In the Kingdom of Xylia, names were given by the church every last day of the month. Mothers who are pregnant will come to the church to pray for blessings and the priest in charge will pray for both mother and child before granting them access to the room where the holy fountain is. In that room, the pregnant women will have to place a drop of their blood in the water and wait for a few seconds. Then a name will appear in the reflection of the water and that will be the name they shall give their unborn child.
It was the last day of October and Kirsi made her way toward the entrance of the church. She found out just this month that she's pregnant with her second child. Since the winter this year will be one of the coldest, she and her husband had decided to ask for a blessing this month.
As she entered the church, she saw that there were other women waiting inside. Some women already have swollen bellies and the others were just like her, still in their first trimester.
She made her way to the end of the line and waited for her turn. It was after half an hour did she finally stood in front of the priest in charge.
Kirsi bowed her head as the priest started praying for her. After the prayer, she was then led to the room of Bedisa, the goddess of fate and destiny. The room was small but spacious as there were only the goddess Bedisa's statue and the holy fountain in the room.
She walked towards the holy fountain and kneeled in front of it. Kirsi said a short prayer and bit her finger hard before dripping a drop of blood on the clear water. And then she prayed again.
A few minutes went by and the water started to glow. Blinded by the light, Kirsi covered her eyes. It took a long time before the light started to dim. She waited for a few minutes and once it is safe for her to open her eyes, she looked at the words floating in the water and was stunned at what she read.
Aiyana.
Her second child's name is Aiyana.
***
There was a book that was so popular six years ago that many people believed it was the Book of Prophecy. This book was so famous that even Kirsi, as a commoner who cannot read or write, heard about it countless times.
At first, she wasn't interested in that story and only found it as a source of entertainment. That was the case until she got pregnant with her first daughter, Eris.
Ever since then, she got interested in that book of prophecy and listened to the whole story if given the chance. But as a mother, she has doubts about the legitimacy of that book and still treated her first daughter very preciously.
But the same cannot be said about other people.
Friends and relatives started avoiding their family ever since they found out the name that was granted to her daughter.Talking about their family behind their back and treating her unborn child as a future disaster. She lost her job as a seamstress and her husband lost their farm and thus became a hunter. Life after that became more difficult after she gave birth.
But their family still lived happily and they accepted their situation with an open mind. Years passed and there were a few people who treated their family nicely and some of their old acquaintances started to talk to them again.
And then this happened.
Kirsi looked at her husband, Rhys, who has a serious look on his face.
"Rhys—" she called out but he stopped her but she didn't listen. "Can't you see, that book is about of family? Our children—"
" Stop it Kirsi," he told her before standing up and walking towards their room.
"Stop? Rhys, the name that was granted to the child I'm carrying is Aiyana. Aiyana," she emphasized. "That book is about her. About the future. She will be the savior of this Kingdom and Eris—"
Rhys froze and immediately looked at his wife with disbelief. "What about Eris? What about her?"
"Rhys, she's dangerous—"
Rhys snapped. "Can you hear yourself right now? Eris is our daughter. YOUR daughter. She's merely three years old and you are calling her dangerous?!"
Kirsi paled. "But the book—"
"The book! Is that it? Just because of a book? You'd rather believe in a mere story than believe in your own family?"
Kirsi was just about to answer when she heard a small voice speak behind her.
"Mommy?" Kirsi turned around and saw her three-year-old daughter standing there holding an old stuffed animal while rubbing her eyes. An unexplainable expression crossed her face before she calmed herself and walked towards Eris.
"Hey baby, did we woke you up?" she said with a soft voice. The little girl nodded before looking at both her parents. "Come, baby, let's go back to sleep," Kiris led her small child back to her room.
Rhys looked at his wife and daughter's retreating figure then sighed.
***