An Unforgettable Melody Ch. 12

"Will she... know pain?"

Closing her eyes momentarily, Selena replied, "I cannot say for sure. Once she is given to a master, she then becomes that master's property to be dealt with at their pleasure. She may have a kind, generous master, but she may also have one who is... not unlike Ari."

Thinking for several long minutes, Maya finally said, "Save her."

"Maya, consider what it is you are doing! What you may be condemning her to!" Isaiah said forcefully.

"Isaiah, I thank you for everything you have done for me tonight. But I know what I must do. My daughter must have a chance at life; this is... my purpose as her mother."

Silently bowing his head, Isaiah stepped back, knowing she was resolute in her decision.

"Save my daughter, Selena."

Taking the baby girl in her arms, Selena hummed a sweet, wordless melody to the child. Soon, the infant began to glow with a faint blue light. The light slowly began to shrink, though it did not diminish in intensity. Finally, it faded away, leaving only a gold locket in Selena's hand.

"She will be safe now," Selena said reassuringly. "Now, time is short. Your life slips from you faster than ever. Please, tell me your wish. It can be anything. You can live without hunger or disease, be wealthy beyond your wildest dreams, and even have power over you horrible excuse for a husband. You can save yourself from all hardship and pain; you need only wish it."

Now struggling to breathe, Maya reached out to take Selena's hand and spoke her wish. "I wish... for my daughter to never know pain or suffering. I wish that... with whatever master finds her... she will be loved and cherished... for who she is... not... what she is. I wish... for her to find... a man of God... of outstanding moral fiber... who will take her as his wife... who will protect her... and ultimately... guide her into... the arms of God. Finally... I wish... to see her again... someday... in God's... house..."

As she finished speaking her wish, the last of Maya's strength slipped away, and her hand fell limp in Selena's. After exhaling her final breath, she finally passed away, smiling peacefully all the while. With tears streaming down her face, Selena could scarcely believe what she had witnessed that night.

Closing Maya's eyes in respect, Selena marveled, "More courage in this girl than in all the soldiers in all the armies in all the world..."

In the corner of the room sat Isaiah, deep in meditative prayer. As it became clear that Maya was no longer among the living, he recited the traditional Jewish prayer of bereavement. "Blessed are you, Lord, our God, King of the universe, the Judge of Truth."

Selena walked over to him and knelt in front of him, holding the locket in her hand. "Never in all my life have I encountered such an act of selflessness," she said somberly. "I want you to know that I plan to devote my entire existence to fulfilling Maya's dying wish. I will not rest until I find a worthy master for her daughter."

Still skeptical of her intentions, Isaiah asked, "And how exactly do you plan to do this?"

Showing him the locket, she replied, "This locket is the doorway to the realm she now resides in. It can be given all manner of magical protections, ensuring that only a worthy individual can access it."

She extended her hand toward him, handing him the locket to examine. As he held it in his hand, the blue stone on the front began to glow. "What is this?" he asked in wonderment.

"It is a sign that the locket is being held by a worthy individual. One capable of fulfilling Maya's wish," Selena said with a smile.

"This is incredible... but I cannot take this. I have devoted my life to the service of God and spreading his word throughout the world, and I am an old man besides. I do not know how long I have left. This girl deserves not only a worthy man, but also one who can give her a long, fulfilling life. I... am not that man," Isaiah said.

"I understand," she replied sadly. "Still, I think we should enact a few more protection measures to ensure that whomever finds the locket is not only of 'outstanding moral fiber,' but also a man of God. What do you think?"

"I agree."

Thinking momentarily, she said, "I can make it so that only a man of Jewish faith is capable of opening the locket. Is that something she would want?"

"Possibly," Isaiah said contemplatively. "However, I also foresee potential danger in that requirement. I suppose it is possible that, merely one hundred years from now, a group of invaders could ride through Israel, destroy our armies, slaughter every man, woman, and child, and burn every record of our religion. If that were to happen, there would be no Jews left in the world, making it impossible to find a man meeting the criteria of such a constraint."

Smiling in amazement, she said, "It is no wonder you are called Prophet. Such wisdom and foresight is nearly unheard of in today's world."

"You are very kind," he replied humbly. "I wonder... is this item capable of adapting itself autonomously, using protections allowing itself to determine if one is a man of God, no matter how far in the future that man may come along?"

"I believe so," Selena said, taking the locket in her hand. "Anyone who finds this locket must solve a riddle of some sort in order to gain access to it. I can allow the locket to alter that riddle of its own accord based on that individual's experiences with God. This would allow it to use events that have not happened yet as part of its protection."

"Most impressive," Isaiah said. "If you truly are able to find such a man... perhaps I have misjudged you."

"Thank you. You are too kind, Isaiah." Clutching the locket tightly in her grasp, Selena slowly began to disappear from sight.

I promise that I will not fail...

*****

As Mike slowly opened his eyes, he looked upon Melody, seeing tears streaming down her face. Instinctively, he leaned forward and wrapped her in his arms as she began to sob into his bare chest.

"Mother... Mother..." she gasped between her tears.

After several long minutes, they finally parted, and Melody began to calm down. They sat on the bed and turned toward Selena, still seated at the desk across the room from them.

"Melody," she said, "Every fiber of my being wishes that I could have saved your mother. She deserved more than her life afforded her. However, you know, as well as I do, the rules and limits of our magic."

Nodding, Melody said, "She was not bound to you, thus you could only save her life if it was part of her one wish. You gave her the greatest gift imaginable, yet she gave it... to me."

"Indeed," Selena said quietly.

"Did... she make it? To God's house? Please tell me she made it," Melody asked.

Closing her eyes, Selena said, "I honestly do not know. None can say for sure what happens beyond the gates of death, but if she truly did enter God's house, as I believe she did, that is knowledge of a place and power far greater than my own. It is knowledge not meant for me."

Nodding in quiet understanding, Melody sat back on the bed, pondering everything she had witnessed that morning.

"Selena, is this vision telling us that, in giving me the locket, Maya's wish was finally fulfilled?" Mike asked.

With a smile, she replied, "Not entirely. Remember, Maya's wish was a complicated one. She wanted many things for her daughter, and finding a worthy individual was merely the first step. Ultimately, I could not interfere with your free will, meaning that if you all of a sudden decided to become a cruel master, nothing I could do would have any impact on that. Still, I had a good feeling about you, even from the moment we first met."

Laughing, he said, "Guess you're not really an immigrant from Iran, huh?"

"No, no I am not," she said with a giggle. "I apologize for my deception, but I had to craft a believable story, otherwise you would never have accepted the locket."

"It's ok," Mike said. "What about the puzzle? Playing a piece from Handel's Messiah using a verse from Paul's letters to the Corinthians, as Biblical as it may be, had nothing to do with Isaiah. What's the connection?"

Nodding, Selena replied, "It is because of Isaiah's request that the locket be able to act of its own accord in determining whether or not an individual is worthy of opening it, as well as being a man of God. The puzzle could have been anything, and the one it used was one that would determine not only your knowledge of God's word, but also its context in the world you live in."

"What is the connection of all of this to my dreams?" Melody asked. "I recognize the voices as Ari, Isaiah, and Maya, but what triggered all of this?"

"Of course, please allow me to explain," Selena began. "Even as Mike was a man of 'outstanding moral fiber,' that was merely one part of your mother's wish. The next part was for him to guide you towards God. That, as you know, happened very naturally, with the combination of his strong faith and your natural curiosity. Still, curiosity can only take one so far. Thus, as your studies deepened, I used my power to nudge you further along the path you had chosen. When you first read from the Book of Isaiah, I knew the time was right to give you clues as to the importance Isaiah played in your life. That, in turn, would spur both Mike and yourself to research it further, ultimately leading us here.

"I agonized for many centuries over how exactly I could help solidify your journey towards God, as your mother wanted. Finally, I realized that I was overthinking the entire problem; the easiest way to bring you closer to God was to show you how close to Him your mother was. Though the choice of this journey is always yours and no one else's, I knew that seeing her sacrifice and unconditional love for you would be exactly what you needed. Am I correct?"

"Of course!" Melody answered. "Truthfully... Mike and I have always disagreed on matters of death. I can essentially grant him eternal life, yet he has never wanted me to do so, saying that death is only the beginning of the next life. I think I finally understand what he means," she said, gazing lovingly at her husband. "I want nothing more than to fulfill my mother's wish, so that I can see her again, someday. If that means accepting that death is nothing to be afraid of, then I'll be ready to take that plunge when our time comes."

"I believe you," Selena said. "I have done all I can in fulfilling Maya's dying wish. The future now belongs to the two of you. If you continue along the path you have chosen, I have no doubt that you will see her again."

"Selena, thank you for everything," Mike said.

"We will never forget you," Melody agreed.

Starting to glow with an ethereal light, Selena said, "We will never see each other again, but I know my existence has been made whole because of you, Melody. Even if I never grant another wish in my life, I will still know that I have done something of meaning. If God does have a purpose for me, I hope that I have achieved it. Thank you, my friends. Goodbye."

With a blinding flash of light, she was gone. Once again, Mike and Melody were alone. They sat in silence for a long time, completely in awe of everything they had learned and witnessed.

Overwhelmed with emotion, Melody drew Mike close and kissed him tenderly, pouring all the love she had for him into their kiss. As they finally parted, she gazed into his blue eyes and whispered, "Mike... I want to be a mother. I want to show our child the love and selflessness that my mother showed me. Please... impregnate me. Make me the mother of your child."

Mike said nothing, but smiled and kissed her deeply. He had wanted to start a family with her for some time now, but was waiting to marry her first. Pushing her back on the bed gently, he untied her satin robe. He moved his hand up the inside of her thigh, causing her breathing to deepen, until he finally arrived at her pussy, caressing her outer lips as she gasped in pleasure. Kissing her deeply, he slipped a finger inside of her as she moaned into his mouth, throwing her arms tightly around his neck. After fingering her for several minutes, her arms traveled southward, slipping his shorts off of him and onto the floor.

"I'm ready, Mike," she whispered.

Moving into position on top of her, he slowly pushed his cock into her tight, slick tunnel. "I love you," he whispered.

As he began to thrust into her, enjoying every inch of her wonderful pussy, the couple said nothing. Enjoying every touch, moan, and look of love, they simply savored the moment. Mike's heartbeat increased, pounding in his chest, as he thought about what they were about to do, and how their lives would change going forward.

"Melody, if we do this... I don't want any magic involved," he said. "I want you to experience everything you would during any normal pregnancy. I want to enjoy our anticipation leading up to you giving birth. Is that... ok?"

Smiling, she kissed him lovingly, saying, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Feeling his climax fast approaching, Mike locked onto her beautiful emerald eyes, drinking her in. "I wish for you to have our child. I wish to impregnate you... right here... right now."

Tingle. Flash.

Nothing more needed to be said. As Mike increased the ferocity of his thrusts, Melody continued to lock eyes with her husband, softly running her fingers across his cheek in love and adoration. Her pussy began to clench around his cock, fully anticipating his orgasm, which finally pushed him over the edge. The newlyweds wordlessly climaxed together, as Mike filled her womb with his seed. Panting and breathing heavily, the couple lay in each other's arms for what seemed like years, wanting nothing more than the warmth of their touch.

"I love you, Melody," Mike finally whispered.

Smiling, she kissed him softly on the forehead and replied, "I love you, Mike."

*****

In the months that followed, the Braxtons fully enjoyed Melody's pregnancy. She developed quite the craving for peanut butter and corndogs, resulting in a few late night trips to the store for Mike. Through it all, they savored every moment of their child growing in Melody's womb. After a few ultrasounds, it was revealed that they would be having a son, and that he was easily the healthiest growing baby their nurse and doctor had ever seen.

Jane and Brad were particularly excited at being future grandparents. Mike knew full well that Jane would spoil their son rotten, but it was her prerogative. "After all," Jane would say, "parents often have to say no, but grandparents get to say yes." After several ideas from their son and daughter-in-law, Jane and Brad eventually decided that they wanted to be called "Nana" and "Pop."

As Melody neared birth, Jane and Darcy worked to give her one of the best baby showers imaginable. Since Mike and Melody were the first of their group of friends to become pregnant, most of their baby clothes, toys, and supplies were bought brand new, though Melody promised to share as the rest of their friends started families of their own. By far her favorite gift was an Auburn Tigers onesie from Jane and Brad.

One morning, in the eighth month of her pregnancy, Melody was relaxing on the sofa of their apartment, thumbing through her Bible. She asked, "Mike, have you decided on what name you think would be best? I'm at a total loss."

Chuckling, he replied, "I tried several name combinations, but there's only one that just sounded... right."

"And that would be?"

"Harry Isaiah Braxton."

Her eyes lit up as she repeated the name in her mind. "I love it," she finally replied. "It's perfect. Your granddaddy and the man who helped deliver me to you." With a satisfied chuckle, he sat on the couch next to her. "So, Mike, something I was wondering."

"What's that?"

"Should our son know about my true nature or not?"

"Hmm... good question," Mike said quietly. After thinking for several minutes, he responded, "I don't want our son to feel that he is different or not normal in any way. With that in mind, it may be best for him not to know, at least until he is old enough to fully understand why we kept it from him. Even then, we would want to ask ourselves if he would want us to tell him after all this time or not. Does that make sense?"

Smiling, she replied, "Completely. Our primary duties are to his growth and development, and our life circumstances should be separate from that. It shouldn't matter that he is born of a human and a genie, as long as he is raised with the love, care, and discipline he needs."

"Exactly. Plus, if he were to know that his mom has magical powers, it could turn into a constant battle to ward off his desire to have those powers used for him. That would defeat the whole purpose of raising him to believe that he is just like every child that he goes to school with."

Pleased with themselves and how easily they had arrived at a decision on the matter, the pair spent the rest of the day finalizing preparations on their son's bedroom.

One month later, the time came for Melody to give birth. Thanks to some creative wishing on Mike's part, they encountered no traffic or red lights on their way to the hospital. As they arrived, Melody's birth pains continued to increase, putting her in a flustered state that was completely foreign to her normally cool and confident personality. Still, Mike knew she would handle it all brilliantly, especially with his wish that nothing bad happen to her as a result of their child being born, which put her mind at ease greatly. As she stretched out on the bed in the hospital room, the nurse entered, asking what kind painkillers she preferred for giving birth.

"None please, thank you. I'm... having a natural childbirth," came Melody's reply. In truth, this was due to the fact that human medicines and anesthesia would have no effect on Melody, thus raising suspicion. Still, at Mike's insistence, they wanted to have their baby in a hospital, primarily so the doctors could monitor the child and ensure that he was completely healthy.

As the nurse left the room momentarily, giving the couple some privacy, Mike held Melody's hand tightly, asking, "You ready for this?"

"Yes, but... part of me is still scared. Not about the birth, but... what if I'm not as good a mother as mine was?"

Mike kissed her forehead tenderly, reassuring her. "You will be an amazing mother. And there's no doubt in my mind that, if you did have to lay down your life for your child, you would do so in a heartbeat."

"Thank you," she said weakly, growing tired from her long labor. "Oh... oh shit! I think it's time!"

"Doctor! It's time!" Mike shouted to the hallway. Soon, Melody's medical team swarmed the room, two nurses flanking her doctor as he assumed his delivery position.

"Oh yes, it's looking good," the doctor said. Mike loved the confident, almost cocky swagger he displayed; it's one of the most reassuring things he could imagine in a doctor. "The baby is crowning. Melody, in a moment, you'll feel an incredible urge to push. Don't fight it. Embrace it. Mike, you may well lose your arm in this process, but I bet you knew that coming into all of this."

"Comes with the territory," Mike replied with his smartass grin.

As Melody methodically breathed, following the doctor's every instruction, the urge to push finally arrived in full force. "OH GOD!! AAAAAAHHHH!!"

"That's it Melody, great job. Now PUSH!" the doctor said.

With a final obscenity filled spasm, Melody finally forced the baby out into the world, the sweet sounds of his crying filling the room. "It's a boy," the doctor said proudly. As his nurses quickly cleaned the child and wrapped him in a blanket, Mike and Melody hugged in celebration. Her hair was matted with sweat, but to Mike, she had never looked more beautiful in her life.