birth

Here we are, sitting. All of us are here together, and we are all in this together, and so we wait. The duration of our time here is unknown, but we'll ride out the entire euphonic storm together. The seats are covered in a strange sort of plastic, and I sit by the window. I watch the cars go by and know that when I leave here, I'll feel a previously unknown joy deep within me. The crisp air cascades over our skin, and we breathe in deep the antiseptic air. Everything here is as unsullied as the one we anxiously await. I shiver, but it is no effect of temperature. It is anticipation. The walls here, I have noticed, are made up of an iridescent peach color which reminds me of the decades gone by that I never lived in. But this moment, it is now. Those walls have seen many repose anxiously (a wonderful oxymoron it is in moments like this) before us, and many will come after us, doing the same. And those walls, they'll still stand there in their formidable strength which is sublimely softened by their hue. We, some twelve in number, are distinguished from all others because this is our turn. We've waited for this day and it's here. The day became night and we stayed to see the sky fade into black. Night falls and I lift my head from the screen, which has sufficiently scalded my sense of sight into submission. My neck burns from bending over my books, too. My eyes superfluously scan the room, this holding area defined by those old timeless walls. I know all of you here, and most of you knew me even before my own birth. I knew you then, too. I knew your softly lilting voices. I felt the gentle touch of your hands even through my many layers of protected space, and you spoke to the unseen baby, your unborn relative. And now, I've had the chance to do the same. It has prepared me for the great joy ahead of us all, so close that we can hear it, feel it, see it. And then came the news, "He is born", and our family grew from twelve to thirteen literally overnight, as the clock struck twelve and he took his first, paramount breath.

euphonic (adjective): of harmonious or agreeable sound
cascade (verb): to move in a flowing manner
unsullied (adjective): spotlessly clean and fresh
iridescent (adjective): brilliant, lustrous, or colorful in effect or appearance
sublimely (adjective): utterly, completely
formidable (adjective): of great strength, force, or power
scald (verb): to burn or affect painfully
superfluously (adjective): unnecessarily or needlessly
lilting (adjective): of a cheerful or lively manner
paramount (adjective): chief in importance or impact