The Genesis Flower

Delilah woke up with a gasp and had to restrain herself from shooting right out of bed. It wasn’t because she had a dream. Heck, she didn’t remember if she even had one or not. It was because today, could be the day that she and her husband, Arnold, had been waiting for. Today could be the day she and Arnold would finally receive what they have longed for. Ached for.

But their most precious desire could also arrive tomorrow, or even the day after. The pamphlet had been very clear that just because there were buds didn’t mean it would bloom right away. The conditions had to be just right. It was just like any other flower in that regard. Delilah knew that. She wasn’t that illogical.

She couldn’t help hoping howev-

A shrill beeping suddenly made itself known.

“What the?” Arnold asked, having been jolted awake while Delilah smiled widely. “Wait, is that…”

“The Genesis flower is blooming!” Delilah cried as she tore the covers off. “Come on!”

She and Arnold then ran out of the room, the sensor still going off in their room but neither of them cared. Arnold took her hand and she squeezed it tightly as they raced through their house and out of the front door.

There, right in the middle of their front yard, stood a giant green flower, bigger than even a sunflower though not as tall as one. The petals were still closed but the sensor wouldn’t go off without a reason.

The Genesis flower was about to bloom, resulting in the birth of their new baby.

A couple of years ago, Delilah was living happily with Arnold and their little girl, Dora. Dora was their light, their life. Then, no one knew how or even where it originated, a plague spread throughout the world, creating another pandemic. This plague was much more deadly than Covid and the Black Death put together, however. It caused the victim to be covered in painful, white spots before disappearing after hours, either leaving the victim dead or in Delilah’s opinion, horribly handicapped. The plague was gone now, but only because there had been no one else to affect.

No one had been immune to the White Plague.

Delilah, Arnold, and every other adult lived but lost their ability to have children.

Dora and every other child died.

Those had been dark days for Delilah...days where she wondered how she could ever be alright again, let alone happy. If she hadn't had Arnold beside her...who knew what she would have done.

But thankfully, a bioengineer by the name of Johnathan Apple, sensing humanity’s coming extinction, found, or rather, invented their salvation. It was the Genesis flower, and as long as each partner in a couple donated a single drop of their blood to the single thorn on the stem, it would create a child using their DNA. As soon as it was done with testing, the governments sent each household a Genesis flower, with the promise it would give them a child, or children if they so wished.

Some have protested against the flower, saying this was essentially cloning and that humans shouldn’t be able to do this, but they were greatly outnumbered. The Genesis flower was their only hope against certain extinction.

And for Delilah, against certain despair.

“Delilah, look!” Arnold cried, bringing Delilah back to the present. The green petals were beginning to open.

Come on...come back home.

With bated breath, the petals fully opened to reveal a baby girl. Delilah didn’t speak as the baby girl started to wiggle and cry, her wet dark hair sticking to her head.

Delilah felt an initial wave of disappointment that the baby’s hair wasn’t blonde like Dora’s had been but she quickly squashed it down. It could naturally become blonde when she grew older. Delilah smiled as she gingerly picked up the baby.

Their baby...was finally here.

“What name did you pick for a girl?” Arnold whispered as he placed an arm around her shoulders. Delilah looked down on their baby girl and lightly bounced her up and down to quiet her crying.

“Eva.”

“I hope you two won’t come to regret this.” Startled, Delilah looked up to see their old neighbor, Jack, whom nobody liked, glaring at them from the sidewalk.

“Oh, just go home already, you old coot!” Arnold yelled at him while Delilah just ignored the obvious Genesis flower protester and walked back inside.

Everything was going to be alright now.

<G>

Twelve years had passed since then and...everything was not alright. First off...Eva’s hair stayed dark. She was quiet and liked to read, unlike Dora, who loved to chat her parents’ ears off and played with dolls. Dora had been popular amongst her peers before she died at the age of five. Eva had never been popular once. Delilah wasn’t sure if she even had friends, and honestly...she didn’t care to know.

She knew it was awful, but Delilah had thought that her second child would at least have some similarities with Dora. The two children had absolutely nothing in common. If Dora had been the one they had left behind in the waiting room, Delilah was sure that she would have protested till she came with them. Eva...just nodded. Eva was too obedient and didn’t have a backbone, unlike Dora.

And…and every time she looked at Eva, Delilah only ached for Dora. She had hope in the beginning that she would come to love Eva as her own person, her second child, but…

Now Delilah realized that she had only wanted Dora, not another child.

Arnold wasn't aware of any of this. And after what the doctor in front of them just told them...he might never know.

“I’m...I’m not high up on the wait list, am I?” Arnold said quietly. When Dr. Roe shook his head, Delilah only felt despair as she squeezed Arnold’s hand.

“At the moment you are not as bad as the others. Your heart can easily survive for about another year, if not two,” Doctor Roe explained. “You are also not as young as you used to be.”

“Why...but why?!” Delilah cried. “After the White Plague...we were so careful with our diets, with everything...so why?”

“I don’t know. Sometimes, life just happens,” Doctor Roe said calmly. Delilah’s eyes went wide. Those words…she heard them again over and over after Dora died.

Something in Delilah finally snapped.

“But-”

“Why couldn’t it be Eva be the one who's dying!” As soon as the words left her mouth, Delilah went still. She...wouldn’t be able to take those words back, she couldn’t, not even if she wanted to.

But now Arnold knew-

“You too?” Delilah gasped as she looked at her husband, who was looking at her with relief and love in his eyes.

“I...All this time, I thought I was the only one who was unsatisfied with Eva. That I was the only one who had only wanted Dora to come back…”

“Oh, Arnold!” Delilah cried, relief filling her heart as she threw herself upon Arnold and hugged him tightly, joyful when he hugged her tightly back. Oh, how she loved him so.

“Well, there still could be a point in Eva’s existence.” Doctor Roe’s sudden statement caused Delilah to turn her attention to him, her hold on Arnold still tight.

But thankfully, he didn’t leave them hanging.

“As you know, despite being used to be called ‘our salvation,’ clones like Eva haven’t been given much in the way of rights worldwide. Even less so after the last five years. After all, if they died or got some kind of permanent injury, you could just make another clone in a few months. But...as doctors like myself over the last few years are beginning to realize, that if they are a match…”

Doctor Roe suddenly grinned.

“They make excellent organ banks.”

Delilah gasped as she and Arnold finally stopped hugging.

“You mean-”

“She can give Arnold his new heart. If she happens to not be a match, you can just use the Genesis flower to make an exact clone of Arnold. And it won’t be considered murder. If it did, a lot of other people would have been arrested by now, myself included. So, what do you say?”

For a moment, Delilah could only stare at Doctor Roe in silence, remembering Eva and all of her shortcomings. Though there had been a time when she had so looked forward to Eva’s birth. She and Arnold then happened to share a glance and without a doubt, she knew what he was thinking.

Arnold then grinned maniacally, and Delilah knew her grin was equally matching his.

Everything was going to be alright now.