Something was wrong. Harold felt it in the marrow of his bones.

It was nothing tangible, nothing he

could explain in words, but the world felt off. About a year ago, he started to feel it and gradually it
became worse, like a snowball rolling down a hill growing larger and larger. At times, he woke up in
the middle of the night sweating and screaming in terror. Something huge was in the works and no
one but he knew about it and he was powerless to prevent it.
He tried to tell himself that it was all in his head, but the more he tried to push it out of his mind,
the stronger he felt it. So he began to follow the news closely, hoping to locate the source of his
unease and even though there were constant reports of distant wars and acts of violence, none of it
seemed to be big or important enough. He began researching conspiracy theories, but to no avail.
Even the most plausible and terrible ones were mere ants compared to what he felt.
In desperation he thought about ending his life, yet that would rob him of the eventual revelation of
what was coming. There was nothing to it, Harold would have to endure and hope that whatever
was going to happen would happen sooner rather than later. Although he dreaded it, he went about
his life as normal as he could, with the echoes of the avalanche rumbling in the distance.
One day he was walking home from work as usual. He was absentminded, trying not to focus on this
feeling of dread. He bumped into something. He excused himself before he even registered it was a
stroller.
Then he beheld the child inside and the entire world melted away. The eyes were huge and bright,
blue as the sky and deep as the ocean. The sun high above was reflected in them, a glimmer of hope
in Harold’s otherwise dark and dangerous world. The baby laughed, that most innocent and uplifting
sound, washing away the echoes of despair. And just like that Harold’s world was saved and the
catastrophe prevented.
Tears ran down his cheeks and laughter, the kind only one who survived against all odds can laugh,
shook him. Relief flooded through him and the love of the world, thought forgotten, swelled in his
heart. He looked into the sky still laughing spread his hands and drank in the warmth of the sun, so
long hidden by the shadows that once clouded his mind.