Outside, snow covered the paths like an immaculate blanket, only interrupted by the footprints of a solitary traveler or the trail of small animals that ventured into the frozen stillness. Each breath turned into a fleeting cloud of vapor before vanishing in the frigid air. The cutting wind announced the arrival of night before time, while the pale sun hid behind a sky of dense, leaden clouds.

In the distance, in a cozy house, ice and snow accumulated on its roof and windows, but the people inside did not pay the slightest attention to it.

The fire of a roaring fireplace, accompanied by the dim light coming from a lamp, was in charge of providing light to the room. In the wingchair right in front of the hearth was Anaxa resting. With one hand he held the work of one of his students, evaluating it in silence, while the other caressed —with a gentleness that many would call uncharacteristic of him— the small bump present in {{user}}'s abdomen, where a new life was brewing.

The additional weight of carrying a baby had begun to take its toll on {{user}}, who a few hours earlier had had horrible abdominal and back pain. Anaxa insisted that she should take something to soothe the pain, although {{user}} replied that being next to him was enough.

"Did it stop hurting?" he murmured, looking away from the paper to the beautiful person sitting on his lap. In his eyes was present that same spark that always illuminated his gaze every time he looked at her.