The fountain was alone at the center of the square, seemingly like a soldier standing its ground as it boldly faced the sinfully-lit night sky. It was a premonition, an omen as the stone cherubim perched on its peak ceased to shed tears.

It is still here. Here.

A lone hooded figure silently moved near the monument, defying menacing winds as she clutched what remained of her tattered cloak. The stone wrecks that hinted a once busy, building-paved town square swirled about her in an evil palette of gloom, hovering around in such a slow, inviting dance.

She then had the desire to faint, coughing endlessly as clouds that smelled of gunpowder flew from the east.

No!

Shadows scurried back up the cracks of the broken down walls as the figure shook the hood from her head. Never will she let the darkness get to her again… Not again. She then lifted her face and tasted the spatters of rain running down her lips. It was bitter, and it tasted of blood.

This.. couldn't be happening… She had come here to see what remained of a dream, only to be frozen in mid-stance, caught in a nightmare that have spun itself within the perilous night's womb. The angelic icon had one of its wings chipped and broken, molds taking their spree over its once serene face. It was deformed, and its now sinister features scared her.

She then tugged the white scarf closer to her parched lips. The night was cold, and she was shivering under the cherubim's demeaning stare, pounding on her conscience like a ton of bricks over a sheet of wood.

"My angel…" were the only words she managed to say, her throat dried up from all the tears she had shed. "…forgive me…"

It is useless, Elly. The statue glared at her, its face flooded with bleeding sparks from the nearing apocalypse. You have forsaken us…

She hovered her eyes from bulb-less lamp posts down numerous stone debris precariously positioned near her feet. How many have suffered under these rubbles? Her hands tensed on her sides as ghostly shrieks of people echoed through her head.

"No, no…but I did… what I could…what I should" Elly fell to her knees, calling upon tears which failed her. "I cannot cry no more… no more…" She felt the numbness of her eyelids as she squeezed them shut. The fury of the storm winds then battered against her blanched cheeks, bellowing ghastly melodies into her ear.

You, you left us…

Then with an almost cruel passion for dramatic synchrony, the skies boomed with an eerie duet of both thunder and earthly explosion. It caught Elly off-guard, and the scarf, a woven masterpiece of highland wool, grand artistry, and patience, then fell to the rain-drenched cobblestone floor.

Elly bit her lip as she stared at the fallen cloth. The heavens echoed a melancholic tune as it lamented for her, shedding tears which she has been long deprived of…

"Oh I simply adore it!!" she exclaimed, hugging the white woven fabric dearly to her chest. Like a child she then waved it around as the man in front of her scratched his brown, pony-tailed head.

It was less than a minute before Christmas, and couples, children, even the elderly, have gathered in the square right before the Cherubim Fountain. The largest ornamental tree was about to be lit according to tradition, and usually, only the occasion called for attention, but now, it had a 19 year old woman as its rival.

"Elly, hey, you're making people stare…" he caught her flying hand even before she was about to land it on an passerby's back. "Hey, hey, not so loud…"

She stopped her little dance of joy and abruptly fixed her blue-violet eyes into his. "You're not happy that I'm happy?" her full-red lips formed a little curve. "I know you're a doctor and I'm a nurse, but everybody has to act natural sometimes, don't you agree? Now don't be such a stiff!"

He swiftly looked around and was relieved to find no one that have noticed her little number. "Now, now, Elly, it's not like that. Don't pout." He brought his hand again to scratch his head. "I'm really shocked that you liked it… I mean, with it being so old and…."

She pulled a finger in front of his perfectly formed lips, seizing him in mid-sentence. "Ah, ah, ah… not a word, Kim. I like it, and it doesn't matter if it's already 40 years old." She carefully wrapped the cloth around her neck and smiled. "It's really a big honor to be able to wear this… imagine, your mom's, your aunt's… it even dates back to your grandmama's!!"

"Yes, it's quite a marvel that it still remains in good condition after all those years. It's actually a family treasure" He reminisced how his mother used to tell him about keeping the scarf and offering it to his soon-to-be-bride. She often pointed out that the scarf was a legacy for all Kasim women. "You should pick your wife carefully, and she should value our valuables... blah, blah, blah." He closed his eyes and smirked. His mother would have gone on and on for years talking like that, but finally she stopped after the day he told her of his engagement.

Kim then opened his eyes and found her so beautiful, this woman in front of him. He gave up his thoughts and instinctively took her hand, eyeing it with endearment. "Such beauty deserves all the best I could offer."

The tree lighting event have begun, but Kim felt no interest in lifting his stare from such a wonderful creature.

His eyes then trudged a slow path from her fingers up to her delicately featured face. Her white blouse flowed faultlessly over her shapely chest, and her amber hair were suited compliments for her peach, flawless skin. Such perfection never failed to leave him in a momentary state of bliss. "I'm so happy you're here for me…Elly."

Elly placed her other hand over his, making sure to meet his brown eyes in a loving gaze. "I'm even happier you chose me as your wife, Kim." Her eyes glimmered even lovelier than the star-filled sky. "Thank you…"

Her words then trailed off as Kim lifted her face closer to his, drawing her near as the fireworks above them started to dance in an endless display of cascading light and sound. Echoing screams of human delight slowly faded as Elly drowned herself in an oblivious state of ecstasy.

Hope, love, exultation were the only things she had felt in the arms of the man she loves.

She fidgeted in her seat, still shaken even after hours when the detested news first struck. Her hands felt like stones on her lap, and her heart a heavy load as it sank within her. She shifted her gaze from her shoes to her husband, cautiously making sure she'd avoid his eyes the moment he turns.

"This is not fair…" he slammed a fist on the window sill. The cool summer breeze swept the long brown bangs from his frustrated face. "I can't believe this would happen to us… of all people." He then swiftly shifted his body weight, and in a split moment Elly suddenly found herself being pressed down by Kim's questioning eyes. She then panicked for a way to steer her sight off his.

But Kim's gaze caught her and pierced like frozen darts, expertly aimed at her soul. All pent-up guilt flooded her in a sudden deluge of emotions, gnawing at the very little self-esteem she has left.

She then broke into tears.

"I… I don't know what to do…I, I…"

Elly babbled on what seemed like an infant's prose, gasping every after unintelligible phrase. I can't help it… can't help it… she told herself on and on, clutching on her creased, tear-soaked skirt.

"Hush now…" he knelt before her and reached out a hand, offering a monogrammed silk handkerchief while he stroked her right fist. "Look, I'm sorry… for everything. I guess I was too tensed." He took the liberty of wiping the tears from her face. He just couldn't imagine that his wife, his beloved mate, had been cursed with the inability of reproduction.

"Kim…" she stuttered, "…I am not longer worthy… of you."

"Nonsense." Kim assured her. "Don't talk that way, Elly..." he forced a smile and sighed. He stood up and walked back to the open window, letting his eyes wander off into the deep blue-black horizon. The night was almost perfect, being their 1st year wedding anniversary and them just arriving from a wonderfully luxurious dinner. However, he knew Elly was keeping something from him. He never found her so quiet during a meal, and often she commented on everything, even the tablecloth, as she chewed her food. He ended up shrugging to the probability that the earlier physical examination made her tense, but he wasn't so sure until they reached home.

Elly broke the news to him after hours of insisting. Kim almost fell to his feet after the revelation.

"It's not you, Elly." He continued with a soft voice. After deep thought he had finally assessed and admitted facts, a long sigh leaving his heavied chest. "It's this current situation we're in. Notice that there is a mass report of impotency lately? It appears like we're running short on our lives, people dying at the age of 30 and females unable to bear children."

She then stopped sobbing and stared at the monogrammed "K" on the handkerchief she held. It was her Christmas gift to Kim, the year before they were married. She couldn't believe all the hopes and promises she swore with Kim would all fade away in the instance of a little genetic defect. "I'm so sorry, Kim," the apologies in her mind lingered on.

"The doctor said it was a hereditary abnormality," she finally spoke up. "It's my fault, Kim, I should have had myself examined before we got engaged."

Kim turned around and worried about her, how much she had wallowed in self pity. She was sulking so low in her seat, and Kim can no longer see the once cheerful, childish Elly he fell so in love with. "Elly," he approached her and wanted to cheer her up, bring back the once lively woman he knew. "Don't worry, we'll work something out. Remember, your husband is a scientist, isn't he?"

Elly looked up and met his eyes just like the way they first shook hands in the Zeboim hospital. Those eyes, those big brown eyes... how could she resist? "Kim, I trust you…"

Only then did she lit up as Kim held her close to his warm, comforting chest. There will be hope, Elly… there will be.

"The possibilities of artificial recombination is slim, doctor." A man clad in white tunic replaced the wide-brimmed glasses on his young face, closing the microscope light with his left hand. "The genetic structure of both you and Elly's cells are highly incompatible."

Kim crossed his arms in disbelief. "You mean there is no way I can augment her abnormal DNA with my helises? Gian, there must be a way!"

Giandel Trevoire's mid-cut hair fell all over his face as he bowed down in deep thought. "I told you, Kim. It would be possible if you introduce another genetic pattern. Having a third party would rise the chances of DNA recombination to 80%."

"Gian, I want the offspring to bear only our traits, and ours alone!"

Gian sighed. "Then this project has reached a dead end, Kim." He raised his head and offered his sympathy to his best friend. "There is no more we can do."

"Nothing more? That's absurd!" Kim thought. It had been 3 months since they started the project, and Kim had to call up his college friend and ask him for guidance. Since Gian was so adept in Genetics, Kim felt that his plans would be in a better position if he had his help. After a month's observation they concluded that the abnormality was caused about by a degenerating helix structure in random family members of every bloodline, leading to shorter life expectancy and reproduction incapability. Man was leaning towards extinction. The horrible truth made Kim shiver.

"Hello?" Kim's thoughts trailed off as his friend shook his shoulder. "You see, it isn't your fault. Let's just accept things the way they are right now."

Kim brushed off Gian's hand from his shoulder. He wouldn't accept anything at all, not now that he had gone all the way to resolve all the problems he and Elly were facing. He crossed his arms. "Gian, I will not give up…"

"All too serious, are we?" both men nearly jumped as a slender figure approached them from behind. She was clad in a white nurse uniform, and she had brought them drinks, smiling so sweetly as she placed the tray down the lab table.

"Elly! Damn, you scared the wits out of me!" Kim exclaimed, clutching his chest for emphasis. Gian nodded in agreement.

She then grinned, two dimples softly forming on each end of her lips. She handed them their orange juice. "Kim, dear… you should liven up sometimes. You are always so uptight and jumpy." Her hands reached for the electron microscope nearby, opening up the light as she lowered her face to the eyepiece. "So how did your testing went?"

Gian sighed, his hair flying off from his face. "It's still impossible, Elly. There is definitely no way we can get positive results by combining your genes." He again crossed his arms. "But as I told Kim, there is a better chance of success if we introduce another helix structure…"

"You mean we should get another person's genes into the experiment?" Elly spoke while still eyeing the slides currently under the high power lens. Her brain raced for memories of her physiology and genetics classes. "Hmm, yes, there seem to be conflicts in the amino acid chain we have in this sample…. It reminds me of that previous lab experiment I had with my roommate. We had the hydrogen bonds created out of nothing, and the result looked like this… not a very lovely sight."

Create? Elly, you are incredible! Kim was suddenly excited. He placed the glass he was holding down, propping himself up proudly in the process. "However," he exclaimed. "I see another possibility…. we can maybe augment the broken chains by artificial means…" He turned and faced Gian. "… without the introduction of a third party."

Gian gasped. "Kim!! There is no way we can reproduce human genes by artificial means!"

Kim gave him a wry smile.

"No, Kim!! Even if there is a way…. It is against the law… no, I take that back… it is forbidden by God himself!!" Gian couldn't believe what his friend was actually thinking. It's absolutely foolish!!

Kim swiftly turned around and walked towards the door, the smile still locked on his face. He then gave Elly a swift nod, and Gian a cocky look.

"So who says I'm gonna reproduce? I can mimic…. "

All that was heard was the soft closing of the door, and Gian's heavy breathing. Kim, no….

The room was cold, and Elly shivered as she traced her husband's steps. He was excited, and she could not keep up with his speedy pace. She took a deep breath of formalin-soaked air and called out for him.

"Kim, Kim, wait up!"

She was lagging behind when Kim looked over his back. He stopped in mid-stride and gave out a teasing sigh. His Elly was never nimble on her feet, and he would always laugh at the way she got left behind.

"What are you laughing at, h-huh?" Elly caught up with him, panting as she raced for her breath.

"Elly, you are such a slowpoke!" He stroke her back, aiding her in her quest for normal breathing. "Now let's go!"

Elly gasped as Kim jumped and ran through the narrow lab pathway.

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OOPs, this will be continued... Tell me if you're waiting for the continuation so that I could put this story in first priority!! Mail me at nutz@quakecity.net ! Thanks!