Article: 178581 of talk.bizarre
From: mattb@techpubs.ctron.com (Matt Brown)
Newsgroups: talk.bizarre
Subject: Women and Boys 2
Date: 1 Dec 1994 17:51:54 GMT
Organization: FTFTS, Inc.
Lines: 24
Message-ID: <3bl2fqINNrtb@dur-news.ctron.com>
Reply-To: mattb@techpubs.ctron.com (Matt Brown)
Originator: mattb@techpubs
Status: O

This was a hard one. There were two, and first one had been all wrong. Alvyea 
had tried to ease it through but it would not come. Something was in the way. 
The mother had long since given up working, and was simply trying to keep up 
her own shallow breathing, hanging on to her life with what blood she had left.
When the stuck one began to blue, Alvyea decided to cut.

It was a crude cut at best. She would worry about closing it later, if at all. 
Alvyea cut the underlayers quickly, carefully, and reached in to pull out the 
nearest, the second one. It was a boy. She cut the cord and wrapped him. This 
one could still be strong. She named him, and gave him to a waitingwoman to 
bathe and nurse. Then she went back for the other.

The second boy's cord had been wrapped around the chest of the first, holding 
him.  "What of thy brother, sayest the Lord."  Alvyea chanted softly.  His arm 
had twisted; his breathing was uneven. His color was worse. The mother's body 
yielded him slowly, ungently. Alvyea held him close for a minute, that 
closeness that everyone born deserved even just once in life. She gave 
him the traditional name. Then Alvyea stood, still holding him, and turned 
toward the wooden rainwater barrel.

--------------------------------------------
Matt 
you know the drill
Brown