Inside a dark room a woman sat on the ground on her knees, bringing both her trembling arms together and bowing her head before the row of candles placed in front of her. Her breathing was shaky and tears streamed down her beautiful face as she pleaded softly, "I come before you… to humbly request… that you please… grant me a child. Just one healthy child … who I can call my own. Please… just one… I beg of you"
***
Later, in the main living room, an extravagant space awash in white and gold, the pure white walls framed three white sofas topped with plush white pillows. White lacquered tables and furniture filled the room, each piece intricately adorned with shimmering gold carvings and delicate golden engravings that caught the light like fire. The same woman sat on the smaller sofa enjoying a cup of tea with some delicious pastries that sat on the small marble table next to a delicate vase that contained a Lotus blossom. She had long, black hair and deep, blue eyes, and wore a silky blue and white robe-like garment with wide sleeves and a cross collar design, with gold flowers embroidered all over the fabric.
It was currently night time, evident by the crystal chandelier that emitted a bright light to the room. After taking the last sip of her tea, she got up and walked past the white and gold piano through the door that led outside into the back garden. The garden was also quite extravagant. It was even more spacious than the living room and was divided into many different parts by the stone pavement. The part she went to was a large rose garden with bushes containing roses of different colors from red to pink to white. It was dark and quiet in the garden, with the moon and stars being the only sources of light for her to see. She finally settled by a small bush containing pink roses.
She took one of the roses, which looked less lively than the others and looked at them with a sad expression, before taking a deep breath and stretching out both her hands towards the dying flower. But before she could do anything, the saw suddenly saw the dark and empty sky light up with a bright flash. She immediately turned her attention up to the sky and saw another flash of light fly across the sky before disappearing again. Then slowly, more and more of them kept flying across the sky and soon, the entire sky was full of them as they now flew in one massive group. It looked like it was raining fire, and the woman's heart began to race with awe. And yet, she could not take her eyes off of it. It was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen.
After a while, the rain of light was about to reach its end. Only a few of them remained as they finished flying down towards the ground, and eventually, the last one shot down across the sky, and everything turned dark again. The woman was left breathless for a few moments, her gaze still fixed on the sky above her. Then suddenly, she was snapped back to reality by a faint sound that caught the attention of her ears. She could not yet make out what the sound was, but for some reason, she could not ignore it. She decided to follow the sound until she could potentially find its source. As she walked around the garden, the sound became louder and clearer and now she knew exactly what the sound was. It was the same sound she had been longing to hear for the longest time now, the sound of a baby's cry.
She searched around thoroughly for where the sound could have come from and soon it felt like she was just inches away from it as the sound became louder and louder. She eventually reached a point where the sound was at its loudest and all that was left was to find the exact source of the crying sound. Finally, at the farthest end of the back garden, behind a row of bushes, she saw a small baby human no bigger than one of her hands. It was dirty, butt naked and had small blonde hair. She picked it up and immediately cradled it in her arms, trying to get it to stop crying. It was very small, so her movement was kind of awkward. After getting the baby to calm down, she finally got a good look at it and saw that,
He's a boy
Indeed he was. But that was not the only thing that caught her eye.
Those eyes
His eyes were a striking gold, unlike anything she had ever seen before. She stared at them for a while in complete awe before feeling a breeze brush past her, which brought her back to her senses. She rushed back into the house with the baby in her arms.
Back inside the house, she burst through the door and immediately called for one of her servants. "Sylvia!" A few moments later, a young servant girl wearing a black gray robe with white layered underneath appeared before her, "Yes, my Lady," she said while bowing her head. She lifted her head up and noticed the small naked baby in her arms, but before she could ask any questions, her mistress gave her an order. "Please get this baby cleaned and covered in a blanket or a towel, then bring him back to me." She took the baby and accepted her orders, "As you wish, my Lady". She then immediately left to tend to this strange baby.
***
She rushed to the backside of the house near the servant's quarters where she was immediately met by a few of the many servants that worked at the mansion. "Sylvia, what is that?", asked one of the other servants. "It is a baby," Sylvia answered. "He is so small and precious. Whose baby is it?" She asked again.
"I don't know, Lady Isabella handed him to me and requested that I get him clothed." A few other servants came in and they were all also shocked by the baby. "Aww, he is so cute, whose baby is this?" another servant came to ask. Slyvia sighed and said in slight frustration, "I do not know who this baby is, or who he belongs to. I am merely following orders. Now if you'll excuse me." She walked past the crowd and entered one of the small rooms.
***
After a while, Sylvia had finished wrapping the baby in a small soft blanket and headed back into the living room to hand her back to Isabella. "Here he is, my Lady." Isabella took the child back into her arms and smiled warmly. Sylvia hesitated for a moment before asking, "um, excuse me, my Lady, but if I may ask, whose child is this?" "I do not know. I found him in the garden naked and crying after that wonderful show the sky put on" Sylvia lit up in excitement, "you saw it too, Lady Isabella? It was quite beautiful was it not? I mean, the sky was dark for one second and then the next, boom! It was all ablaze with light." Isabella chuckled then said, "indeed it was. I was quite frightened at first. I thought the world was about to end, then I found myself awestruck by the sheer beauty of it all." Isabella paused for a moment then turned her attention to the baby. "I think I shall adopt this boy and make him my own." Sylvia was taken aback for a second by what she said. "Are you sure, my lady? Is he not someone else's child?"
Isabella replied, "Well yes he is. But I found this child in the garden, what kind of parent would leave their newborn child alone in someone else's garden? Clearly they have no desire for him, so I shall take the role of mothering this poor little boy." Sylvia was still rather shocked as she laid out more questions, "Well, what about Lord Thomas? Does he know about this?" Isabella's expression turned somber at the mention of her husband's name, "No, but I shall inform him when he returns. Surely he will come to accept my decision." Sylvia looked at her then smiled quietly, "All right then, my Lady. So, what will you name your new son? He seems rather strange. He is an adorable baby, with his golden blonde hair and blue eyes. He will surely grow up to be a handsome young man."
Isabella looked at her, puzzled. "Blue? His eyes are gold. And they were shining like little stars." Sylvia looked at her with the same puzzled expression. "But, when I looked at him, his eyes were blue, my Lady." Isabella decided to take another close look at him which was difficult since the boys eyes were shut. She lightly tapped him on his small body until he lightly opened his eyes and Isabella was met with deep blue oceanic eyes. "Oh my"
The baby closed his eyes again, leaving Isabella dumbfounded. "But… his eyes were gold. I saw them. I looked deep into his eyes and saw gold" Sylvia did not try to continue the debate and instead shifted the focus elsewhere. "So… what shall you name him, Lady Isabella?"
Isabella gazed gently at the baby for a few seconds. She thought about her own family, specifically her elder brother, who served as the only remaining light in her world before his tragic passing. He provided for her and protected her all by himself since she was a small little girl. A smile appeared on her face as she reminisced, then she answered soft as a whisper,
"Matteo"