Zero

0- a number meaning nothing, nada, zip. 

That is what today is and what the beginning is...

0

2: Day 1
Day 1

October 27, 2000

It was a cold night. Michael Harmony was nervously waiting for the news of his wife’s delivery. He paced back and front of the hospital door. He wondered what gender the new baby would be. His two other children watched him go back and forth, confused. Nurses were going in and out of the delivery room, the door swinging open, letting the waiting father get a two­ second ­glance at his wife.

Marie Harmony was pushing with all her might, getting weaker every minute. The doctors and nurses kept trying to motivate her to hold in a little longer, that she could make it. She listened and tried and tried but soon her vision got blurry and spotty. The nurses put wet towels on her forehead and held her hands. She screamed as she pushed the last of her energy out. Soon the room was filled with the cries of two babies, twins. The nurses held one each as they cleaned them up and wrapped them in their blankets. Maria tried to catch her breath as the nurses handed her, her newborns. She smiled softly at each of them, a boy and a girl cuddling into her arms. As she looked at her only 10 minute year olds, holding each other’s hands as they opened their eyes for the first time since their birth. They stared at each other for half a minute before they smiled and babbled. They looked at their mom slowly, their orange eyes widening with wonder. Marie looked back at them with her own orange eyes, watering. They smiled at her and reached for her red­-orange hair. The nurses and doctor left to go get their father. The doctor congratulated Michael and said he was free to go inside and see his wife and new children.

Some nurses stayed behind with his other two children as he went inside the room. His oldest, a son held onto his father’s hat while the now second oldest started to fall asleep in the nurse's arms. 

3: Day 3
Day 3

A pair of wailing voices filled the small, cozy, and once quiet home.

    "Mommy! They're crying again!" a young boy with light blue hair yelled from his room.

The not so new mother of two newborns got out of her comfy spot on the couch and marched upstairs, following the piercing cries of her children. She sighed and opened the door to her children's room. She saw that the new twins, bailing their eyes out while they laid next to each other. She giggles softly as she picked them both up and they soon calmed down, looking at each other and noticing they're in the safe arms of their mother. They cuddled closer to her and cooed. Maria looked at them and bounced them slightly* 

    "Did you two only attention from Mommy?" She smiled, "Did you miss Mommy?" They seemed to coo in respond and giggle at the same time, like they said some secret joke.

Maria just chuckled at them and sat down in a rocking chair. She rocked them back and forth and started humming a soft lullaby. She watched as they both started closing their eyes, slowly falling asleep. She soon drifted off, holding her babies close to her chest.

Hours later her tired husband came in from work to the now quiet house.

    "Marie?" He waited for an answer as he took off his muddy boots at the door. There was no answer, he got worried. "Marie!? I'm home!" Still no sound of her cheery voice. He started to panic. "Marie! Brandon!" He started to frantically look through the rooms downstairs.

    "Guys! Where are you?!" He starts making his way upstairs. His fear grew more and he ran up the last few and started bursting in their rooms. Finally he came to the nursery, the door was opened. His heart jumped and he slowly pushed the door open to find his family, all asleep. Marie holding the twins while Marie and Brandon were asleep by each other. He let out a breath of relief and smiled softly. He then softly closed the door and turned around in the hall, looking at the mess he made.

    "Better get started." He walked into a room and started putting up everything he pulled out. Later on the rest of his family woke up and saw that the house was cleaner than before. Maria sent the other kids off to bed as she put the babies back in their crib. She walked to her room, 

    "Brandon? Are you home?" She softly opened the door and giggled at the sight she saw. He poor husband passed out on the bed, snoring, not even out of his work clothes, wearing one of her cleaning aprons. She softly kisses his forehead and gets the apron off, after some difficulty and joins her husband, moving close to him. He almost automatically wrap his arms around her. She smiles and pull the covers over them both as she drifts back off to sleep.