A/N - Sorry so long. I don't like turning a story into multiple chapters when I don't think of it in time. By the time I reach the point it should be multiple chapters, I've gone past it. So please excuse the extra long ONESHOT and enjoy.
Two Players, One Moment, One Voice, One Chance
A much along pregnant Izumi Curtis sat leaning against the side of her house as the waves crash onto the shore. It was a warm and sunny day as life went on like it did everyday. Her husband Sig was inside running the meat shop, which was located on the front of the house facing the center of their home town, Dublith. But here, behind the house, facing the large lake which held the large uninhabited island Izumi owned, she sat staring off into space. She sat wearing a simple, yet comfortable outfit. A long denim skirt was just under her enlarged stomach as a yellow tee shirt hung extra large over her tiny frame. Her left hand sat resting on the ground over a book she was recently reading, while her right hand was resting on her stomach where she could feel the baby kicking.
A warm breeze blew by and whipped her long black hair which was pulled into tiny cornrow braids that extended down to her lower back. To assist in taming her wild hair, the tiny braids were held together in a white ponytail holder. As the breeze blew by, she closed her bright violet eyes and smiled, snapping back into reality. The baby kicked again and she opened her eyes. She placed her other hand on her stomach and smiled again. Behind her, exiting from the house's back door, was Sig. An oversized muscle man with short black hair that combined with his black mustache and beard. He wore an apron over his red shirt and plant pants as he exited the stuff house out into the fresh summer air. She stood next to his sitting wife and stared off across the water for a moment before he leaned against the house and sat next to her. Allowing her to lean her head on his chest, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and held her close.
A young man, with short black hair walked by the couple carrying a basket full for freshly bought food. An old elderly woman walked next to him. She wore a smile on her face and pulled the yellow blanket that was over her shoulders tighter to her body, covering the large red brooch that sat at the neck of her purple house dress. The man smiled and yelled over to the couple and managed a small wave. The lady smiled and waved as the two continued walking around the lake and up to the large white house that was owned by the old lady.
"Mason you spoil her."
Izumi yelled as she waved at her older brother who only laughed and continued walking. Soon, the two were out of sight as they made their way into the think forest that surrounded the house. Izumi smiled as she rested her head once again on the chest of Sig. She patted her stomach and smiled up at him.
"Any day now, and we'll be a complete family."
"We already are a family."
Sig replied as he kissed the top of her head gently and carefully placed his large hand over her tiny one which rested on her stomach. After a few more minutes of peaceful bliss, a ringing bell sounded from the shop front and Sig rose to answer it, leaving Izumi along once again. Izumi watched her husband walked through the house from the doorway until he was gone and she then turned back to the water as she picked up her book once again.
It was a large tin book with a blue and white cover. On the front in bold blue letters was 'EASY COOKING'. She casually flipped through the pages, reading and memorizing every detail that was set before her in the form of science. As the day wore on, the sun began to slowly slide down to the horizon and the once warm breeze turned cooler. Izumi shivered once and decided to go inside. On a normal night, before she was pregnant, she would sit outside in a snow storm until Sig pleaded with her to enter. Then, days later she would be ill. but tonight, she had to worry about the health of two instead of one.
She slowly and carefully made her way through the back door, then turned to close and lock it. With a steady hand on her back, she moved slowly through the hallway to the study where she walked in to sit by the window. The curtains were opened, but the window was shut and locked. In front, was a solid oak rocking chair set up for her to rock the baby to sleep and to read to it. Book cases lined the walls of the small room, the higher shelves held Izumi's science books. Science books that contained her science of alchemy. A science she taught herself daily. The lower shelves held cooking books, parenting books and a few children book. The newest books being the children books. A table sat centered in the room where it held a small black mechanism that was created to capture moments on paper. The city folk called it a camera, Izumi called it an electronic sketch book, because thats what it was, only in color.
Izumi slowly walked into the room, her book tight by her side and made her way to the rocking chair. She closed the room door, but being in her weakened state, the door bounced back open a crack. She walked closer and closer to the chair. At the table, the baby kicked, but harder this time. She stopped walking and rested her hand on the table. She placed her other hand back on her stomach and took in a deep breath. This baby was going to be her first. So everything during her pregnancy was a learning experience for the family she wanted to give her loving husband. In her eyes, a couple without a child isn't a family. In Sig's eyes, just him and Izumi were the perfect family, with little additions coming soon.
Izumi straightened up and attempted to walk again, but again, a stabbing pain cut across her stomach. this time it was worse. Izumi was a strong girl, a girl who would probably take on someone twice her size. Pain was never an option for her. But this pain, was very much so an option, and option she couldn't deny. Before she had a chance to overcome the latest pain attack, another came quickly, causing her to drop her book. She cried out in a quick shriek of pain as she placed all her weight on the table. She prayed Sig heard as yet another pain attack weighted down on her. But unfortunately for her, the door that separated the shop and the house was closed. Once more attack and Izumi fell to her knees. She relized all too late that these were not kicks, these were contractions and the baby was coming whether she was ready or not.
A final contraction set her over the edge. It was too much pain and she collapsed to the floor, landing on her side, her left arm stretched above her head. Her eyes slowly closed as she stared at her left hand, at the wedding ring to be exact. Before long, Sig decided to check on his wife and he entered the home, calling her name. When he got no answer, he began to search the house, passing the study as he did. He saw the door was partly open and he looked inside, seeing only her left hand lying across the floor. He ran into the room frantically and fell next to her. He gently ran his hand over her cheek and she came to.
"Sig... It's..."
Before she could continue, another contraction came and she keeled over in paint. Sig acted immediately and picked her up, running down the hall to their small bedroom and placing her on the bed. After checking to make sure she was comfortable, as comfortable as she could be in labor, he left the room to call up the doctor. In record time, the doctor and midwives arrived and rushed to the bedroom. In all the rush, Sig managed to close down his shop and find the needed items that would be needed once the baby was born; including blankets, dippers, and a glass of water with a bit of scotch for 'mommy'.
As the medical team did their job, Sig did his by waiting just outside the closed bedroom door. It crushed his heart at every scream his wife made. There may not of been as many as a normal woman, due to Izumi's strength, but with each painful noise that came from the room, Sig had to fight the urge to enter the room and be by her side. But since the beginning of time, men were forbidden from the room during labor, unless he was a certified maternity doctor, which Sig was not.
After an hour, the yelling stopped and one of the midwives exited the room to update Sig. She also requested the blankets which Sig handed over. Before the midwife could enter the room again, the other midwife and the doctor left the room, saying Izumi is requesting Sig, and she is threatening bodily harm to everyone if he isn't allowed in. At this comment, Sig smiled and entered the room, closing the door behind him. In front of him, Izumi was lying under the sheets with her head resting on two pillows. Her brow was sweaty and she looked to be in less pain.
"You shouldn't threaten the persons needed to assist you."
Sig said as he sat in the chair next to the bed and took her hand in his. Silence filled the room as the medication that Izumi was given slowly took effect.
"I swear, this better get easier over time."
Sig smirked at this comment from his distressed wife and patted her hand. She inhaled deeply and squeezed his hand tightly.
"Izumi, let the doctor help. He'll make it less painful for you."
Izumi didn't reply, she only wrinkled her brow at the comment. Soon the door creaked open and the doctor peeked in.
"Come in."
Sig said as he rose from the chair and allowed the doctor to sit. He began asking Izumi some questions and soon, the midwives entered and ushered Sig out. After another few hours, the midwives exited the door, passing a sleeping Sig who was slouched down on the floor, resting his head against the wall. They kept their heads down and silently exited the house, not making any recognizable signs that a baby was just born. The whole house was filled with deadly silence which is what woke Sig up. He fell asleep to the sounds of Izumi's painful moans and when all stopped, he was startled. After rising to his feet, the doctor exited the room, his head down.
"She seamed to be doing all right now. She passed out right at the end. But all signs say she will be okay by morning tomorrow, mid day at the latest."
"And the baby?"
This question seamed to shake the doctor a bit. He looked to the house door and saw the midwives were gone and relized they didn't tell him. After taking a long deep breath, the doctor closed his eyes and pondered for a moment. Sig was beginning to feel much concern. During this time, he never once heard the sounds of crying from a newborn baby.
"Mr. Curtis, I'm sorry to inform you of the most unfortunate circumstances. The baby didn't make it. Died shortly after being born. We tried to revive him, but he was so frail and weak, that there was nothing we could do. I'm sorry."
The doctor moved aside and allowed Sig into the room where he saw Izumi sleeping soundlessly on the bed. For the first time in the past ten hours, Izumi looked to be at peace. His eyes darted across the room many times until he saw the small motionless and silent bundle lying in the makeshift crib at the foot of the bed. Wrapped in a light blue blanket was the body of his newborn son. The doctor patted Sig on the shoulder before leaving the silent, morning Curtis house. He peered into the face of the baby. He looked to be sleeping, but the lack of breathing told him otherwise.
This was hard to register in his brain. How could this happen? They were prepared beyond belief for this moment, the moment they became parents for the first time. But, in an instant, it was all taken away. Not even a chance to experience the joys of parenting, and the baby was taken from them. He puled the blanket over the baby's face and walked to the bed, sitting next to his sleeping wife. This is where he remained for the rest of the night, and into the morning as the sun slowly peeked through the curtains of the small dark room.
The first to awaken was, unfortunately Izumi. She knew in her head something had happened. Her first movement was to pat her stomach and thats when it hit her. The baby was born. She listened into the darkness but heard no sounds of a baby anywhere. She looked next to her and saw Sig sleeping sitting in the chair, his head resting in his hand. She gently brushed her hand on his arm until he awoke with a startle. He stared into her eyes but couldn't say anything. She attempted to search his soul for signs of good news, but all she saw was darkness. Her smiled slowly faded as she asked.
"Sig... where is the baby?"
This question seamed to rattle around in his mind for a while. How could he answer. This baby meant everything to Izumi. How could he bring himself to tell his wife that their son was dead. Before she even had a chance to hold him. In an unconscious movement, Sig's eyes darted to the makeshift crib at the foot of the bed. Izumi saw this and followed his eyes to the crib. Her smile returned some what when she saw the blue bundle, but it quickly faded when she saw it was completely covered and wasn't moving or making sounds. Her smile transformed quickly into a frown and she peeled off the covers and crawled to the edge of the bed. Sig tried to stop her, but she moved to quickly.
Izumi reached down to the bundle and picked it up gently, resting it in her arms. She pulled back the blanket and stared into the pale lifeless face of her baby son. Her usually calm perplextion rearranged into a mixture look of horror, terror, sadness and anger. Sig's eyes darted to the floor when he saw his wife's expression. It wasn't fair. Why were they being punished? What were they gaining from this? Izumi couldn't tare her eyes off the lifeless bundle in her arms. Sig rose and sat next to her on the bed and removed the baby from her arms and placed it next to him on the other side. He then quickly took Izumi into his arms and held her tight.
He stroked her long hair as she just stared off into space. No tears left her eyes. Nothing could bring comfort to a mother who just lost her son. A son she never had a chance to look into his newborn eyes with joy of a new mother.
For the remainder of the day, Izumi remained in bed, covered up to her neck facing the wall. Sig often entered to check on her, but she showed no signs of emotion. She recognized he was there but said nothing. The baby was soon removed from the room and placed somewhere safe until the day of the funeral which was set for the next day. By nightfall, Sig entered the room to go to bed, but decided to sleep in the chair again. In the middle of the night, something awoke him and he noticed Izumi was gone. Her rose quickly and looked around the room, noticing her night shirt was on the floor and the clothes she wore the other day were gone. He ran from the room searching each room carefully, apon his search he noticed their son's body was also gone.
In the kitchen, he quickly noticed her 'EASY COOKING' book was opened up to a page entitled 'Human Transmutation'. Not fully understanding, he had a feeling this was not something good. He bolted quickly from the back door and looked across the sandy landscape to where their small wooden boat was. He saw a shadowy figure swaying across the sand making it's way to the boat. Long hair blew in the breeze as did the person's skirt. Footprints in the sand lead from the house to the boat.
"Izumi!"
Sig called out and the figure halted. Slowly, she turned to face him. He reached her and saw she held the body of their son. He took the baby from her and placed him in the boat and then placed his arms on her shoulders. He looked at her deeply and saw that the beautiful bright violet-eyes girl he fell in love with was gone. Replaced by an empty shell who housed a tormented soul. She pulled her close to him and wrapped his arms tightly around her. For the first time, Izumi began to cry. She relaxed her body as she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and cried into his shoulder. Silver streaks rolled down her face and splashed onto his shirt as she let out all the pain she was holding inside.
"It's not fair Sig. He lost his life and what did he gain from it? Nothing. Where is the equivalent exchange? Alchemy's First Law... equivalent exchange..."
Izumi sobbed into his shirt, her voice slightly muffled from the tears and cloth. What little Sig understood of alchemy (which was VERY little if any at all) he understood equivalent exchange meant that humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. He tightened his grip around her slender form and held her in a tight forever embrace. Slowly, after a few moments, Izumi's sobbing began to end. Sig loosened his grip on her and gently stroked her hair ad the cold nights air whipped around them. Soon, Sig picked her up and carried her bridal style into the house. Once she was placed safely in bed, he retrieved the body of their son and placed in the safe spot.
That night, as they slept, Izumi rested her head on his chest as she held her tightly to him, not allowing her to leave. The following day, the town attended the small funeral of little Geoffrey Curtis.
NINE YEARS LATER
"Kasey! Don't hit your sister! Taylor, be nice to your brother, don't antagonize him! And where did Jessica go?"
A tired and pissed off Izumi stood in the doorway of her house as she watched her three black-haired children play. Or rather two children since one seamed to be missing. Her long hair was pulled back into the main tiny braids and in a pony tail while her outfit consisted of a sleeveless white duster and black pants. She crossed her arms over her chest. The five-year-old Kasey continued to poke his three-year-old sister Taylor as the two build sand castles, which looked like smooth pyramids with twigs and shells, on the edge of the shoreline. Kasey, who bore bright violet eyes which matched his tee shirt, took fond amusement is tormenting his little sister, Taylor, who wore her long hair up in pigtails which were tied with a red ribbon matching her red jumper. Like all little kids, Taylor retaliated by knocking over Kasey's so-called castle and Kasey in turn pushed Taylor backwards, causing her to start crying, which made Kasey start crying. Izumi rolled her eyes and sighed as she walked out onto the sand and approached her so-called innocent children.
"Kasey I said not to hit her. And Taylor... no don't throw sand!"
Izumi grabbed both kids arms and separated them. For toddlers, they sure caused hell. Izumi soon knelt down in the sand between the two kids and began to letter them about playing nice, the same letter she gave them almost every day. The children apologized and hugged each other like their mother told them too and soon they were playing nicely once again.
"Now, where is your sister?"
Izumi questioned as she placed her hands on her hips. She looked back and forth between children and got the same, 'I don't know' shrugs from both. Izumi sighed a frustrated sigh as she rose to her feet and walked back to the house. Jessica, her eight-year-old daughter, was like all eight-year-old girl, was rebellious to a point, but was still controllable... to a point.
"Sig..."
Sig walked from the house holding two glasses of juice which were spotted immediately by the two toddlers. Who then proceeded to abandon their 'castles' and beeline for their dad.
"Where is Jessica?"
Sig managed to hand the kids their drinks while remaining on his feet.
"She is in Risembool at a friend's house."
Izumi closed her eyes and was soon able to picture the friends Sig was talking about. Two little brothers named Edward and Alphonse, and their neighbor Winry, were Jessica's best friends. Often, Jessica slept over the Winry's house on weekends and then spend weekdays playing there.
"Well, it's getting late, I'm gonna go check up on her, and hopefully bring her home... Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'll drag Mason along."
Izumi smiled and kissed his cheek as she quickly grabbed her black jacket from inside the doorway and headed off down the dusty street to her older brother's house. As she walked, the once sunny sky turned dark as clouds rolled in and began to look very nasty. Once Izumi gathered up Mason, they began their walk to the train station in the next town over. As they walked, rain began to pour down on them as they reached the train station. As the train began moving, Mason attempted to warm up buy ordering some hot tea. Izumi just stared out the window. At the end of the train ride, they began walking once again. By now, the rain was pouring down harder. They ran for temporary cover under a tall tree. Risembool was about another five miles away, and once in Risembool, they needed to walk another seven miles before they reached the residence of the Rockbells.
"We should just call and check on Jessica, we really shouldn't be out in this."
Mason complained as a branch above him released a ton of cold water down on him, then proceeded to run down his back. Izumi took once glance at him, then at the roadside sign that read 'RISEMBOOL 4.5 MILES'. She looked past the sign as the dirt roads that were slowly flooding over. She looked behind them and saw the road they just traveled was more flooded it being downhill.
"Well, actually, Risembool is the safest road to travel. The road back to Dublith doesn't look to promising. We can crash in Risembool tonight..."
"If we make it..."
Mason mumbled as they moved out from under the tree and began walking to Risembool once again. Mud splashed up onto their legs, and sometimes their stomachs as they stomped through the large deep puddles. The rain only seamed to get worse as they began running. Once inside Risembool town boarders, it was apparent that there was something amiss. Men were all running from end of the town to the other, carrying large bags of sand. Izumi attempted to catch on of their attention.
"Sorry miss. I can't stop. You should find shelter!"
The man continued running with his comrades. Izumi sighed. She knew that Jessica's friends lived in Risembool, but where in Risembool, she didn't know.
"The Damn! It's breaking! Bring more sand!"
An elderly man yelled from the direction the men were running too. Izumi and Mason watched this for a moments time before Izumi decided to help.
"Mason, help them carry the bags of sand."
"What are you gonna do?"
"Besides hope this damn doesn't break and kill my daughter... or us, I'm gonna attempt to repair the damn."
Mason ran off to assist the men in carrying the sand bags while Izumi followed closely behind, making their way to the damn. As they got closer, Izumi could see the old large damn the men were talking about. Sure enough, it was cracking in many places and water was beginning to spray out. There were about twenty or so men pilling sand bags against the damn to attempt to stop the flooding waters from flooding out the small town. Izumi looked around for a place to safely draw a transmutation circle. There was one flat sport, but there seamed to be two small boys occupying it.
Izumi did a double take and saw that the two boys were attempting alchemy. They had with them a small piece of paper holding a transmutation circle. As she watched, in awe, the boys clapped their hands together, then slammed them on the paper. In effect, a weak looking transmuted damn shot out of the ground and blocked the water. The boys seamed happy. From the looks of the transmuted damn, Izumi knew it was not going to hold. She immediately began running towards the group. As she got there, the boys transmuted damn broke down and water rushed at them, washing away the boy's paper.
Water began harder and threatened to wash away the boys along with the town of Risembool. Izumi squatted down in the mud and quickly drew a sloppy looking transmutation circle, then clapping her hands, she transmuted a larger, stronger damn, very similar to the boys. Immediately, the town was saved and the men cheered.
"Thank you miss."
"You saved us."
The men cheered as Mason walked up and stood behind Izumi. Izumi smiled and crossed her arms over her chest. The two small boys stared in awe at the alchemy Izumi used.
"Now that I've saved your small town, I'm looking for someone. The name Rockbell?"
Izumi scanned the crowd as the men thought.
"We know Rockbell. She's our friend. We can take you to her."
Izumi looked at the boys and smiled. The boys began walking away and Izumi and Mason followed closely behind as the men began heading home for the night. As the small group walked, they came to a small road, flooded over, that was lined with a few small houses. It was mostly fields. A large yellow house sat off in the distance down a small hill next door to a small white house. They walked down the hill, one of the boys slipped and slid down the hill, but at the bottom they stopped.
"That's our house, the white one. The yellow one belongs to Pinako and Winry Rockbell."
The older of the boys exclaimed. hey continued to walk to the yellow house. Upon closer look, the house held a large wooden sign over the door that read 'AUTOMAIL SHOP'. Izumi relized something.
"You too wouldn't happen to be Ed and Al would you?"
"Yeah, we are. Why?"
"I'm looking for my daughter, Jessica Curtis..."
Izumi smiled as they approached the house and the boys opened the door. Izumi and Mason were invited in by the boys and they remained just inside the doorway. The boys removed their raincoats and hung them up next to the door and the younger boy ran off to find everyone in the other room. He soon returned with three girls; Jessica, Winry and Pinako.
"Mommy!"
Jessica ran over to her mom and jumped into her arms. She wrapped her small arms around her mother's neck and smiled. She then noticed Mason and they exchanged greetings. Pinako, who was a small old woman with a gay haired pony tail and a pipe sticking from her mouth, smiled and welcomes Izumi and Mason to her home. Winry, a small blonde haired girl, stood shyly next to her dog who was a large black and white dog. The two boys, Ed the oldest, stood smiling next to Pinako.
"Auntie, you wont believe what we saw. We almost transmuted a perfect dam, but this lady here transmuted a better one. She is a real true good alchemist."
Ed smiled and pointed at Izumi. Pinako examined Izumi up and down as she puffed her pipe. Once inside they sat down in the den next to the fire or a while Jessica showed her mother the drawings she made today. She also showed her the doll Ed and al transmuted for hr. It was a cute little doll with long black hair and a pink dress. The eyes were bright purple. It looked just like Jessica. Izumi was amazed at how well the boys were at alchemy. Pinako disappeared shortly to show Mason the phone so he could call Sig and update him. Izumi was left along with the children. but it was Ed and al she was worried about. They kept staring at her. Soon, Izumi noticed Ed was staring at the tattoo on her chest. It was a red Flamel.
"Your an alchemist right?"
Ed asked as he stood up and walked over to Izumi who was sitting on the sofa.
"Yes... why do you ask?"
"Will you please teach us?"
Ed folded his hands together and was soon joined by Al who did the same thing. Izumi stared at the boys strangely. She then straightened her face an closed her eyes.
"I don't take on students."
The boys were not pleased at this response. They dropped to their knees and began to beg.
"Please, we'll do everything you say. Please take us on as your students. We really want to learn alchemy."
They continued to beg and Izumi continued to deny them teachings. Finally, Ed moved for the reverse physiology approach.
"Come on Al, I guess this old lady isn't good enough to teach students alchemy."
This infuriated Izumi. She jumped up.
"Who are you calling old lady."
Ed and al took this as a prime opportunity to attack again. Edward latched onto Izumi's left leg while Al latched onto her left arm.
"Please teach us. Please!"
Izumi placed her right arm on her hip and attempted to shake the boys off. She failed as the boys clung tightly to her.
"Get off! I don't take on students."
Izumi continued to shake her limbs until Pinako returned. Immediately, Ed and Al got off and returned to begging. Izumi looked into their faces and saw that these two boys were desperate.
"Listen... if you can get your parents permission, I will consider it."
The boys stopped begging but looked saddened.
"They have no parents. I'm their guardians. I guess you could say I'm like their aunt."
Pinako replied for the boys. The boys leaned back and sat on the floor looking up at Izumi.
"If the boys go with you, what will they be doing?"
"Training in alchemy under my command. But first, they will have a month to prove they are truly capable of learning alchemy. If they pass, I'll teach them..."
"And if they don't pass..."
"I'll send them back here to Risembool. Where they will not bug me to teach them again."
Pinako thought for a moment. Ed and Al looked between Izumi and Pinako. Their expressions the same, desperate and determined. Jessica and Winry watched from a distance, playing with their new dolls. After a few more puffs from her pipe, Pinako replied.
"Okay, they can go. But only if they promise to behave themselves."
Pinako replied as Mason appeared behind them. The boys began to cheer and jump excitedly. The two girls didn't know how to react. They just stared. The last thing Jessica wanted was two more kids in the house, and Winry didn't want the boys to leave for long. They were like her brothers almost.
So the rest of the night, the boys packed to go to Izumi's the next day. Izumi and Mason were set up in the living room for the night, after Izumi called home. Jessica stayed in Winry's room and the boys went home to their house like they did every night. The following day, the four took off for Dublith on the first morning train.
"So, your a great alchemist. Are you a state alchemist?"
Ed asked Izumi as they traveled to Dublith. Izumi glared at the boys evilly and they cringed on the floor.
"State alchemist are dirty dogs of the military and I am not... nor will I ever be associated with them!"
Izumi scolded the boys as they cringed under the window. Before long, they arrived in Dublith and the boys were instructed on their test. And, so... life continued on...
A/N - This is my interpretation of what would of happened if Izumi was stopped before she went to the island on that fateful day she had her accident. Hope you enjoyed it. Now for some pointers: in the olden days, men were forbidden from the room during labor, and since FMA takes place in 'olden days' it fits.
Please review. No FLAMES (Thats Roy's job only). Please look in my profile oo0AnimeChild0oo for all my other stories. And again, thanks for reading.
"Write a wise saying and your name will live forever"
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