Silence.
Deep, velvety darkness.
The sway and swash of my cocoon engulfs me.
The soothing song of my protector’s breath
Lulls me into serene dreaming of a life to come.

And yet,
In the peace of my dormancy, something is lurking.
Something is hiding... crouching... prowling.
The stranger probes the sanctuary of my mother’s womb,
Its black force encircles me, closing its arms in a vile embrace.
 
Hunting me...
This cursed cobra writhes in iron coils,
Fangs glinting, waiting for the moment to strike...
It pierces through my vulnerable body!
Spreading its tendrils of fire, reducing my being to mere ashes.

It is time.
Time to be torn from my invulnerable fortress.
Fierce hands are pushing, tugging, forcing!
They knead and mould my body like clay.
I make my first journey from darkness to light.

I am born.
Blazing white slices my eyes, freezing air bites at my skin,
A sharp slap and it rushes through me stabbing at my throat!
In protest, a wail erupts from my body!
Everyone smiles, my mother’s warmth enfolds me once more.

It is finished...
My first journey is followed so swiftly by my last.
I am the sacrifice to an unappeasable beast.
I am the price paid for another’s mistake.
WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE THIS?

Nothing...
Where there was once life, now painful emptiness.
Where there was once a beating heart, now an eerie silence.
The lurking monster claims another victim.
Leaving surges of sorrow and rivers of tears in its wake.