A Little Life

Julijana Mitchell was an intern nurse at Mount St. Michael's Hospital in London. She was a young girl of only twenty - two, with pale blonde hair that barely passed her shoulder and pale blue eyes that always looked dull. She was tall and skinny; her skin was just as pale as her hair. Julijana had always had trouble when it came to getting the attention of men - her own father called her ugly, her brother thought she was too, and any of her male cousins would laugh at the sight of her.

That was why the night of July 26th would always remain a night of pure mystery to Julijana.

It was late that evening. Angelina Thourogood, a close friend of Julijana and a fellow intern at Mount St. Michael's, walked into the small office that she and her close friend shared. Julijana sat at her desk, reading a book on Greek Mythology. Angelina picked up her house key from her side of the office and turned to face Julijana. She ran her hand through her light brown hair before speaking.

"I've got to get back to Tad," Angelina said nervously, knowing how upset Julijana got over the mention of other people's boyfriends.

Julijana looked up and tried to hide her sudden sadness at the mention of Tad. "Alright, I understand," she replied as she placed her book on Greek Mythology down on the desk. "Is there any particular reason that you told me that?"

"Well," Angelina started, "I'm not supposed to be done with my shift for another half hour. I would love to stay, but Tad has been calling the hospital phone to beg that I go home to him all night."

"And?" Julijana presed on.

"One of the doctors wanted me to check in on the engineer that came down from Leeds today," Angelina continued. "You know, the young man with the broken arm and fractured leg? I was wondering if you could do it for me."

"I guess I could," Julijana said as she stood up.

"Thank - you so much! I owe you!" Angelina shrieked in happiness as she hugged her friend good bye.

"It's okay," Julijana assured her as they both exited the office. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye!" Angelina called as she headed for the staircase.

Julijana sighed as she walked to the over to the head nurse's office. "Excuse me, m'am. Could you tell me which room the injured engineer is in?" she asked.

The head nurse opened to her clipboard and read off a page, "Room 116 on the fifth floor."

"Thank - you," Julijana said as she made her way for the staircase. She began to climb the next two flights of stairs, thinking hard. It was always like Angelina to leave her current obligations to head home to a boyfriend. She had been doing it every since she was thirteen, when she had gotten her first boyfriend. Julijana wasn't sure how she could stand by and watch Angelina head off with all these different men. Julijana had no experience with men whatsoever, and she wasn't even sure if she ever would. Julijana had always wanted to start a family, to understand the joy and pain of having a child - but at the rate she was going, it was never going to happen.

Room 116 was located right across from the door to the staircase. Julijana was hesitant to go in when she found that a faint desk light was on. She opened the door carefully to find that the man who must have been the engineer fast asleep. She crept over to him and tried to look at his foot, tied up in its cast. As she bent over to touch it the engineer's eyes fluttered open and he stared quietly at Julijana.

"Hello," he said after surveying her for a moment. Julijana jumped, having been caught off guard. She backed away into one of the darker corners of the room. The engineer smiled in an amused fashion at her. "I'm sorry if I scared you," he added on after a moment.

Julijana stepped from the shadows. "It's alright," she said. "I'm the foolish one." She eyed the engineer. He had golden blonde hair and dark brown eyes that came from a muscular shaped face. He was built farely well and looked to be around the age of twenty - eight.

"What's your name?" the engineer asked.

"Julijana Mitchell," Julijana said after a moment. "I'm a nurse here at Mount St. Michael's."

"Sid," the engineer replied. "Just Sid."

A crying Julijana sat in her room. Her mother was by her side, her arms around her beloved daughter. Downstairs Julijana's father was on the phone to the police. He was angrier then he had ever been before, and it was noticeable by the fact that his voice could be heard all the way upstairs. May, Julijana's younger sister, and Arthur, Julijana's younger brother, sat in seperate corners of their sister's room.

"Oh Mother!" Julijana sobbed. "How could this have happened! How? I never expected Sid to...to.." She was overcome with emotions and burst into a fresh new batch of tears. Mrs. Mitchell hugged her daughter harder. Julijana had been dating the engineer who only went by the name of Sid for eight months. No one, including Angelina and her new finacee Tad, had liked him. But Julijana was hung hard for the first man who had ever showed any kindness and romantic attraction to her.

If only she new that he had planned rape on his mind...

As Julijana continued to sob, something was going on deep down inside of her. Somewhere in an unseeable place, a little life was being born.

Nine months later he would make his debut into the world.

Well, do you like it so far? The next chapter will involve the childhood of the baby. In your reviews, please try and guess which boy from 'Lord of the Flies' the baby will turn out to be. Remember, I am using the physical features from the 1963 movie to characterize them - so it will be one of the "major" characters from that movie that has blonde hair.

Please review!

Lady Morrison