January 29, 3051
The Smith couple was one of the luckiest couples in the nation. Lucky in the sense that even in the time of war, they were able to live their lives without any abnormalities.
The war was fought on a different continent, so the general population wasn't affected directly. But they had to come across many indirect problems, mostly economical.
Many families came across drastic changes in their lives. Rich became poor and poor became rich, but the ratio of rich who became poor was much higher.
Large companies went into loss to the point where they needed to be closed, while some of the small companies that were barely managing went into so much profit that they were able to open branches in almost every city of the nation.
Entertainment industries were the ones that faced the largest amount of loss, while medical institutes profited the most. Luckily, both of them were health workers at a hospital.
Everything was going well in their lives, except they only had one single regret. Even after 12 years of marriage, they couldn't have a single child.
After consulting the doctor several times, who said their only option was adoption, they finally decided to adopt a child. They hadn't done this before because both of them were busy, but now that the war was over, they finally got enough time to raise a kid.
Today, they were visiting an orphanage to find a child for adoption.
"Lucas, look at this kid, he looks so healthy."
Amme, who had always loved children, was enjoying the visit.
They were looking for a healthy child who was under six months old. When the staff showed them three children that met their requirements, one of them caught Amme's eyes. It was a healthy-looking baby with black hair and sky-blue eyes.
"Yes, he does. Jerrick, what's his origin."
Lucas had already read the chest name badge that Jerrick was wearing over his scrub-like dress. Because of his job, in which he had to deal with patients who were mostly government employees, that had become a reflexive habit.
"Sorry to say this, but we don't know much about the baby's origin. We found him near the First genetic lab around a month ago. Our attempts to find the child's parents produced no results, and on top of that, we couldn't find the child in the birth records."
Lucas looked towards Amme. Even though he didn't say anything, Amme understood that he was trying to say 'not this child, let's look at another one'.
"But look at him Lucas, his eyes, they are so cute."
Both Lucas and Amme had several instances where they had differences in their opinions. But they respected each other's opinion which was what made their relationship stronger.
Like for example, Lucas believed that someone's appearance shows what kind of person they are, while Amme believed that appearance doesn't matter, what really does is what's inside you. This was the reason why Lucas was usually dressed in formal dress, while Amme wore casual most of the time, even today.
Lucas understood that Amme had already made her choice, so anything he says from here on out won't be able to change her mind. He knew his wife well and understood that there is no point insisting.
Lucas let out a small sigh and said "Okay".
"Jerrick, we would like to adopt this child. What's his name?"
"Since we were investigating his background until recently, we haven't named him yet."
"I have always wanted to name my baby so let me name him."
Amme's excitement could be felt in her voice and gesture when she said that. She stared at the baby for a while and said "Razak, how's this name?" in a loud voice.
"That's a good name madam. I will register the child under that given name and your family name 'Smith'. Please authenticate the documents I send you."
Both of them looked at their watches and agreed to the terms and conditions sent to them. Compared to how it was a few years ago, the terms and conditions were simpler and concise, so it didn't take long to review them.
"Thank you for adopting a child. Due to the war, the number of children who are homeless is in thousands. And with their growth, the orphanages will no longer be able to take care of them properly. In such cases, adoptions from good families will be helpful for both children and the orphanages..."
Jerrick started explaining about various aspects of child-raising and adoption. Lucas listened to him while Amme just ignored them and started playing with her child.
"Amme, we have finished discussing the details, I think we can go home now."
Amme nodded and carried the baby into her arms.
"Thank you for your help Jerrick."
"No worries. Congratulations to both of you."
Lucas clicked the pickup option on the virtual driver app on his smartwatch after they got out. The virtual driver system brought their car to the pickup area outside the orphanage. The car already had a seat that could be converted into a child seat for a child of any age.
Amme sat on the back seat to play with the baby, while Lucas sat on the front. On the way, she noticed something was off about the boy.
He wasn't acting uncomfortable or crying like a normal baby of his age would do. Instead, he just stayed there staring at the ceiling of the car like an emotionless doll.
At that moment, she just thought it was nothing abnormal and she was just thinking too much. But when they reached home, she realized something was definitely off.
She was the one who insisted on this child, so she didn't tell Lucas about this. Instead, she just booked an appointment with a pediatrician and told Lucas that she wanted to do a general check-up of the child.
In the appointment, the pediatrician told her that there was nothing wrong with the child and he was perfectly healthy. She was relieved to hear a positive response, but as the days passed, she started getting more and more concerned.
She had taken a 12-month parental leave, so she used to spend most of her time with just her baby. As a result, when she saw no change in the baby's reaction, she started getting worried.