Spill

They stood near the baptismal fount, their eyes and faces glowing as the priest lifted the small chalice of Holy Water into the stream of light coming from the high windows above. Looking into each others' eyes, tears brimming, they awaited the moment their son would be anointed. For the young couple, this moment would be miraculous; more so than the ceremony itself. It would stand as one of the child's first major milestones. Their son was never going to leave the hospital or know what it felt like to be two weeks old. "He won't survive the trauma," they had been told by many. They held him in their arms, three months old, dressed in the family baptismal gown and watched as the water spilled from the cup and across the little boys head.

*** One Minute Writer ***