The Disabled, The Lucky

He sits outside, waiting for the doctor. Fiddling his fingers, blankly observing the pictures of the staff. He is nervous, anxious, excited. Maybe he should go inside! No, they made him sit. "I hope she's healthy. I hope she's happy," he murmured to himself. The silence of the hallway is breached by a scream. 'I hope that's a good scream... The distance is too far away. I can't really tell,' he thinks.

As he listens the door behind him is pushed him. He jumps to his feet excited to hear the news. In walks a nurse, carefully closing the door to keep the room silent. She looks at him and says, "Sir, would you like to see your daughter?" "Yes! Yes please! Is she alright?" "Right this way sir," she replies. He is confused on her response, he was unaware yet suspicious that she had news.

They walk down to a room, the room had a glass wall. Behind that wall were dozens of babies. He looks for the tag which he and his girlfriend chosen, Reestella. 3 rows down and 1 isle to the right, he sees her. "Isn't she beautiful," he asks. "Yes Sir, a beautiful baby," she says, lacking a convincing tone. "but I have bad news, I'm afraid."

"What? What's wrong," he says, in a tone of panic. "Well," she says, "a notch in her head is a little.. contorted. I hate to tell you this, but your daughter has down syndrome."

He looks at her, with a still gaze. Then, a smile begins to creep onto his face. A tear drops from his eye and he shakes her hand and says, "thank you! Thank you very much ma'am. I wish you know how special a moment this is for me!" In confusion, she looks back at the baby and welcomes him.

They back stand there, for a handful of minute, looking at the baby. Then, she turns her head and asks, "May I ask, why are you happy? Your daughter has been born with a mental disability, doesn't that make you sad?" He looks back and says with a tearful smile, "No. I couldn't ask for anything better. She is luckier than every one of us on this world. She will never have to worry about boys, about work, about taxes, about responsibilities. She will live her whole life as a child, and will never notice the evil of this world. Tell me nurse, what's so wrong with that?"

She awes him, they stand still for half a minute. A tear drops from her eye as she shakes his hand and walks away.