A Miracle Is Born

The day Frieda Louisa was born, there was a great catastrophe that wiped out her entire village.

   Her mother held her in her arms when she was still weak. As soon as she had laid eyes on her when she came out of her, the woman knew that she was the best thing that ever happened to her. She instantly thought of a name for her daughter—Frieda Louisa.

   “Oh, Frieda, Frieda!” she moaned softly, holding her daughter in her arms and caressing her lovingly. “I see a great future for you, my little plum!”

   The flap of the tent flew open and her husband entered, his face a picture of horror.

   “They’ve come early!” he cried. “They’re are here and they’re killing too many of our people! We need to hurry and take Louisa to safety, quick!”

   The mother was flabbergasted to hear the news. She held her baby close to her chest and stood up, painfully. Her husband hurried over to help her.

   “I’m not letting my Frieda Louisa be killed in this pointless battle!” she cried in determination. “Our Frieda Louisa will live on even after we die and rid the world of the scum that’s been heaped upon us!”

   “Yes, love. That’s why we need to hurry,” her husband whispered into her ear.

   The young couple ran out of the tent, but it was too late. Somebody had started a fire and it raged the entire forest. It was coming towards them and fast!

   “This way!” Her husband pointed in the opposite direction, but there, too, fire surrounded them.

   They had nowhere else to go.

   The fire moved swiftly, killing every existence in its path. The young father slid his hand to reach his wife’s hand and held it tightly.

   “This is it,” he declared. “We’ll all go down together.”

   She gulped but felt no fear all of a sudden. “Yes. I so wished my daughter could have a better life. And now, it seems that the day she is born is to be the same day she’s to die!”

   The man pulled her gently into his arms and the two slid down to squat on the ground. Their baby lay in between them, gurgling and giggling as she looked around her. While her parents were awaiting death, to her little innocent mind, it seemed that she was having the time of her life.

   The fire was soon upon them and the couple huddled closer around their young one…

   It was hours before the clouds brought upon themselves to wash the fire away. They rained down upon dead bodies of humans and animals of all sizes and ages.

   But, one life lived: that of little Frieda Louisa – still trapped underneath her parents’ bodies. She had dozed off for some time, but when she next opened her eyes, she could feel drops of cool, freshwater dropping down from her parents’ arms.

   As little as she was, she found herself lifting off her parents’ lap and slipping out of their dead grasp. She smiled at her freedom, but when she looked back at her area of captivity, she realised that she was now all alone in this new world she had been summoned to.

   For days, she lay like that, unable to do anything else. The skies were still crying and she lapped up some of the water to wet her mouth.

   Finally, when the last of the rains ended, a group of men and women approached the area. Frieda Louisa watched as a woman hovered over her and, upon finding her eyes shining and alive, exclaim in astonishment. Some of the others gathered around her to see what she was so excited about.

   “The baby! The baby!” was all she managed to cry.

   “Why she’s alive!” said one of the men, equally incredulous. “She should be sent to the hospital to be taken care of!”

   The woman, upon hearing this, instantly changed her demeanour. “No!” she said, a determined set to her mouth. “I’ll take her! I can tell she’s a special young girl! These must be her parents… Oh my! they’ve been burnt alive! Yes, I think I’ll take her in.”

   And that was how began the story of a girl that shouldn’t have lived.