31st December 2004, the night was wrapped in the winter's icy chillness, the winds blowing with the soft touch of the snowflakes, the frost-covered rooftops glistening, illuminated a snow white bloom under the full moon, the streets were bustling with the crowd, the snow crunched beneath boots and the frosty breath of people lingered in the air, people laughed, covered in thick coats and scarfs, holding a cup of hot cocoa to warm themselves up, the environment was alive, beaming with joy and happiness, the decorations from Christmas was still there enveloping the streets with the warmth of Christmas joy.
But the city centre, the heart of the city was decorated even more elegantly than the streets, the crowd gathered at the centre was taken aback by the beauty and warmth of the decoration, and one person from the crowd exclaimed,
"The mayor has done a good job this time around"
The others agreed "Yes he has done a good job, after all, today is a special day, a rare event at that, of course, he would give his best this time"
The shared enthusiasm only deepened the unity and joy of the people gathered there. After all, New Year's Eve was accompanied by the lunar eclipse, and the scientists determined the time of the lunar eclipse to be at midnight, a rare event to start the new year with.
Amidst all this happiness and elation and people busy waiting for the new year to arrive, the winter's coldness also showed its darkest side, the back alley of the street one block away from the city centre was dark and damp, the snow, melted by the small fire that was burning in that quiet alley, the breeze felt rather harsh, unlike the soft feeling which embraced the people at the city centre, a small figure of a young woman somewhere in her late 20s was shivering in the cold, crouching near the small fire which she lit with a lot of effort using some burnable waste from the dumpsters in the alley.
She looked haggard, her small face covered in dirt, her eyes void of emotions, hollow with pain and sorrow, and her body barely covered by a thick torn coat, she wore layers of warm old torn clothes, of different sizes and colours inside to cover up the holes on that thick coat she wore, which made her look rather weird in that attire, two layers of socks, with small holes in them and a barely intact sports shoes covered those small feet of hers. The most noticeable feature of her physique was her swollen stomach, she was around eight and a half months pregnant, and even in that condition she sat in that snow, near that small fire, which was barely lit due to the dampness; she stared blankly into the space, shivering, as her eyes even though did not express any emotion, held a glimmer of hope to feel a little bit of warmth for herself and for the child she had been painstakingly raising inside her weak body.
She was able to hear all the joyful voices of the people around her, the bright street radiance only reaching the entrance of the alley, the light was not able to get to her, and the corner she was sitting in was left in the dark, only the moonlight provided a faint dim glow to her surrounding, staring blankly at the passing crowd she saw a couple walking hand to hand with deep affection, as she saw them all the happy and painful memories flooded in, the reason for her current condition, the reason she had to raise her child by eating scraps, was all because of that one man, the man who was the love of her life was a human who made even the devil, hide his face in shame.
She was in her first year of college when she met the so-called love of her life, she attended the Young Astronomer Olympiad in the second semester of her college year, she was a small, graceful, happy young girl, always cheerful and spreading joy to those around her, she gave others the idle little sister feeling, making them smile with warmth when she approached them. Her professor and her friend were checking into the institute where the Olympiad was being held, when they saw a young man, arguing with security because he was denied entrance into the institute, it caused quite a commotion and attracted a lot of eyes towards the drama.
After seeing the boy in a deadlock her professor approached the young man and inquired about the issue, as the disturbance was becoming quite irritating to the people around them, while the professor was helping the boy resolve the issue, her friend standing next to her spoke,
"Hey, he is from Elixir University. I know him. He's quite famous for his looks and academics." A sweet smile formed across her face, hinting at a bit of adoration for the boy.
"I don't see anything worth mentioning in him," the young girl said with a plain tone, but inside she knew well, that she had fallen for him, on first glance, to keep her true feelings from her friend, she made her words sound like she wasn't interested in him. Their professor returned after helping him,
"The boy got late to his bus and people from his university already entered the institute, so he had no invitation with him to show to security" the professor explained to them shaking his head in pity,
"I knew someone from his university, so I helped him contact his people," the professor said, after their short conversation they headed inside the institute. The image of the young boy was etched deep in her heart, which gave her the courage to start the journey to conquer the love of her life, after this encounter and after the competition ended, she started to appear in front of the boy striking small conversations with him, she started to pursue him with all her heart, the boy appeared gentle and kind, and he eventually softened up to her after a few months.
They started dating like every couple, sneaking out of their classes and meeting outside the campus, spending hours in the café, holding hands, reading books, discussing their daily activities with each other and at last, looking at each other's faces, blushing as they shared their first kiss, vowing to each other that they will spend a lifetime together, growing old, and leaving the world holding hands; thinking about this sitting in the cold alley, she felt a bit warmth, a small smile tugged at her lips, after all, these were happy memories she had kept with her for years.
The sound of the firecrackers bursting in the sky snapped her out of her daze, the time was approaching, half an hour to go for the lunar eclipse and the new year to arrive, she casually caressed her womb, her low and weak voice sounded gentle as she said,
"Baby, mommy is sorry, mommy is so sorry, she can't even provide you with a proper new year, but I promise you, sweetie, I will give you the best years after you are born, I will not let you suffer what I am going through, I will give you a proper life and we'll live happily".
She smiled, the void in her eyes slowly filled with tenderness, she couldn't help but feel a deep sense of warmth as the thought of raising her child in a joyful and nurturing environment filled her mind.
The fireworks burned in the sky and people were eagerly waiting to see the rare event that was about to take place, the young lady sitting in the corner was lost in her happy thoughts, the streets and the city centre slowly approached silence as people, quietly waited for the moment, just fifteen more minutes until it's midnight. Amidst all this happiness nobody noticed, the darkness in the fog spreading through the city, as the scientists said, it sure was a special and rare night, this specific lunar eclipse was something happening after aeons, the time when the shadows cast by the light of the moon came to life, the shadows representing the inner darkness of all beings, the darkness which powers the 7 pillars of hell. The shadows resonated with the ancient chants which came to life after a long slumber.