David Stein

The Halo David Stein

There was a child born on Horse Island with a halo, but nothing much came of it. ------ It was a honey-colored halo like the ones you see in old paintings, but smaller, only four inches across. Its glow was faint. It floated in the air slightly off the child's head, and was fixed there as though by invisible bars. The halo was just a ring of dim light, but to the hand it was solid and smooth as a ring of brass. ------ I was the doctor who delivered the child. I gripped the halo with both hands and told the mother to push as hard as she could. The mother gave a terrible cry, and the baby struggled out on the delivery table trailing the umbilical cord...