"Hey babe," Malrez said, staring at his now very swollen wife.

"Hey."

"How do you feel now?"

"It hurts so much, I cannot wait for this to be over."

"It'll be worth it to see our child in the end, right?"

"Yes, I guess so."

"What should we name him? I was thinking Kairos if male, Freya if female."

"Kairos? That sounds... pretty. Very pretty."

"Yes babe, yes it is."

With her face now beginning to contort into an ancestral pain, she began to collapse onto the ground.

"CAN I GET A HEALER HERE? MY WIFE IS ABOUT TO GIVE BIRTH!"

A old man, waiting outside the door of the small, wooden hut, rushed in.

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"Old man Prikan! Thank you!"

"Anything for you Malrez. Now lets give birth to this baby!"

As Malrez and Prikan helped her onto the bed, her contractions grew stronger and more frequent. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead as she gritted her teeth, preparing for the next wave of pain. With each contraction, she pushed with all her might, her face contorting with effort as she let out guttural cries of pain.

Malrez held her hand tightly, offering words of encouragement and support. "You're doing great, babe. Keep pushing. Just a little bit more." He wiped the sweat from her forehead with a cloth, trying to offer some relief from the intense heat of the hut.

Old man Prikan worked quickly, expertly guiding the baby out of the birth canal. With a final push, the baby emerged, crying loudly as he took his first breath. Malrez's eyes filled with tears as he saw his son for the first time. "We did it, babe. We have a son."

The wife collapsed back onto the bed, exhausted but relieved. Old man Prikan cleaned up the baby and handed him to Malrez. Malrez cradled his son, gazing at him in awe. "Kairos," he whispered. "Welcome to the world." The baby's cries subsided as he looked up at his father, gazing at him with big, bright eyes.

She smiled weakly, relieved that the ordeal was over. "He's beautiful," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Yes, he is," Malrez replied, holding his son close to his chest. "And so are you, my love."

With one final look at her son, she sunk her head into Malrez's chest, breathing her last.

The deep, heaving cries of a father and the shrill, nasal sound of a babies cries mixed together, one grieving over the loss of a life, and one grieving over being born.