David pulled his navy suit jacket tight as he walked up the driveway of his suburban home. He carried a heavy clipboard filled with legal documents regarding his family estate and mortgage papers. The bright morning sun washed over the white trim of the two-story house, making everything look calm and peaceful. But as David stepped onto the front lawn, a sharp sound cut through the quiet air.
A baby was crying hysterically from above. David stopped in his tracks and looked toward the upper deck. His heart instantly dropped into his stomach. Standing near the white railing of the hardwood deck was his wife Sarah, dressed in her work clothes. She held their newborn child over the deck edge, wrapped tightly in a soft white blanket. Her expression was completely frantic, dark, and filled with deep emotional distress.
David: Sarah! What are you doing up there with the baby?
Sarah did not answer his cry from the lawn. Her hands trembled violently as she leaned further over the railing. David dropped his clipboard onto the grass, letting legal papers flutter around his dress shoes as panic flooded his veins. He began to sprint across the soft green grass as fast as his legs could carry him.
David: Stop moving! Don't you dare let go!
Above him, Sarah released her grip on the white swaddle. The blanket slipped past the hardwood railing into the open air. Sarah held her empty hands out over the balcony, letting out a wild scream that echoed across the quiet suburban neighborhood.
Sarah: No! Oh God, no!
David locked his eyes on the falling white bundle. Time seemed to slow down completely around him as he dove forward across the lawn. He stretched his arms as far out as possible, ignoring the sharp pain in his knees as he slid across the turf. With a desperate lunge, he caught the swaddled baby firmly in his chest, tumbling onto his back in the grass while clutching the child securely.
He lay on the grass for a second, gasping heavily for air. The baby began to cry softly against his suit jacket. David pulled the infant close, kissing the top of the blanket with tears welling up in his eyes. He squeezed his eyes shut, feeling the tiny heartbeat against his own pounding chest on the sunny lawn.
David: I have you now. You are safe with me, sweet baby.
He slowly stood up from the grass, his dark navy trousers stained with dirt. He looked up at the balcony, but Sarah was no longer standing there. The glass patio door stood wide open, swinging gently in the morning breeze. David turned on his heel and rushed straight toward the front entrance of his home, determination hardening his face.
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