Chapter 40: The Miracle of Children

Life had become considerably slower for Magali.

There had been a time when an ordinary morning meant rehearsals, costume fittings, meetings with the Council, and hours spent beneath the lights of Dance Square. Now, in the final weeks of her pregnancy, simply getting out of bed had become an activity requiring patience and planning. Her stomach had grown large enough that she sometimes wondered how something so small could possibly occupy so much space.

Fortunately, she rarely had to manage alone.

Roberta remained true to the responsibility Scorpio had given her months ago. Every morning, she prepared breakfast, placed Magali's prenatal vitamins beside her plate, and made certain she actually took them instead of becoming distracted halfway through the meal. Doctor Arai continued to report that the baby was developing perfectly, but Roberta treated every positive report as evidence that her methods were working and therefore shouldn't be changed.

Magali had stopped arguing with her.

That morning, she sat at the kitchen table with one hand supporting her stomach while Roberta prepared something at the counter. The baby shifted inside her, producing a visible movement beneath her clothing.

Magali stared down.

"You could give me a warning before you do that."

Roberta glanced over her shoulder. "Kicking again?"

"Either kicking or practicing dance moves."

Roberta laughed. "With your family, I wouldn't rule out the second possibility."

Magali smiled and gently rubbed the spot.

Her retirement had given her something she hadn't experienced since arriving in Sweetdance City: time. There were no performances waiting for her. No rehearsals she needed to attend. No obligation to maintain an image for an audience. For the moment, her life consisted mostly of preparing for the child who would soon become the center of it.

The nursery was ready.

Tiny clothes filled drawers that had once been empty. Blankets had been washed and folded. Supplies occupied shelves throughout the room, many purchased by Roberta after informing Magali that she would need considerably more diapers than she seemed to think.

There were still moments when Magali entered the nursery and imagined Conrad standing beside her.

She wondered what crib he would have chosen. What ridiculous toys he would have bought. Whether he would have spent hours arguing over names only to invent increasingly absurd suggestions because making her laugh was more entertaining than actually reaching a decision.

Those thoughts still hurt. But they didn't destroy her anymore. Conrad had entrusted their child to her.

"I leave everything in your hands."

"I know you can do it."

Whenever fear returned, she remembered those words.

Several days passed much the same way. Magali read, watched old performances, took short walks when she felt energetic enough, and occasionally visited friends. Roberta continued quietly maintaining order around her, although she had become less overprotective now that Magali had regained much of her confidence.

By late afternoon one day, Magali was sitting comfortably in the living room sorting through another collection of baby clothes.

She held up a tiny shirt, "How can anybody be this small?"

Roberta looked over from across the room, "You'll find out soon."

Magali folded it carefully, "I still don't think I'm ready."

"No one is."

"You keep saying that."

"Because you keep forgetting."

Magali laughed as she reached for another piece of clothing from the basket. The sound surprised even her. Laughter had become rare enough that it almost felt foreign, a brief reminder of a version of herself that still existed somewhere beneath the grief.

Then she froze. A strange pressure tightened across her abdomen.

Her smile vanished. She stayed perfectly still, waiting.

For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then the sensation eased, leaving behind only uncertainty.

Across the room, Roberta noticed immediately, "Magali?"

"I'm fine."

Roberta looked at her. It was a simple look, but it carried enough skepticism to make Magali sigh.

"That answer doesn't work on anyone anymore, does it?"

"Not on me."

A faint smile tugged at the corner of Roberta's mouth, but her attention never left Magali.

Magali set the clothing aside, "I just felt something."

Roberta immediately rose from her chair, "What kind of something?"

"I don't know." Magali shifted slightly against the couch cushions. "It felt tight."

Roberta crossed the room and stopped beside her, remaining calm despite the concern settling into her eyes.

"You've had Braxton Hicks contractions before."

"I know."

Magali adjusted her position, trying to convince herself that was all it had been. But deep down, she already knew it wasn't.

"This felt different."

Roberta's expression sharpened, "How different?"

Before Magali could answer, another contraction arrived. This one hit harder. A sharp breath escaped her lips.

Her hand shot to the edge of the couch, fingers gripping the fabric as her entire abdomen tightened at once. The pressure rolled through her body, firm and undeniable, building steadily before finally beginning to ease. Neither woman spoke until it passed.

Roberta crouched beside voice remained steady, controlled, "Okay. How are you now?"

Magali looked at her, nervous now, "That wasn't like the others."

There was no hesitation in Roberta's reaction. She pulled out her phone and checked the time. The calmness in her movements somehow made the situation feel even more real.

"We'll start timing them."

Magali stared at her for a moment. Then, slowly, she nodded. And for the first time, a possibility neither of them had dared speak aloud settled quietly into the room. Maybe this wasn't another false alarm. Maybe their child was finally on the way.

She tried to relax, but suddenly every sensation in her body demanded attention. She adjusted herself on the couch, attempting to find a more comfortable position.

Then she froze. Warm fluid suddenly spread beneath her. Her sapphire-blue eyes widened.

"Roberta…"

Roberta looked down. Her expression changed instantly. Magali stared at her.

"Did I just—"

"Yes."

"My water broke?"

Roberta took one breath and immediately shifted from caretaker to experienced mother.

"Your water broke."

Magali stared down at her stomach. The baby moved. For months, childbirth had existed somewhere in the future. There had always been another week, another appointment, another day to prepare. Not anymore.

Magali's breathing quickened, "Does that mean—" Another contraction interrupted her.

She squeezed Roberta's hand. Roberta waited until it passed before looking directly into her eyes.

"It means we're going to the hospital."

Magali swallowed, "Now?"

Roberta couldn't help smiling, "Right now. It's time."

For a moment, Magali simply sat there, stunned by the enormity of that single phrase. Then her hand slowly settled over her stomach. Conrad's child was coming. And after months of grief, uncertainty, preparation, and waiting, Magali was finally about to become a mother.

The ride to the hospital felt much longer than it actually was. Magali sat in the passenger seat with the seat belt positioned comfortably around her, one hand gripping the door handle while the other rested protectively over her belly. Roberta drove with an unusual combination of urgency and discipline, moving quickly without turning the trip into a reckless race through Sweetdance City. Every few minutes, Magali felt another contraction building, beginning as pressure before tightening into something powerful enough to force her to stop speaking and concentrate entirely on getting through it.

"Another one?" Roberta asked.

Magali nodded, closing her eyes. "Yeah."

Roberta glanced at the clock and continued keeping track. "They're getting closer."

"Please don't sound so excited about that."

"I'm not excited. I'm focused."

Magali opened one eye and looked at her.

"You sound focused in an excited way."

Roberta almost laughed, but another glance at Magali's face stopped her. The contraction intensified, and Magali pressed herself against the seat, breathing slowly while Roberta quietly counted the seconds. Eventually the pressure loosened its grip, leaving Magali exhausted even though she had barely moved.

"Oh, I don't like this."

"You don't have to like it."

Magali exhaled and looked through the window. Familiar streets passed around her, and for a moment she found herself thinking about how ordinary everything looked. People walked along sidewalks. Cars stopped at traffic lights. Restaurants served customers. Somewhere, music played outside one of the shops. Sweetdance City continued living its normal life while Magali's was about to change forever.

She lowered her eyes toward her belly, "You're really coming."

The baby shifted faintly beneath her hand. Magali smiled despite herself, "Couldn't wait until tomorrow?"

Roberta glanced toward her. "You've been asking that baby to come out for the last two weeks."

"I changed my mind."

"Too late for that."

Another contraction came before Magali could respond. This one hurt considerably more. Her fingers tightened around the door handle as her face twisted with discomfort. Roberta remained attentive but didn't crowd her with instructions, allowing Magali to find the rhythm that felt natural to her. By the time it passed, perspiration had begun collecting along Magali's forehead.

"How much farther?"

"Almost there."

"You said that five minutes ago."

"Because we've been stopped at three lights."

"Run them."

"No."

"You're terrible."

"I'll accept that."

Despite everything, Magali laughed weakly.

Roberta had already contacted the hospital before they left. Doctor Arai had been notified that Magali's water had broken and contractions had begun, and she was waiting for them. Doctor Sohma had also made himself available, though he had been very clear that this was Doctor Arai's patient and Doctor Arai's delivery. Unless something happened that required his particular expertise, he intended to remain out of her way.

That knowledge reassured Magali. She had spent months seeing Doctor Arai. Arai knew the pregnancy, knew the prenatal reports, knew Magali's history, and—perhaps just as importantly—knew Magali herself. There would be no unfamiliar face taking control of one of the most frightening and important moments of her life.

The hospital finally appeared ahead, "There!"

Magali had never been so relieved and terrified to see a building. Roberta pulled into the designated entrance, where hospital staff were already expecting them. Magali attempted to get out of the car under her own power, only for another contraction to seize her halfway through the effort. She stopped with one foot outside the vehicle and grabbed Roberta's arm.

"Wait." Roberta immediately supported her.

Magali lowered her head. The pressure rolled through her again, stronger than before. Her breathing became heavier as she held tightly to Roberta, waiting for her body to release her from its grip. When it finally eased, Magali remained still for another few seconds.

"Okay."

"You sure?"

"No. But okay."

A wheelchair was brought to them. Magali initially looked as though she might object, then glanced at the distance between herself and the hospital doors and promptly sat down.

Roberta smiled. "I knew you'd see reason."

They moved quickly through the entrance. Doctor Arai was already waiting.

"There you are."

Magali looked up at her. "I think the baby decided today's the day."

"So I've heard."

Arai approached without any visible alarm. Her calmness immediately helped. She asked Magali several questions about when the contractions had begun, how frequently they were occurring, when her water had broken, and whether she had noticed anything else unusual. Roberta supplied the timing she had recorded while Magali answered everything else between increasingly uncomfortable breaths.

Arai nodded, "All right. Let's get you settled and see how far along you are."

Magali was taken into a private room and helped into bed. The familiar comforts of home disappeared beneath bright lights, clean sheets, monitoring equipment, and the quiet movement of nurses preparing everything that might be needed. Magali found herself suddenly aware that this was no longer preparation for childbirth. This was childbirth.

Another contraction struck while a nurse was helping her settle. Magali grabbed the sheets, "Oh, this baby is eager to get out!"

Roberta immediately moved beside her and offered her hand. Magali seized it.

Roberta's eyes widened, "You're crushing it."

"I know."

Roberta wisely stopped complaining. Doctor Arai remained nearby, watching Magali carefully and checking her progress. Once the contraction passed, she completed her examination and gave Magali an encouraging smile.

"Things are moving."

Magali lay back against the pillow, "How much?"

"Enough that you're definitely staying."

"I wasn't planning on going home."

"Good."

From farther back in the room, Doctor Sohma quietly observed the activity. He had greeted Magali when she arrived, reviewed what Arai wanted him to review, and then deliberately stepped aside. He didn't issue competing instructions or hover over Arai's shoulder. This was her patient, and unless she asked for him, his role was simply to be available.

Magali noticed him near the doorway.

"Doctor Sohma? You're staying?"

He looked toward her, "For now."

"Why?"

"In case Doctor Arai needs another pair of hands."

Arai glanced toward him with a faint smile. "And until then?"

"I remain conveniently invisible."

Magali managed a small laugh, "You're not very good at invisible."

"I'll work on it." He retreated again, leaving Arai to continue directing the room.

Time gradually lost its ordinary meaning. Minutes were no longer measured by clocks. They were measured by contractions.

Each one announced itself with a growing tightness that Magali quickly learned to recognize. She would feel it beginning, warn Roberta, and then brace herself as the pressure strengthened. Some passed quickly enough that she could recover and resume talking. Others forced everything else from her mind until there was nothing but breathing, Roberta's hand, and the desperate wish for the sensation to end.

Between them, Magali was still Magali. During them, the world became very small. At one point she looked down at herself, exhausted and uncomfortable, and shook her head.

"Conrad owes me."

Roberta smiled. "For what?"

Magali stared at her incredulously, "For this."

That earned a laugh from Roberta. Magali's smile lingered only briefly. She wished he were there.

That thought had been waiting beneath everything else since her water broke, and now, surrounded by the reality of the hospital room, it finally reached her. Conrad should have been standing where Roberta stood. He should have been the nervous husband trying to remember everything they had been taught. He should have been holding her hand while pretending he wasn't terrified.

Magali's eyes watered. Roberta noticed.

"You okay?"

Magali nodded, but her voice came out quieter, "I wish he could see this."

Roberta squeezed her hand, "I'm sure he wanted to."

"I know." Magali placed her free hand over her belly. "I know he did."

Another contraction began. Magali closed her eyes. This time, she didn't think about the pain first. She thought about Conrad's final message.

"I leave everything in your hands."

Her fingers tightened around Roberta's, "I can do this."

Roberta smiled, "Yes, you can."

The contraction continued building. Magali breathed through it, feeling her child pressing closer toward the end of the long journey they had shared together. And somewhere behind the discomfort, fear, grief, and exhaustion was something new.

Excitement. Her baby was almost here.

The hours that followed demanded more from Magali than she had imagined possible. The contractions that had once come with spaces large enough for conversation gradually became stronger and closer together. Eventually, even Roberta's attempts at humor could no longer distract her. Magali gripped her hand, breathed when Doctor Arai told her to breathe, rested whenever her body allowed her a moment, and pushed forward whenever Arai told her it was time.

Doctor Sohma remained true to his promise. He stayed nearby and available, but the room belonged to Doctor Arai. She guided Magali through every stage with the same calm confidence she had shown throughout the pregnancy, explaining what she needed from her without overwhelming her with details.

Magali was exhausted. Her hair clung damply around her face. Her entire body trembled from effort, and there were moments when she genuinely wondered whether she had anything left to give. Each time she thought she had reached her limit, another contraction came and demanded more.

"I can't," Magali gasped.

Doctor Arai looked directly at her, "You're already doing it."

Magali shook her head as tears gathered in her eyes. "I'm tired."

"I know. Rest while you can."

Roberta squeezed her hand. Magali closed her eyes. For several precious moments, she allowed herself to sink into the pillow.

Then the pressure returned. Her eyes opened. Doctor Arai moved into position.

"All right, Magali. This is it."

Magali tightened her grip around Roberta's hand. The pain became enormous, but now there was something else beneath it. Pressure. Movement. The unmistakable sensation that the child she had carried for all these months was finally making her way into the world.

Magali cried out as she pushed.

"Good," Arai encouraged. "Again."

Magali barely had time to breathe before her body demanded another effort. She pushed again, every muscle trembling as Roberta remained beside her.

"Come on," Roberta whispered. "You're almost there."

Magali squeezed her eyes shut. She thought of Conrad. She thought of him standing beneath the lights during his final performance. She thought of his Memory Drive. She thought of the man looking into the camera, knowing he would never hold the child Magali was now fighting to bring into the world.

"I know you can do it."

Magali opened her eyes. With a final exhausted cry, she pushed. Then suddenly, relief. For a fraction of a second, the room seemed impossibly quiet.

And then Magali heard it. A cry. It was small, angry, and very much alive.

Magali froze. Her mouth fell open. Doctor Arai smiled.

"Congratulations, Magali."

Magali stared toward her.

"It's a beautiful baby girl."

The words seemed to take several seconds to reach her.

"A girl?"

"A girl."

Magali began crying immediately. She didn't care who saw. She didn't care how exhausted she was or how terrible she probably looked. Nothing else in the room mattered anymore. Her daughter was here.

The baby continued protesting her introduction to the world while Doctor Arai and the nurses completed what needed to be done. Magali watched every movement anxiously until at last the tiny child was brought to her.

The moment Magali saw her face, her heart nearly broke all over again. Fine blonde hair covered the baby's head. Magali stared at it.

"No way…"

Roberta leaned closer. Magali's trembling fingers gently touched the soft blonde strands. Then her daughter opened her brown eyes.

Magali stopped breathing for a moment. Blonde hair. Brown eyes. Just like him.

A sob escaped her, "Conrad…"

Roberta covered her mouth. Even Doctor Arai's professional composure softened as Magali carefully received her daughter into her arms. The baby seemed impossibly small.

Magali had spent weeks folding tiny clothes and wondering how anyone could possibly fit inside them. Now she understood. Her daughter rested against her as though that space had always belonged to her, warm and alive, gradually settling as Magali held her close.

"Hi." Magali's voice cracked. The baby's tiny face shifted toward her. "I'm your mommy."

More tears rolled down Magali's cheeks. She laughed through them.

"I've been waiting a really long time to meet you."

Her daughter couldn't answer, of course. She merely rested against her mother's warmth. But that was enough.

Magali looked at the blonde hair again and smiled, "You look like your daddy."

For months, Magali had carried Conrad's final gift inside her. Now she was holding that gift in her arms. She had lost Conrad. She had lost Jeremiah before he could meet his granddaughter. She had retired from the stage. So much of the life she had known had disappeared within a matter of months.

But this wasn't an ending. This was someone new. Magali kissed her daughter's forehead. Then she thought of another person who wasn't there.

Her mother. Katrina.

Magali had carried her mother's memory within her—and now, staring at Conrad's features reflected in their daughter, an idea came to her.

Conrad. Katrina. Two people who should have been there. Two people her daughter would know only through memories, photographs, stories, and the people who had loved them.

Magali smiled, "Catrina."

Roberta looked toward her, "What?"

"Her name." Magali gazed proudly at the little girl. "Catrina."

A name born from Conrad and Katrina. Her husband. Her mother. Two pieces of the family Magali had lost, carried forward in the family she had just created.

Roberta smiled, "Catrina Artisan."

Magali's smile grew, "Catrina Artisan."

It sounded right.

By the time everything was finished, the room had become quiet again. Doctor Arai had completed her work and was satisfied that mother and child were doing well. Doctor Sohma, having thankfully never been needed for anything beyond additional support, congratulated Magali before finally leaving Doctor Arai and the nurses to finish their care.

Eventually, even the constant activity around Magali diminished. Catrina rested peacefully with her mother. Magali couldn't stop looking at her.

Every few minutes, she discovered something else to admire. Her tiny fingers. Her little nose. The way her face moved when she slept. The faint blonde hair that still seemed almost unbelievable.

Across the room, Roberta quietly gathered her things. Magali didn't notice at first. Then she heard the door.

She looked up. Roberta had her hand on the handle.

"Where are you going?"

Roberta stopped. For a moment, she simply stood there. Then she turned around.

"My job is over."

Magali stared at her. The words hurt considerably more than she expected. Months earlier, Roberta had been assigned to her. Scorpio had sent his daughter to make sure a grieving, pregnant widow didn't have to survive the most difficult period of her life alone. But somewhere along the way, Roberta had stopped feeling like an assignment.

She had been there for the doctor's appointments. The vitamins. The meals. The tears. The Memory Drive. The days Magali didn't want to get out of bed. The days she finally did.

She had helped prepare for Catrina. She had driven Magali to the hospital. She had stood beside her while her daughter entered the world. And now the reason she had been sent there was gone.

Roberta smiled, "Don't worry. If you ever need anything, my father will support you."

Magali's eyes began watering again. Roberta had a family of her own. A spouse. A little boy waiting for his mother. She had given Magali months of her life when Magali needed someone most. It was finally time for her to go home.

Magali looked down at Catrina. Then back toward Roberta. She wanted to say something larger. Something that could somehow summarize everything Roberta had done for her since Conrad's final performance.

Nothing seemed adequate. So Magali chose the simplest words. The same words Conrad had given her at the end of his life.

She smiled through her tears, "Thank you."

Roberta smiled she opened the door and quietly left. Magali watched until it closed behind her.

For the first time, there was no Conrad. No Roberta. No Council representative assigned to watch over her. Just Magali, and Catrina.

Magali looked down at her sleeping daughter and gently brushed one finger across the baby's blonde hair. Her heart was still filled with grief. But there was something else there now.

Pride.

Joy.

And love.

Magali kissed Catrina's forehead and held her close. She wasn't alone. She was a mother.

The Miracle of Children

Sung by Magali-Anna Artisan

So small are the hands that reach for mine,

So bright are the eyes that discover the light,

You entered this world with nothing but a cry,

And somehow you made everything feel right.

I thought I knew love before you were here,

I thought I knew joy, and sorrow, and fear,

But holding you close has taught me anew,

How one little heartbeat can change what is true.

There will be mornings of laughter and play,

And nights when your tears simply won't go away,

There will be questions I cannot explain,

Little scraped knees and much greater pain.

I'll watch as you stumble, I'll watch as you grow,

I'll teach you the things that I've come to know,

And someday you'll wander where I cannot see,

Becoming the person you're destined to be.

But you are not the only small heart that I hold,

There is another whose story I've watched unfold,

Another sweet child who has already known loss,

Whose smile is worth every river we'd cross.

You came from two families touched deeply by sorrow,

Yet both of you carry the promise of tomorrow,

The ones who have left us still live in you,

In every small dream and each wonderful thing you do.

I cannot promise the world will be kind,

Or shelter you always from what you may find,

But hear me, my children, and know this is true:

I won't let anything happen to you, either of you.

I'll stand when you're frightened, I'll come when you call,

I'll hold out my hands whenever you fall,

And even when someday you don't need me near,

My love will still follow wherever you steer.

For children are miracles we cannot command,

Brief little lives placed gently in our hands,

We nurture their wings though we wish they would stay,

Then love them enough to let them fly away.

So sleep now, my darling, there's nothing to fear,

Your mother is holding you safely right here,

And somewhere another child sleeps beneath the same sky,

Two precious tomorrows for whom I will try.

You are hope after heartache, new life after tears,

The reason to welcome the unwritten years,

And whatever tomorrow may ask me to do,

I'll face it with love—for the miracle of you two.

Later that evening, after the hospital room had settled into peaceful silence, Magali reached for her phone. Catrina slept comfortably against her, wrapped snugly in a blanket with only her tiny face and wisps of blonde hair visible. Magali looked at her daughter for a moment, smiled, and started a video call.

Julian answered almost immediately, "Magali?"

"Hi, Dad."

Whatever Julian had been doing ceased to matter the moment he saw his daughter's face. His expression softened, but before he could ask how she was feeling, Magali carefully tilted the phone downward.

"I want you to meet somebody."

The camera settled on Catrina. Julian went completely silent. For once, the man who could seemingly find something clever to say about anything had nothing.

Magali grinned, "Say hello to your granddaughter."

Julian leaned closer to his screen as though reducing the distance between himself and the phone might somehow bring him nearer to the baby.

"She's beautiful."

"I know."

"Blonde hair. And brown eyes."

Julian immediately understood, "Conrad."

Magali nodded. "She looks like her daddy."

There was sadness in Julian's expression, but it never overwhelmed the happiness. Conrad wasn't there to see his daughter, yet something of him was unmistakably present in the tiny child sleeping in Magali's arms.

"So," Julian asked, "does my granddaughter have a name?"

Magali's smile widened, "Catrina, with a C."

Julian paused. Then he understood that too, "Conrad and Katrina."

"Yeah."

Julian smiled proudly. "Your mother would've loved that."

Magali looked down at Catrina, "I think so too."

Father and daughter continued talking for a while. Julian asked the expected questions about Magali's health, the delivery, Doctor Arai, and whether the baby was doing well. Magali answered as patiently as she could until she finally accused him of turning their first grandfather-granddaughter conversation into an interrogation.

Then the door opened. Magali looked up. Ryu entered carrying two-year-old Tarlya.

Magali immediately brightened, "Hey!"

Tarlya looked toward the bed from her father's arms, curious about the bundle Magali was holding.

Julian noticed the interruption through the screen, "Is that Ryu?"

"Yeah. Dad, I'll call you back."

Julian looked toward his granddaughter one last time, "You better."

Magali laughed. "I will." She ended the call and placed her phone aside.

Ryu approached the bed with Tarlya resting comfortably against him. His eyes immediately settled on the newborn, and for a moment he simply stared.

"So that's her."

Magali proudly adjusted the blanket, "This is Catrina."

Ryu's eyebrows rose slightly. "Catrina?"

"Conrad and Katrina. This baby inherited Conrad's C."

Ryu smiled. "Conrad would've liked that."

Magali looked down at her daughter, "He would've pretended he came up with something better."

"He would've come up with twenty worse names first."

Magali laughed, "Exactly."

Ryu shifted Tarlya in his arms and brought her closer, "Tarlya, this is Catrina."

The little girl stared. Catrina stirred at the unfamiliar voice, slowly opening her brown eyes. She couldn't possibly understand the introduction, but her attention seemed to settle in Tarlya's direction.

Magali carefully raised her daughter a little higher, "Look, Catrina. That's Tarlya."

Tarlya leaned forward, then she reached out to the baby. Ryu instinctively moved closer so she wouldn't have to stretch too far. Her little fingers opened toward the newborn, fascinated by the tiny person bundled in Magali's arms.

Then Catrina moved. One tiny arm slipped free of the blanket. Her fingers stretched outward toward Tarlya.

Magali stared. Ryu stared. Neither parent said anything at first. Tarlya reached a little farther. So did Catrina.

Their hands didn't quite meet, but that hardly seemed to matter. The two children continued reaching toward one another as though the introductions were unnecessary—as though something between them had already been decided long before either parent brought them together.

Magali's face filled with wonder, "Look at them. It's like they're kindred spirits!"

Ryu watched the two girls for another moment. Then he smiled, "Doesn't surprise me."

Magali looked toward him. Ryu's eyes remained on Tarlya and Catrina.

"They both carry the souls of Conrad and Khefner."

Magali's smile softened. For a moment, she could almost imagine them there. Conrad, laughing at something ridiculous. Khefner, undoubtedly telling him to behave himself.

They were gone. Nothing could change that. But their stories hadn't disappeared with them. Tarlya carried Khefner forward. Catrina carried Conrad forward. And now, before Catrina had even experienced her first full day of life, the two girls were already reaching for one another.

Magali remembered the promise she had quietly sung to her daughter.

"I won't let anything happen to you, either of you."

She looked at Ryu. He looked back.

They didn't need to discuss what came next. Two parents remained where four should have been, each carrying losses the other understood better than almost anyone else could.

But they also had these two little girls. That was enough.

Magali carefully moved Catrina a little closer. At last, Tarlya's fingers touched the newborn's tiny hand. Catrina's fingers curled around one of them.

Magali felt tears gathering in her eyes again, but this time she didn't try to stop them.

Tarlya smiled. And Catrina held on.