can find a doctor to do the last prenatal tests, and help me with the final weeks of pregnancy.”

  “Let us choose an obstetrician as soon as possible here in Los Angeles. Your teachers should know a good medical professional to indicate us. I’m glad you made the preliminary tests in the ship.”

  “I’ll take a license from college stop my classes for a few months. Despite being a doctor on my planet, I need to study medicine according to the rules of this country in order to work here and get a degree in Genetics one day.”

  “I’m sure we will be very happy!” Nicolas said, rubbing her huge belly and kissing her on the lips.”

  “It looks like someone heard what you said.” Zara commented feeling Helen kicking. “This name I chose means torch or light and is derived from Greek mythology. Helen was the daughter of Zeus and Leda – a demigod. I think it is a name with a beautiful pronunciation and its history is even more beautiful!”

  “Have you been studying ancient history?”

  “I always wanted to choose the name of our da
ughter, so I looked for one that could express the light this girl will bring into our lives.”

  “I like this name and everything else that comes from you.”

  Nicolas kissed her belly to show his affection for his daughter. He smiled with happiness. He felt he was living moments of glory by winning a beautiful wife and a daughter, a gift that would be born from their love.

  ***

  The date of the birth approached, and Zara already felt that at any moment her bag would burst. She began to feel the pressure increasing day by day and in the last prenatal exam she was told by her doctor to take antihypertensive drugs to prevent the risk of eclampsia. The increased blood pressure could reduce the amniotic fluid, called oligohydramnios, and it also could cause fetal distress putting the baby’s life in danger. Zara knew all of this, and she and Nicolas decided that due to the proximity of the birth it would be better to be in the hospital until the time the baby was born.

  Lorena was in the hospital with Zara while she was preparing herself for Helen’s arrival. Nicolas also took a leave from college to be able to follow the delivery. Several 3D ultrasounds were performed to verify the position of the fetus and the girl’s heart rate was monitored to see if she responded well to medication.

  After a few days at the hospital it was finally time for the delivery. The future father was nervous because it was his first time. Zara was also anxious, and the personal experience of being a mother was something new and challenging for her, despite being a doctor and having seen and tracked multiple births on her planet.