The Baby Chronicles

by Beatrice Bruno

  The baby was the prettiest little thing they had ever seen with the creamiest white skin one could imagine. The thick covering of slick black hair on her delicate scalp stood out in sharp contrast to her lily-white skin. In all their years working together in labor and delivery, neither Nurse Cummins nor Dr. Strong had ever witnessed such a thing.

  Dr. Strong continued gazing at the baby, trying to make sense of what he saw. And then …

  “Just a second, Edna. Look at the tips of her ears,” responded Dr. Strong, immediately at ease after this discovery. “No, this baby will be about the same complexion as her mother. This is only her first color. Thank God,” he breathed, exhaling a sigh of relief.

  As tenuous as times were right now in New York with racial riots and general unpleasantness between the poor and the more well-to-do, Dr. Strong was glad to find an explanation for the color of the baby’s skin. He would hate to have a press-fest going on in the hospital right now.

  Anna tuned out once she heard the gender of the baby. She had hoped and prayed hard for a boy child. Maybe God couldn’t hear her. She was extremely disappointed, with God and with her situation.

  After a few minutes, Nurse Cummins handed Anna the small, just-cleaned-up eight-pound bundle. “Anna, here’s your baby girl. She is gorgeous! But she gave us quite a scare. Look at how fair she is,” explained Nurse Cummins, laughter in her voice.

  Anna gasped in surprise and awe. Her daughter appeared to be just like the little china dolls her employer’s daughters played with. This little girl, her little girl, was the prettiest little porcelain doll she had ever seen. And she was her daughter?

  Anna pondered the color of the child’s skin. Leon’s mother, Mother Scott, though married to a darker-skinned man, preferred her children marry lighter-skinned people. She wanted her grandchildren to have a better chance in the world.

  Not considering the baby’s ears, Anna was ecstatic. This might be better than the baby being a boy! This little girl would give her exactly what she wanted, Anna thought, tears of happiness rolling down her face. Dreams really could come true!

  In the Unseen …

  “Ah, yes,” said Angel Karno. “You are a beautiful one, Beverley,” he said to the child he would oversee during her sojourn on the Earth. “No worries, little one. God is with you and so am I,” he cooed as he stroked her brow, causing her first infant smile. He laughed to himself as he thought back to her battle to stay in Heaven. This was going to be an interesting assignment.

  Joyce

  TEN

  In the Unseen …

  Angel Almara, what is this place?” Joyce asked in her most inquisitive thought-voice.

  “You are in the womb of your Earth-mother, Joyce,” Angel Almara gently explained to the pre-born. “This is the place where your Earth-body will grow into being an infant.”

  “Hey, what happened to the rest of my identity?” she asked, wondering what was going on with herself. She felt different, a strange but good different she couldn’t explain.

  “Oh, so you noticed did you, little one?” asked Almara, smiling at the precociousness of the pre-born. “Once you leave the Heavenly-realm and enter the in-between place, the womb, you have a new identity. Your spirit, the very essence of who you are, enters into the seed of your Earth-mother and Earth-father. In the womb, you begin to acquire your Earth-identity,” explained the angel.

  “Oh,” Joyce said tentatively. “Am I wearing clothes yet?” she asked, remembering this word from when she observed her (what were the words again?) birth family.

  They had those skin-coverings over their spirits just as Adam and Eve had when they were first created on the Earth. These coverings were their protection from the elements of the Earth—heat, cold, and other things they would encounter as humans. They also wore clothes over their skin so they wouldn’t be naked in front of each other. Joyce already had an eye for nice clothing and couldn’t wait until it was her turn to wear these things!

  As pre-born spirits, Joyce and the others discovered during their training classes on Earth that they could see straight through a person’s exterior to their interior. Many times, what they saw frightened them. They could see either the dark or the light side of a person’s spirit. Even while in Heaven awaiting their assignments, they often saw darkness in the spirits of other pre-borns, which was very frightening. Almighty God tended to separate dark spirits from light spirits quickly so no tainting would occur before their Earth assignments.

  Because the pre-born spirits were able to see those who had gone on before them, they knew that many of the same ones they played with in Heaven would become their parents, grandparents, and other important people in their lives on the Earth. Many of the same ones they had cavorted with had already returned after their season on the Earth. Oh what great stories the returnees had to tell when they came back to Heaven! They had amazing adventures! That’s what Joyce was looking forward to—her own amazing adventures!

  Joyce remembered seeing her Earth-mother’s spirit. At the time, she thought the woman had a wonderful spirit. She also saw the covering over her spirit, her skin. It was warm, brown, smooth, and very rich-looking. She noticed she also had pretty hair covering the top of her head. Joyce knew she would eventually have the same skin, hair, and coloring. She mostly remembered the beautiful clothing the woman wore. She was a very nice-looking Earth-mother. Joyce knew they would have fun together.

  When Joyce observed her Earth-father’s spirit by contrast, it was the exact opposite. His spirit was dark, dead-looking. She didn’t like what she saw when she looked into his spirit. Although he had a very handsome face, he was not very nice at all inside. Joyce shuddered, hoping she would not have to spend much time with that one.

  “No, Joyce, you are not wearing clothes yet,” Almara explained. “But skin now covers your essence.”

  Before the angel could explain any further, Joyce exclaimed, “Angel Almara, what’s happening? I feel … hey, I can feel things—funny. Yes, that’s it. I feel strange, weird, funny.”

  Pre-born Joyce’s essence took on more of a definite shape as her body transformed within the womb.

  “You’ve just experienced your first growth spurt, Joyce,” Angel Almara explained. Watching in amazement, the angel considered the work of the Creator in this pre-born infant he was in charge of.

  Joyce floated in awe in this new place. Since she had never been enclosed in anything as a spirit, she found this feeling of closeness … well, kind of comforting. And she liked it. As her body grew and changed, she felt more than she had ever experienced before. As she experienced these new feelings and changes, she became more excited, knowing she would start her adventures soon. Then she noticed she had company.

  “Angel Almara,” Pre-born Joyce mind-whispered. “What’s that? What’s in here with me?” she questioned. She was aware that she was not alone in this place, this womb. She felt the presence of another like her.

  “It’s not a what but a who, Joyce. Meet Jeffrey, your twin brother,” Almara explained.

  “Twin? What’s a ‘twin?’” she asked, words tripping from her mind faster than the angel could answer. “A twin brother? Am I going to be his brother, too?”

  “No,” laughed Almara. “You are his sister. You are a girl and Jeffrey is a boy. A twin is someone who shares the same womb with you until your birth on Earth. You will have the same birth date and share similar looks, qualities, and characteristics. Joyce, say hello to your brother, Jeffrey,” Angel Almara instructed.

  “Hi, Jeffrey,” Joyce greeted joyfully, wondering who this spirit was going to be. But it didn’t matter because … she had a twin!

  “Hi, Joyce. I’ve heard a lot about you. My angel Kalem has told me all about your adventures. I look forward to growing with you,” Jeffrey piped in.

  As Jeffrey ended his greeting, something shifted in the womb. Each of the pre-borns felt a change, a transformation happen inside of and around them. Neither knew what it was.

  “Ano
ther growth spurt,” consulted the angels as they observed the shape changes of their two charges. The angels watched in awe as the pre-borns’ heads became more head-like and limbs extended from their bodies.

  “Unnhh,” said Joyce. “What’s going on? Am I stretching?” she wondered. The changes weren’t scary but sure were strange as both Joyce and Jeffrey floated on the wave of change in their enclosed chamber.

  “Wow. What’s happening to me?” wondered Jeffrey in his mind. “I feel heavier.”

  Almara caught the thoughts from the twins. “Yes, Joyce, you are stretching and growing. You are becoming more of an infant in your mother’s womb. And yes, Jeffrey, you both are heavier because you now have bodies. Your bodies are gaining weight for entry into the Earth,” the angel explained.

  Having been weightless their entire existence, being heavy was not something either of the twins had given much thought to. But here they were, heavy in comparison to their former states. They were starting to become … babies! What an adventure!

  Although they couldn’t see each other yet, the twins could feel each other. Apprehensive and very excited, they touched the other’s body in comfort, knowing they were in this Earthbound thing together.

  “Jeffrey, what do you think our parents will be like?” Joyce asked in a mind-voice that was changing from rich in timber and confidence to little-girlish and slightly frightened. “I remember seeing this woman, our mother. She was very pretty. She seemed nice and kind. Did you see her?”

  “Yes, I did,” said Jeffrey, voice also changing. His mind-voice was changing from the deepness it had carried since creation to a high-pitched, little boy voice. “And I saw the man, our father as well. I didn’t like him as much as I liked our mother. His spirit was dark, not light like hers and ours. He scared me,” Jeffrey confided to his sister with a shudder.

  “Yes, I remember him, too,” returned Joyce. “He was nice-looking enough, but he seemed, I don’t know, cruel.”

  “Joyce, Jeffrey,” interjected Kalem, “prepare for another growth spurt right about … NOW!”

  At that moment, both twins felt something strange happening to their new bodies. Those things that would be their hands and feet had something interesting growing out of them—fingers and toes. These new appendages automatically wiggled as though they had minds of their own. Now the twins could touch (instead of head-butt) each other with something other than the stumps that had first grown out of their bodies. They didn’t understand everything they experienced but knew they were becoming larger in their mother’s womb.

  “It’s getting crowded in here,” they both thought at the same time. As they realized what had just occurred, they giggled as only children can. Already speaking and feeling the same things, the twins were very excited about being together.

  “Children,” said Almara, “there are a few more things we have to go over before you are ready to leave the Womb-realm and enter the Earth-realm.”

  Giggling and excited, Jeffrey and Joyce tried their best to focus their attention on what the angels were saying. Although they were not having very good success with focusing, they were having fun!

  ELEVEN

  Once you leave the womb,” began Kalem, “you will have to learn everything from birth and all throughout your life on the Earth, even as you grow older. You will find in your seasons on the Earth,” he instructed the soon-to-be-born twins, “that there will always be something new to learn and experience. Although you will not be able to speak intelligible sentences until you are about twelve months old, you will soon discover that you can make sounds as infants. You will quickly learn which sounds will cause your Earth-parents and others to respond to you and your needs. Nor will you be able to see as everyone else does until you are about four months old. You will have something like a haze over your eyes. When the haze is gone, you will be able to focus on things around you,” the angel continued.

  “For the first six months of your life,” Almara interjected, “your only sustenance or food will consist of breast milk from your mother and soft foods that can be easily digested. You will not have teeth and will not be able to feed or do anything for yourself during this time,” the angel explained to the twins. “Also, by the age of six months, you will learn to sit up by yourself and maybe crawl …”

  The reality of what was being said hit Joyce like a spiritual sledgehammer!

  “No teeth! Can’t feed myself? Can’t walk or sit up by myself?” Joyce gasped. “What about my adventures? I won’t be able to do anything during this time? Except be a baby!” she realized with horror. “Adam and Eve didn’t go through this! So why should we? It’s not fair,” she mind-sputtered as her new heart sank from the disappointment of being a, a … baby.

  Angel Almara knew how much Joyce liked to talk and explore. He understood that this was a great setback for her.

  “Joyce, remember—you will be an infant. You will have to grow into everything and will have many adventures as you grow. Even though you will not be able to walk until you become a year old or so, you will have plenty of adventures all throughout your life,” the angel reassured her.

  “Then I don’t know if I will like this. Since we are growing so quickly in here, I thought …” Joyce trailed off as she thought of this new development.

  She had already observed the adventures of many of the people on the Earth. She’d caught glimpses of her friends Sally and Amelia in their seasons on the Earth. Joyce knew she would have as good, if not better adventures as they. They had all trained together after receiving their warrior gifts and talents. Joyce knew she was destined to have as many adventures as they’d had. She couldn’t have those adventures if she was forced to be a, a … a baby!

  Jeffrey lay back in his space in the womb and listened to the chatter between his twin and the angels. He secretly liked the thought of being born as a baby into the Earth. He had seen many of his friends, even the Son, go through the process of being born as babies into the Earth. He had received good reports from them when most of them returned to Heaven. He didn’t understand what his twin was fussing about. They would eventually get to the place she wanted to be. Jeffrey was prepared to sit back and enjoy the ride.

  But he knew Joyce would not be satisfied with their predicament now that she knew she would not have any immediate adventures. He had seen Joyce during many of their classes in Heaven. She was one of the most adventurous of all the pre-born spirits. He wondered why Almighty God had placed them together as twins. They were very different. She was adventurous—he was laid back. Jeffrey didn’t understand the choice but wasn’t worried about it either. He was excited because he had never guessed he would be part of a matched set on the Earth.

  “I know what you thought, child,” Angel Almara interjected gently, “but you will be on human-time when you are born. Things will slow down for you. And while we are on the subject of time, you will also age according to Earth-age as well.”

  “Earth-age?” said Jeffrey, snapping out of his reverie. “What’s that, angel?”

  Angel Kalem resumed instruction. “Remember this: a day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as a day to God. You have lived in eternity since the moment God created you. You have no concept of Earth-time. Even though you have been with God for a very long time according to Earth standards, it is but a moment to God and to you.”

  “Oh,” said Joyce, slightly understanding this concept of time. “So we will grow older how, angel?” she asked.

  “Your lives will age according to the times and seasons of the Earth when you are born. Time is broken down into segments called seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, and years. A second is the smallest unit of time you will have to deal with for age purposes,” explained angel Kalem. “A second passes by very quickly—like this …” He illustrated by snapping his angelic fingers. “Listen …”

  The babies hadn’t realized they now had something new attached to the sides of their heads … ears. They instinctively turned these
organs toward the new sound they hadn’t heard before.

  “What’s that?” asked Jeffrey as he listened. “Tick, tick, tick …”

  “That,” explained Angel Almara, “is the sound of time. Each tick you hear is one second. There are sixty seconds in one minute so a minute will go by more slowly than a second.”

  Understanding dawned on the twins at the same time. “Ah-ha. Got it!” they mind-shouted their understanding.

  “From the moment you are conceived in the Earth-realm, time starts for you. According to the way Almighty God has set things up for humans, you are in your mother’s womb for approximately nine months before being born into the Earth-realm. From the day you are born, your age is numbered by days. You will learn more about this later in your lives as you enter a place called school,” Almara continued.

  “For right now, though, understand that you are about to enter a realm … uh-oh, hold on. Another growth spurt approaches,” warned Kalem as the atmosphere became charged with activity.

  The angels realized they were coming to the end of the pre-born learning phase for the soon-to-be newborns. They spoke quickly.

  “You will not remember your pre-born existence. But know that Almighty God will be with you always,” the angels continued, taking turns in the explanation. “When you are born into the Earth, you will each have another set of angels different from us. You won’t know they are there but they will be with you for your protection. Blessings to you, Jeffrey and Joyce,” concluded Almara and Kalem as they whooshed back to the Earthbound clinic in eternity for their next assignments.

  Jeffrey and Joyce experienced another growth spurt, their last, as their Earth-mother Marie Jones began contractions. But now, they each had an additional concern as well.

  “What’s happening?” Joyce shouted, afraid, not knowing what to do. “I don’t want new angels! Come back, Almara! Come back … please,” she fretted. “Is there anyone here to help us?” she cried, trying to grab hold of the walls of the uterus. Her hands slid down the embryonic-fluid slicked walls. She felt herself turning around and attempted to stop the action. “Jeffrey, help me!”