The Children of Time (The Children of Time Trilogy Book 1) Page 16

  The obstetrician preferred to make a cesarean section due to the risks, and the couple readily agreed. The recovery would take a little longer because of the sutures, but the reduction of the risks would be worth it. Merko and Sophia were visiting them in the hospital, and Lorena remained next to the Zara.

  The doctor examined the pregnant woman along with the nursing staff and she was transferred to the operating room. Pre-anesthetic was done, and only after the anesthesia the father could enter the room to closely monitor the medical procedures. Nicolas put the clothes to enter the operating room and took his camera to film all the magical moments and all the details.

  The labor began, and Zara was half asleep under the effects of sedatives, when a cry of newborn echoed in the operating room. Helen was born. The father looked at his daughter, still bloody and bathed by the fluids from her mother’s womb, and smiled with joy. He couldn’t contain the feeling that took hold of his soul.

  My God, it’s not possible. Thank you for this moment. My daughter was born! Nicolas said in a prayer just in his mind.

  The pediatrician saw the child providing her the first care and then the nurse wrapped the baby; put her in the lap of the father who was awkwardly trying to find a best position to hold her. The mother remained in the obstetric center, waiting for the end of the C-section.

  Outside, the relatives were asking questions to the doctors every time someone came out of the surgery area, and they telling the good news:

  “A beautiful girl was born; the baby and her mother are well.”

  “I hope the father is well too because he was so nervous that he probably needed medical attention.” Merko said smiling.

  “Stop with it, honey. My son is fine and certainly is in heaven with the birth of his first daughter.”

  Helen received a pink bracelet, just like Zara, with the same identification code of the mother, and was taken to a recovery room and inside an incubator for 30 minutes to return to ideal body temperature. The curtain opened and the family was able to meet the baby.

  Soon after, the nursing staff took the first anthropometric measurements and gave the first vaccines to protect the child. Meanwhile, Zara was taken to a recovery room and remained there for an hour, after they took the baby to stay with her and start encouraging her to the first breastfeeding.

  The mother, seeing that her daughter had already taken her bath and smelled like a baby, was mesmerized by joy and could only smile. She was still half asleep because of the effect of the anesthesia. Then, they were taken to the room where they could receive visitors.

  Lorena had separate kits with clothes for the baby like diapers and socks. So, after each bath they just had to pick up and use a kit that was already prepared. She had chosen, together with Zara, girl clothes and each one was more beautiful than the other. They also had won many gifts from friends who visited them, and, mostly, they were baby clothes.

  “People really like to give child’s clothes as gifts. I love it!” Zara thought whenever she won them.

  Nicolas stayed all the time beside his wife, who was feeding the baby. He took her little one in his lap, feeling how good it was to be a father and promising to protect and care for his daughter.

  “What a beautiful baby!” Lorena said, seeing her granddaughter for the first time. “I brought a hot pink blanket for this adorable baby who was just born. Can I hold her a little bit?”

  “It is obvious that you can take her, my mother in law.”

  Lorena took the girl in her arms and smelled that delicious scent of baby.

  “What a delight to be able to hold a child in my arms again. Especially after knowing that is my granddaughter!”

  After some time with Helen in her arms, she asked Merko:

  “Honey, hold her for a moment too. Feel how good it is to have a baby in your arms.”

  Merko looked nervous at the child, and with shake hands got her. Lorena said:

  “Put her on the left arm and support her with you right hand underneath.”

  The girl was sleeping peacefully showing how comfortable she was on in his arms.

  “What a cute little thing!” Merko said.

  “Merko, you’re good with kids.” Nicolas said smiling.

  Merko smiled back enjoying that single moment which he may never have lived if he didn’t make the decision to travel back with Nicolas and Zara to the planet Earth.

  Then Sophia took her in her arms and was delighted since it was the first time she held up a baby. Zara looked at her with tenderness apparently she did could spend hours and hours just holding Helen.

  “Bath time.” Said the nurse upon entering the room. “I’ll take care of Helen and I want everyone to wait outside for a while, please.”

  Everyone left, while the nurse took care of the baby and put a bandage on her navel. Then she left Helen with Zara, who began to feed the baby with the precious colostrum that came with the first drops of her breast milk.

  After a few minutes, the family who had been having a snack in the cafeteria outside the hospital returned.

  “She has blue eyes like her mother.” Nicolas announced.

  Seeing his granddaughter, Merko understood he had made the right decision to return to planet Earth, and Zara was also happy with her love.

  – XXIII. The Family –

  Earth – Year 2028

  Nicolas’ family had increased since he met Zara and his father, Merko, who was transformed with his security company and now lived with Lorena and Sophia in Bel Air – in an upscale residential neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.

  Nicolas and Zara also moved to this neighborhood, to be closer to his family. The doctor had a degree and was working on a clinic in downtown Los Angeles. Nicolas began to work in the Physics Research Center in California, also in the same city.

  Helen was 10 years old and had light brown hair. She liked to wear her hair braided, and when she let it loose, it got very curly.

  Sophia, now 18, was preparing herself to attend the Environmental Engineering Course at college, and was determined to be a great engineer. Zara always guided her in her career, which was promising, and taught her the importance of preserving ecosystems for the future of humanity.

  Lorena and Merko lived happily, taking care of the little Helen, while Nicolas dedicated himself to his work. Over the time Merko started to work less in his security firm. He believed it was time to enjoy life besides the people he loved.

  Helen excelled in school, studying many subjects and learning them easily. Zara, besides working in her clinic, also began teaching Medical Genetics and working on research projects at the same university where Nicolas worked, however, what she really liked was the genetic research; but even if she was part of some project, she couldn’t advance with innovations beyond the time in which she now lived.

  Her knowledge exceeded the boundaries of her time, but she should not change the chronology of scientific discoveries. Therefore, she developed projects of researches compatible with the level of development of the time she was living. She couldn’t let all her knowledge erupt in the work, because it would create a time paradox of immeasurable proportions.

  “Nicolas sometimes I want to move a bit with the knowledge that is far behind in Biogenetic. We are in the XXI century, and I could just show humanity the cure for many diseases such as cancer and neurological degeneration. I see people looking for the cure of these illnesses, and I could help a little, maybe just showing them the correct direction. We could save thousands of lives.”

  “Zara, this would go against the ethics and the laws that control the temporal space travel. Life is already complicated because of the facts that we don’t anticipate, how more complicated it will become if we change the course of history?”

  “How many lives we could save accelerating scientific processes? But you’re right, dear Nick. We have no right to change history. It’s already enough the effort we make to change events with our own existence.”

  “The import
ant thing, Zara, is that we’re together. Our lives and our family are gifts from heaven. And we do what we like.”

  At this time, he touched the skin of her hand and pulled her to him, kissing her lips with everything. They remained kissing for a few minutes as if it were the first time. After hugging him Zara thought about her own family:

  “I miss my father and brother who are living in Vida. I’ll try to open a communication channel with them at night, to see if everything is okay.”

  “Don’t worry. We can go to the ship with Merko because he wants to check if everything is in order in the case of an emergency. So you can talk to your family using the ships communication’s tools.

  ***

  Some years had passed, since her arrival on planet Earth, and the longing began to tighten Zara’s heart, which kept remembering her relatives and friends from the other planet. She often spoke with the closest people she knew by the apparatus of Merko’s ship, which was still hidden. But after so many years, the conversation began to seem too distant and insufficient to placate the longing, which increased more and more.

  She watched the stars for hours at night and looked toward the Andromeda galaxy. During one night, someone approached her from behind and put both hands on her eyes:

  “Can you guess who it is?”

  “Of course, you fool. I could recognize these hands and this voice anywhere.” She said, putting her hands over his and smiled as she turned.

  “Were you watching your galaxy? The sky is very bright tonight.”

  “And the moon is full. I got lost in time and stay here for hours looking at the sky and missed all the life I left behind on my planet. I wonder if they are alright.”

  “I believe so. Merko will contact Drako and you can ask for permission to visit them in person. So we’ll know all the news.”

  “I like our life here on Earth. You and Helen complete me, but I would like to visit the ones I left in there.”

  “When Merko decided to go we’ll go with him. It will be better, because he’s an expert in interstellar navigation.”

  “I’ll wait anxiously for this opportunity. I hope it won’t too long, because I miss them so much.”

  “We could take Helen with us. She loves to talk about the stars and I’m sure it would be a huge surprise to her.” Nicolas suggested.

  “I don’t know. I think it’s too early for her to understand how we are different from other humans. One day we’ll have to reveal the truth, but there will be the right time and place. What about Lorena and Sophia? Do you think they should know about us?”

  “No...! Definitely not, they would freak out! Imagine when they see you and Merko in your real alien form? They may not accept this could destroy our family. And how will Merko explain the fact that he’s my father? It’s better to leave things as they are. If we are traveling, we can find an excuse and we can go back in time arriving here by the time we left.”

  “I agree with you, sweetheart. It would be wiser not to comment with Lorena and Sophia about our planet and keep our lives normal. As for Helen, one day we’ll tell her with more details and after preparing her.”

  “I trust you dear. Everything happens at the right time. For the good of us all.”

  Nicolas pulled her close to him and hugged her. Then held her hand and stood up. They went to Helen’s room and she was sleeping deep, and they went to their own room to rest and sleep.

  He knew he had to find a way to take her to visit her planet. He had promised some time ago that he would take her to see her beloved ones and felt she needed to see them. Zara had adapted very well to her new home. She enjoyed her work at the University and caring for her husband and daughter, Helen, but she still missed her home planet and those she had left behind.

  ***

  While Nicolas spoke with Zara at the University, Merko took Helen to school. In the back seat of the car, she asked:

  “Grandpa, why are you always looking at the sky at night, when you are on the balcony of your house?”

  “My little Helen, the most beautiful things of this world and what I love more after you and your grandmother of course are the stars!”

  “One of these days, will you take me to the planetarium? I’d like to know a little more of the galaxies beyond what I learn in school. I feel that something up there attracts me.”

  “Of course I can take you, dear.”

  On the following weekend, Merko fulfilled his promise and took her to the planetarium. It was a circular shaped building with a large ball at the top imitating a planet, which could be seen for almost the entire neighborhood. During the night, the building had many colored lights, projecting different shapes and bright designs including over the sphere.

  Tourists circulated through the ground floor, where panels showed the various exhibitions and lectures that took place there. Many schools were visiting in groups. Merko and Helen entered a video room where a teacher from the planetary gave a demonstration lesson about the origin of the universe. There were pictures on screens positioning in the four walls around them, planets and stars hanging from the ceiling above. He spoke and showed the planets and images projected on all sides. After seeing the galaxies, pictures of dinosaurs appeared, and Helen got a little scared.

  “Grandpa Merko, what horrible creatures! Did they really exist? How could humans live here, if these terrible animals dominated the planet?”

  “My granddaughter, humans appeared here thousands of years after these animals were destroyed.”

  “How did they disappear?”

  “It’s a long story. Maybe someday I’ll tell you. But today, we need to take our time to learn about the universe.” Merko replied, knowing there was a good story that would take hours to be told.

  “Okay. I won’t forget that you promised to tell me this story. I’m enjoying this place so much that I don’t even know where to look. The universe is wonderful!” Helen said with a look of admiration.

  Merko sat on a bench with her and the two of them were enjoying an ice cream when he began to tell a story about his adventures, when he needed to deflect a meteor from their planet, and Silion, his great friend, had saved him from certain death. He used the figure of a galaxies traveling hero for her to imagine how it happened. It wasn’t yet the right moment for the girl to know who her grandfather really was. So he used fictional characters.

  “Grandpa, your stories seem to have actually happened. I love to hear you talking about these adventures.”

  Suddenly she looked at the main gate and said:

  “Look, Grandpa, what a cool toy! Could you buy one of these toys that looked like our galaxy?”

  The toy consisted in eight planets, accompanied by a sun made of a material similar to acrylic, simulating our solar system. They had the colors, shapes and size characteristics of the stars and were very similar to the real ones.

  “We’ll buy one when we leave here.” Merko replied.

  They entered another room that was showing the pictures of how the planet was formed with its volcanoes. A melon was placed in a screen, split in half; its shell represented the earth’s crust, and its interior was the outer and inner garment; its center, the solid core surrounded by the outer liquid core. The speaker explained that the Earth’s core, full of metal, was responsible for the Earth’s magnetic field. Then he showed how comets can pass near the planet Earth and how they are bright and, sometimes, visible to the naked eye.

  The images and explanations left the girl’s eyes widened with so much attention, and her grandfather felt that sooner or later the evolved human condition would erupt in Helen and nothing would be able to prevent it.

  ***

  At night, Zara went to Helen’s room and the girl’s toys, which imitated the planets and the sun from our Orion arm, were spinning around the room, while the little one slept her deepest sleep. She seemed to smile as she slept. Zara ran down the stairs and called Nicolas and Merko to show them what had happened.

  “Nick, Merko! Come wit
h me to Helen’s room and see with your own eyes.”

  “It is simply magnificent! Helen is, in a way, using telekinetic powers without realizing it, while sleeping.” Said Merko impressed with what he saw.

  “Will she be able to develop this skill if she’s awake?” Commented Nicolas, who was also amazed.

  “We need to teach her how to control these powers. Imagine if she does something like this close to other kids at school?” Zara completed. “This could put her in a difficult position and put her in danger.”

  They were worried about the safety of the girl. Now there was one more reason for maintaining the secret identities of Nicolas’ extraterrestrial family members, who lived on planet Earth. The future held many dangers they would have to face, and the union would be the best way to survive what was about to come.

  – The End –