"Birth" by Amanda Rosberg Olsson

Birth

The two were sitting in the tree on the hilltop. Celia was laying outstretched on a low branch. Her newly mended dress had already torn from the hem up and she could thus leisurely let her legs dangle on either side of the branch.

Her brother, commonly referred to by their last name, Carter, was coming further down again after visiting the top.

"What day is it today again?" He looked down and saw how the selling sun was playing over her face and long brown hair. She answered without opening her eyes. "A week of leave and you lose all track of time?" Sam Carter laughed and that provoked a smile from her as well and she opened one eye slightly.

"Well, you know me - time flies, and all that. I was wondering why there's people gathering in the yard." he pointed down towards the village. Celia's eyes flew fully open.

"Today's Tuesday." said she as she sat up and swung one leg over the branch. "Is there no end to idiocy of men?" she continued as she jumped down. Sam Carter was unsure whether it was for his benefit. Celia was running towards the village before he was out of the tree. He soon caught up with his sister and together they moved in between the houses. Celia was getting more worked up with every step. Sam didn't want to chance upsetting her more further, and kept quiet.

When she passed the outmost buildings she saw that it was how she had thought, feared; The village was gathering, one by one, to witness the latest urge of the one who led them. The sisters stood aside and foremost of them was Andiel. She was the one sporting a smile.

From John all kept a respectful distance. In one hand he cruelly held the arm of Vivian, his wife. He shook it to underline his words. Many considered whether it would come off.

Celia forcefully made her way through the crowd, acknowledging neither her friends nor those who thought her a meddling, spoiled brat. No, her only goal was to reach John, and put an end to his tirade about the unfaithfulness of his spouse. He did quiet down as he saw her but only for as long it took him to roll his eyes at her. Never had he been cursed with such troublesome women. The thought brought. his attention back to the task at hand. As Celia's baby blue eyes pierced his, he threw Vivian to the dirt ground. Finally able she gathered the bed sheet around her otherwise naked body. Her black hair cascaded down her back. Somehow she managed to keep her poise and ignore all those who stared at her.

"Be quiet, Celia."

"John, this madness has to stop, and.."

"Be.. Quiet! ''John repeated in his most powerful voice. It was enough to shake even Celia. Her eyes flicked to Vivian's, who looked away, perhaps in shame. No one spoke and the air itself seemed static. Sam Carter went up to stand beside his sister although he was unsure if she needed his support.

"I demand a vote." said Celia as the moment passed, or if it was she who made it pass. John straightened and whipped some saliva from his mouth with the back of his hand. "Then, by all rights, you shall have one." Celia was a sister too, but to hear John concede to that fact instilled grave fear in her. Sam Carter knew, better than most the unlikeliness of such an event, and still most present then knew that well.

"May the sisterhood cast vote on the due punishment of my wife, the lady Vivian. Who in protest against the penalty of death?" The goading tone of John's voice warned Celia that he had somehow dragged the rest of her sisters down into his abysmal insanity.

"I do" said Celia and hers was the only voice that rang out, however stern it was. John opened his mouth to ask who was in favour but was cut off by Celia, who was moving beyond agitation. "What's wrong with you?" she cried out as she stepped closer to the rest of the priestesses. All but Andiel took a step backwards. Andiel, in turn, smiled wider.

"Hush, little sister" said she, an and held out a reassuring hand. ''There is no more need for worry." her hand laid down over her abdomen, proudly. "I am with child." Whatever response she had expected from Celia, she was surprised. Her face darkened with disbelief, fury, when Celia laughed. But Celia, much her junior in age and womanly looks - and much her senior in astral connection, knew that this was no joke, This would doom them all.

"You will not birth the goddess. "Celia's voice was brimming with contempt. "Surely, you know that, older sister." By then Andiel had regained her composure.

"The rest of us have reached consensus.. I am the vessel."

"'I say you are not." Celia turned to the remaining 18 of her sisters "You all know that I know this best!"

None answered.

''You do not know better than all of us." Andiel stalked forward, many thought she would strike the one who was not her sister by blood, but her daughter, but she went past to stand next to John, the one she claimed was Celia's sire.

Celia glared at them both and Sam went up to her, knowing that she would need him. She could have kept on arguing, but she felt the tears gather inside her, and oh did she hate to cry. So she watched, her brother by her side as John signalled for his spear. To her honour. Vivian didn't beg for his mercy but completely ignored her death, that was approaching swiftly. John enjoyed one last wistful glance at her voluptuous curves before he thrust the lance through her chest, one pointed spike surely finding her heart. Vivian drew her last breath before he tore back the weapon and threw it aside.

Celia watched and waited terror stricken for what was to come. Soon Vivian's lifeless body lit up with an inner glow. The last rays of the sun drew back over the hilltop to the west. Vivian was the only source of light to be seen. Soon tiny specks of the glow left the body and came to hover in the air just above. All looked spellbound as this was something happening once, maybe twice, in a lifetime.

The specks gathered into a ball that seemed to vibrate, hum. As soon as all light had left Vivian, who looked all the more colourless by contrast, it began to move through the crowd. Occasionally it paused briefly by the stomach of a woman. Some realised that they must be with child.

Eventually, as all had expected the light hovered Around Andiel's abdomen. The crowd took a common breath and she drew back her head as the light entered her body between her fingers.

A wide and fundamental smile spread on her face. For the briefest of moments, Celia feared that she had been wrong, all though she would've never admitted as much. But the moment past and Andiel's smile was replaced by an expression of utter disbelief and fear and pain. The pain and frustration was expressed in her mind numbing scream as she collapsed on the ground, sitting with her legs sprawled. As the ball of light once again emerged from her, blood in unlikely quantity began to flow from her womb.

Both her sisters and her lover stepped back as the blackness crawled closer over the ground. Andiel's eyes travelled from her beloved - she did love him in her own way - to her firstborn daughter as she felt first the life of the daughter within her, and then her own life pour out of her in a steady stream.

While Sam looked away, Celia found that she could not, Her vision was locked with those eyes, blue as her own. She didn't even see as the ball of light begun to dart back and forth between the present women. The sisters understood that it was dying, would die, because there were no suitable vessel to hold it. Some of them cried out their anguish and fear of that unknown horror would befall them once they lost their beloved, their reason for living. Celia didn't understand, busy as she was to make sense of her mother's death taking place in front of her.

Finally, Sam turned her around and pulled her close to him, doing his best to keep her safe from harm. He felt her hug him back, her fingers pulling, grasping at his clothing. He closed his eyes, resting his cheek on her hair.

Neither saw the ball of light come back to Celia, wait and hesitate before plunging into her torso. Celia arched her back and threw back her head. Her eyes was wide open, staring into Sam's who desperately wanted to know what ailed her. Her eyes lit up with superhuman light, as she opened her mouth to speak the same light spilled from between her lips. It grew strong enough to blind Sam and thus he turned away, closed his eyes.

When he could again see, his sister hung limp in his arms. He couldn't understand, she was much too beautiful to join the other two, lying in the dirt.