Miri was the perfect silhouette of a triangle in the tub, water up to her hips, her chin resting on her knees, face hidden by her dark, brunette curls.

     She had woken at one in the morning, picked up a pair of scissors and some twine that had been on her bed stand for the past two weeks, walked calmly to the bathroom, placed the ball of twine and scissors beside the bathtub, and slowly begun to undress.

     She had filled the tub with near scalding water and lowered herself into it. The clock on the wall opposite had clicked past three, five, and was now just past seven.  Staring up at the clock, Miri had not moved in the last six hours except to clutch her legs tighter from time to time, and once to wipe a pained tear from her eye.  Her thoughts had wandered back and forth over the hours, from her graduation in the spring, to her best friend, and one-time lover, Daniel, to rehearsing the directions to the firehouse- her salvation and only hope for normalcy- over and over again in her mind.  It was winter break.  Her roommate had gone home for the month-long reprieve from classes, while Miri had stayed, telling her family she was taking an intersession course.

     She was sweating, though the water had long passed from warm to tepid, and moved on to chilly. Her legs had been numb for several hours.

     At seven-thirty, Miri stirred, looked about her, and noticed the tendrils of blood swirling in the water like so much unraveled lace.  With a shudder, she unwrapped her arms from around her legs and lay back against the wall, her breathing suddenly quick and shallow, and her eyes starting to lose focus.  With a grunt, she half sat up, bracing her arms against the sides of the tub.

     Feeling her body begin to bear down hard, Miri opened her eyes, not recalling having shut them.  Quaking, she looked down and saw what seemed to be a purple bruise emerging from between her legs into the now bright crimson water. Her eyes swam for a moment, and then snapped shut as another contraction wracked her body and forced it out.

     Still shaking, Miri drew the thing out of the water, wincing as it began to squall, the sound reverberating against the walls and tile.  She flapped her hand over the side of the tub, picked up the scissors and twine, set about tying off the cord and began to cut it, anxious to separate herself from the small, red creature now wailing in her lap.  She barely noticed the afterbirth as it slid out of her.

     Finally, finished and exhausted, Miri dropped the scissors over the edge of the tub, and permitted the tiny thing to lie on her chest, where it continued to fuss.  After a moment she felt a tug, and glanced down to see it latching onto her and start sucking greedily.  Wanting to shove it away, but too tired for even that single act, she simply let it continue, and turned her head away, feeling utterly detached.  She watched the clock, slipping in and out of consciousness.  After a few minutes, the thing at her breast made a noise.  She looked down and was startled to see two very green eyes attempting to focus on her face.

     Miri felt something raw and tender within her shift; it- she took a closer look- he- had her green eyes.  Her lips trembled, her body softened, and she realised she had begun to cradle the child that was still suckling, blinking up at her.

     A word began to work its way up from the bottom of her mind.  Son.  Her son.

     Miri stroked the top of the infant’s dark, damp hair- realising it was all curls, like her own- another thought slowly taking shape.

     “Moses,” she whispered, “yes… Moses…”