One night, as the storm continued to rage, showing its wrath. The storm was so strong that the continued pouring of rain made it look like a mist.  Under a lamp post, 2 people can be seen. They were husband and wife. The woman was on the edge of giving birth, but she didn't have enough money and strength to make it to the hospital as they didn't have any car or vehicle whatsoever. While carrying her, the husband tried his best to go against the strong wind while looking for a place for his wife to give birth.

*raining*

Wife: A-are we there yet? Ighh *screaming in pain*

Husband: just a little further huff huff, just keep breathing and everything's going to be

huff alright

Wife: if I don't make it\, I want you to take care of the baby no matter what happens *sob sob*

Husband: Stop saying stuff like that, huff huff  we'll make it, no matter what happens. We will make it

Wife: *stared at her husband's face with a smile.* (I just hope the baby will be safe)

Husband: There! A local medical house!

The husband rushed towards the house

*forcefully opened the door*

Husband: HELP! MY WIFE IS ABOUT TO GIVE BIRTH!

Doctor: QUICK! CARRY HER TO THE STAFF ROOM!

The personnel quickly carried the girl to the staff room.

Doctor: LAY HER GENTLY ON THE BED!

The personnel gently lay her down.

Husband:  huff huff  Is she going to be alright?

Doctor: We can only hope for the best. Sorry sir, but we can't have too many people inside the room. I hope you can understand that we are not in a hospital and we are using only a staff room, so we need space as much as we can get for the operation.

Husband: WHAT?!!! ARE YOU FCKI-- *Wife clasped his hand*

Wife: Don't worry, everything's going to be fine. Just wait a little bit.

The husband left the room and the operation started.

*A few minutes later\, the baby came out*

Doctor: it's a boy! The operation was a success!!

Personnel: But why isn't it crying?

Doctor: As long as he is breathing, it doesn't matter. So ma'am, what are you going to name him?

Wife:...

Doctor: Uhm\, ma'am? We need a name for the baby... Ma'am? *checks for her pulse* EMERGENCY! PREPARE THE MEDICAL EQUIPMENT!!

The doctors gave it all they could and provided oxygen and CPR, but she didn't wake up.

Doctor: *sigh* She didn't make it... Call the husband!

The personnel went outside, and only a few minutes later, he came back.

Doctor: WHAT?! THE HUSBAND LEFT?!!

Personnel: The nurse at the cashier said she saw him leave only a minute ago.

Doctor: What are we going to do with this child now?

Personnel: Do you want me to contact the orphanage?

Doctor: Don't... They don't have that much supply, and the kid will only suffer a miserable life if we let him live in a place like that. This kid has been abandoned by his parents and has no name. We have no choice but to give him a name.

Personnel: What are you going to name him?

Doctor: *with a soft voice* Let's call him Nemo.

[Nemo means (no one/nobody)]

Doctor: I can't afford to raise a child. My two sons are at college\, and I can't afford their tuition fees as it is...  And you guys are still students\, part-timers\, so you can't as well. *sigh*

Personnel: So what are we going to do?

Doctor: Let's just leave the baby.

Personnel: WAIT, BUT DOC--

Doctor: Relax\, I'm not finished... Let's put him in a basket and place him in a populated area. Hopefully  there will be someone who'll raise him. *sigh* Hopefully.

And so the doctor and the personnel made a basket for the baby and looked for a place where they could leave it there. They went and looked for a place until they decided to leave it at a restaurant.

*raining*

Baby:...

Personnel: Are we really going to leave this kid here?

Doctor: It's not like we have a choice. But the lady who runs this restaurant has a good heart, so we can only hope that she will raise this kid... But still, now that you think about it, this baby is weird. I've seen a lot of neonates [meaning a new born baby] and all of them have to cry in order to adjust their breathing, but this kid... He is breathing naturally, and the look on his face... It's as if he can already think and understand the situation.

The baby looked at the doctor with his oceanic blue eyes, and he smiled at the doctor with his innocent face, with a shine on him like he was happy.

Doctor: *speechless*

Personnel: How can this baby still smile in the current situation?

Doctor: He looks and smiles as if he's thanking us. *teary-eyed* Nemo.. We didn't do anything for you.. We don't have a choice but to leave you...

Nemo continued to look at him with a shining face.

Doctor: Stop looking at me like that *A tear fell from the doctor's eye* Let's go

He pulled the personnel away.

Personnel: Doc, why?

Doctor: a few more moments will make it harder for us to leave him.

Personnel:...

The doctor and the personnel got back to the house, and they left the baby at the back of a restaurant below a shelter. Time passed by, but Nemo still wasn't seen by anybody. People walked behind the restaurant from time to time, Nemo tried to talk, but only gibberish came out of his mouth, so he shouted, but still no one noticed him. So he quickly gave up. Nemo looked at the sky with a smile on his face.

The rain had already cleared and the sky looked stunningly beautiful as the sun rose over the blue sky. No painting in the world can depict its beauty. The light from the sun shone brighter than normal. Nemo's eyes reflected the light, and his oceanic blue eyes shone so bright that it could melt any person's heart.

The way he looked at the sky with a smile was like him saying, "What a beautiful scenery."

Time passed by, and an old man saw the basket.

Old man: Huh? a basket?

He didn't notice that Nemo was inside the basket. The old man picked up the basket and walked away. He got back in his truck and left the basket on the back of his truck. As soon as the truck moved, Nemo began to have a face expression filled with fear as to what was happening and why the ground was shaking so much. He was so afraid that he passed out.

A few moments later, the truck stopped.

Inside a pawnshop

The old man opened the door.

*Bell Chimes ringing*

Pawnbroker (someone who works at the pawnshop) : Welcome! Feel free to look around.

Old man: I have some items to sell.

Pawnbroker: Let's go to the back and show me

They then went outside the shop, and the old man showed him the back of his truck, filled with all sorts of items, ranging from used sofas to old shoes.

Pawnbroker: So? What did you want to sell?

Old man: All of it.

They haggled back and forth on the price, and they finally reached a conclusion. Both of them unloaded the items on top of a conveyor connected to the metal crusher and went back inside. As they finished, the old man got paid, so he left.

Even after all of that, both of them didn't notice Nemo, who was still inside the basket.

Nemo woke up as he stretched and opened his eyes. The scene in front of him shocked him to the core. It was a bunch of items brutally getting crushed by the metal crusher. Nemo watched as the items got crushed one by one by the metal crusher. His face immediately turned into an expression filled with fear, thinking he was next... He cried...

Nemo cried as loud as he could, as if he was hoping that someone would notice him.

...****************...

At the back of the pawnshop, a boy of a young age who looked tired and had ragged and dirty clothes was searching for useful items in the piled up scraps of junk. As he continued searching, he noticed some movement in the basket. The boy got scared, and thought it was a snake. as he was about to run away, he heard a baby crying. He looked at the direction and noticed that it was coming out of the basket. He quickly ran towards it and picked it up, putting it on the floor away from the conveyor.

Nemo stopped crying when the boy saved him. His face was filled with relief.

The boy looked inside the basket and saw nothing. He first got confused as he was sure there was a crying baby inside it moments ago. When he focused on looking inside, he finally saw a baby.

Jacob: How can a baby look so cute? Is this baby even real? (Well, it cried earlier, so of course it's real.)

*He looked back at the conveyor*

Jacob (the kid): Is the pawnbroker trying to kill this baby?

With the thought that he would be killed next if the pawnbroker knew that he had saved the baby, he got scared and ran home.

*kicked the door open*

Jacob (the kid): MOM! LOOK!!!

Jacob showed the basket to his mom.

The mom looked inside the basket and didn't see Nemo.

Claire (the mom): what? Why are you so rushed?

Jacob: Can't you see him?

Claire: him?

Jacob: THE BABY INSIDE!

The mom focused her eyes as she looked inside the basket and was shocked that there was indeed a baby inside.

Claire: (What? I clearly saw that this basket was empty a few seconds ago?) Where did you find him?!

Jacob: At the pawn shop

Claire: THEN WHY DID YOU TAKE HIM?!

Jacob: He looked like a newborn baby, and we didn't have any pregnancies in the village, nor did we have any visitors except for that old man with a truck, so I figured he got kidnapped! They were about to crush him!

Claire: *sigh* Don't tell anyone about this!

Claire looked at Nemo.

Claire: He looks so thirsty. The poor guy mustn't have eaten yet after he was born.

Claire: Jacob, Go to our neighbor down the street. The mother there also just gave birth, so she also has ****** milk. Ask for some and come back home quickly... here

Claire reached in her pocket and pulled out what seemed to be threads, a button, and some change.

She paused for a moment, as if she was thinking about something, and gave Jacob 10 pesos (or 17 cents, or 0.17 US dollars).

Claire: if she asks for some payment, tell her that's all we have for now. Now go and be careful!

As Jacob quickly ran outside, Nemo clasped the finger of Claire, and Claire got startled and looked at Nemo.

Claire: (His eyes... are so beautiful, I ...feel like he's looking right into my soul. His smooth skin, his curly black hair, he looks so unreal. His lips are so dried up. I hope Jacob can be quicker. What will I do now?... Huh? a note?)

The note says;

"Hi, I'm a local doctor in Manila, the one who helped give birth to this kid. I hope you can raise him. His mom died giving birth to him, and his dad left him at the hospital, and we couldn't find him. His mom died without giving him a name, so we thought we would just call him Nemo. We hope that you'll be able to support this kid and raise him as your own. We didn't give this kid to the orphanage because he might suffer and have a miserable life. We left him in the hope that a good family would take care of him. That's all."

Claire: What a miserable way to be born...

Claire said, with a sad expression on her face.

Claire: Nemo, huh... What a unique name

**End of Chapter 1**