Two flightless birds huddle together in the distance

The snow rips through their feathers

They fight it; they will not be taken from the thing the guard most precious

A perfect white sphere

They have waited for this moment for what seems like forever

They look down at the gift they have been guarding for nearly two months

Soon it should hatch

Around them others’ gifts come to life

First a small twitch It slowly becomes stronger

The strength of new life

Then a small hammering on the shell

It soon begins to break

Piece by piece the shell falls to the ground

Then it emerges

A puff of gray down

Beady black eyes that teem with life, love, and kindness

The couple look back at their egg, will theirs hatch?

Will they be able to enjoy this great gift?

They begin to lose hope

They look down at the lifeless egg

Then the miracle happens

Their egg starts to show signs of life

They watch it closely

As if they take their eyes off of it it would disappear

Out of the shell comes a small gray ball of down

The couple huddles closer together

The love they have for each other emanates

They turn their attention back to the new life they created

She begins to stand on two little dark gray webbed feet

She wobbles and falls down, but gets right back up

She begins to walk but her parents make sure she doesn't wander off too far

Her sharp black beak glistens in the sun

Her eyes are a warm black

She comes back to her parents and they embrace her

They are whole

A family