Here's a little short story I wrote for a contest. It's my first actually. I'm kind of new to writing. Started about a year ago. Well anyway, the contest's theme is about innocence, so this is what I came up with. I envisioned it as a sort of "mature children's book", and you can tell, as it's a really simple story. Feedback would be nice . Enjoy.

Pure Innocence

“Congratulations, it’s a boy.”
The man let out a sort of exhaled laugh. He quickly stood up from his seat, hugged the nurse and sprinted to the room where his wife was.
On entering the room, he was welcomed by his wife’s weak, inviting smile. She was lying on the hospital bed, holding their son wrapped in cloth. The man couldn’t be happier. He walked slowly toward them, a reassured smile on his face.
“He looks just like you. He’s got your eyes, your nose… everything I love about you.” said the wife gently.
The man just nodded, beaming and full of excitement. All of his fears melted away. He had been blessed with a son.
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“Congratulations, it’s a girl.”
The man was ecstatic. He darted to his wife’s side. He found himself smiling the whole time he was there. While holding the baby in his arms she had never once resisted or cried. After kissing her forehead gently, he returned her to his wife.
“Have you figured out a name for her?”
“What? No.” the man laughed.
“You had all that time while I was in labor.” the wife jested.
“You serious?” asked the man with a stupefied voice. “How could I possibly think about anything then?” He laughed.
The wife chuckled. “I guess you’re right.”
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The births of two children from two different families happened simultaneously. Such an event was extremely rare, and people speculated that it was some sort of omen; a sign that the girl and the boy would become the best of friends.
It seemed almost like divine intervention; the families of the children had known each other for quite some time; their concurrent entrance into the world isn’t exactly something that was considered “normal.”
As a result, the families would make sure that the children’s friendship would be a great one. They would constantly schedule play dates for them. The children learned how to walk and talk together; they played all their games together; they celebrated their birthdays together; they did everything together. The parents of both children were so adamant on creating a strong bond between them, that their visits to each other’s houses became a routine appointment. The families met almost every day.
Occasionally, the parents of the little ones would bring them to a playground. It had been recently created in their local park. There were monkey bars, swings, slides, merry-go-rounds; the essentials you’d find at a playground. Every attraction had a fresh new coat of paint, and they glistened in the sun. The children loved playing there. Sometimes, the girl or the boy would trip and skin their knee or fall on their bottom, which then they proceeded to call out for their mother or burst into tears. The parents would be overwhelmed by the children’s laments, and it would hassle them severely. Nonetheless, the parents and the children never stopped returning to the park and to the playground.
Soon, the girl and the boy were old enough for elementary school, and they were inseparable. They always sat adjacent to each other in every class and at lunch, studied and did their homework together, and always met during recess. The two were also very competitive, and at the beginning of every recess they would race each other to the farthest tree directly next to the fencing that marked the school property and back.
After school they would go to the local playground and they would play for hours. When they grew fatigued, they would sit on the swings and discuss any conceivable topic that came to their mind or interested them. Sports, horses, toys, music, movies, video games, books, food, school; anything that would keep the conversation going. They spent all their days at the playground. They had it all to themselves; it was mostly deserted when they were there. In a sense, it was their sanctuary; their safe haven.
A couple more years passed and they were both thirteen. To her surprise, the girl had found the boy that she had known all her life to be rather attractive, and she began to try to get the boy’s attention constantly. The boy, completely oblivious of the girl’s schemes, continued to do every usual thing that he had done. He still raced the girl to the tree and back. By this age, he became more competitive, and when he won he would jest and taunt the girl. Of course, he only had good intentions, but the girl was shocked and deeply hurt by his mockery. Regardless of this, the girl and the boy continued to meet every day at the playground. They both knew that supposedly, they were too old for the playground, but they still shared their solitude there.
One day, the girl had grown sick of the derision and didn’t speak to the boy while sitting on the swings at the playground. The boy was completely clueless why the girl was so upset; he was only satisfying his competitive spirit. The girl was so torn by the boy’s apathy that she broke into tears. The boy instantly knew he did something wrong, but he hadn’t the slightest of what it was.
“W—what’s wrong?”
“’What’s wrong?!’” the girl exclaimed with irritation. “What do you mean ‘What’s wrong?’”
“I—I don’t know what you’re so upset about…”
“… just forget it. You don’t even care.”
“What?” the boy was shocked to hear those words. “I do care. I just don’t have any idea what I did wrong. You can’t expect me to apologize if I don’t even know what I did wrong.”
The girl found truth to his words and explained.
“Oh, is that it?” the boy asked. “I thought you knew I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“…You didn’t?” inquired the girl softly.
“Of course not! We’ve been friends for 13 years. Why do you think I would hurt you now, or any time soon?”
The girl glared at her feet brushing against the mulch on the ground. “…I don’t know.”
“Well, there you go.”
There was silence for quite some time until the girl spoke again.
“Could you promise me?”
The boy was confused. “Promise what?”
“Promise me you’ll never hurt or leave me.”
“…I promise.”
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Three years later, the youth were already in high school. The boy became very involved in sports and other clubs in school, which only made the girl even fonder of him. At her age, the girl had grown to become a stunningly beautiful woman. As a result, the boy had noticed how pretty she looked; how pleasant her voice sounded; how fragrant her scent was; he had never thought of her that way before, but it intrigued him.
By that time, the two teenagers were so busy with their schoolwork and their afterschool activities that they didn’t have time to meet at the playground anymore; they had always thought they outgrew that playground anyway.
Their days at their youthful sanctuary had been almost forgotten. The stress of near-adulthood had occupied their lives. But that didn’t stop them for seeing each other at school in the halls or at lunch.
The boy soon found that his feelings for the girl had grown exceedingly strong, and in the summertime he asked her to meet at the playground again at night. She was a bit confused about the rendezvous, but she accepted the offer anyway.
The two started a conversation on the swings like they did when they were children. Now their topics would be more mature ones: grades, college, drama, jobs… it wasn’t quite the same as it used to be. Nevertheless, they still enjoyed talking to each other. Then it occurred to both of them that when they graduated from college, there was a chance that they had to part ways. It deeply saddened them, and the girl rested her head on the boy’s shoulder as tears began to drop slowly from her eyes.
“I wish there was something we could do.” said the girl quietly.
“I know…” replied the boy. “I can’t imagine not seeing you after all these years we’ve been together.”
“I guess you can’t keep that promise after all...”
“What?”
“Your promise. You said you wouldn’t leave me. I guess there’s no stopping that now.”
“No, I’m still keeping that promise.”
“But what if we don’t get accepted by the same school? We’d have to get separated.”
“No!” he gently turned the girl’s face towards him and looked into her eyes. “Look, I’m… I’m never leaving you. If we don’t get accepted then… we’ll keep trying somewhere else. Heck, I might as well not even apply for college.”
“What? You can’t do that…”
“Sure I can.”
The girl gave him a look of skepticism.
“W—what? You think I’m joking? I would never leave you. I promised you that.”
“…You were always there for me….”
“I’ll always be there for you.”
He inched closer to her.
“You promised…” she whispered. The girl wrapped her arms around him and placed her lips on his.
After they embraced and shared their first kiss, the girl felt secure and she knew that the boy meant every word that had come from his mouth that night. They began to meet each other every night. It was like elementary school all over again. They snuck out of their homes every night to return to their refuge that they had neglected for such a long time, and for those moments they were at ease. All the stress and strife that came with high school were erased when they were alone at the playground, expressing their love for each other.
On their 17th birthday, after their parents had been in a deep sleep, the couple closed the curtains in the boy’s bedroom, and locked the door…
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“How’d your parents react to the news?”
“…if they could disown me, they would.” The girl laughed, trying to ease the tension. “They already knew you’re the father.”
She sat awkwardly on the swing with her bulging belly. Though she was only 18, she looked as if she had aged several years and matured into a fine woman.
The boy let out a heavy sigh. He had been anxiously fiddling around with his fingers and stared at the ground.
“Hey… we’re going to have a child. Isn’t that what we’ve always wanted?” asked the girl with a nervous smile.
“Yeah… but I—“
The girl shot him a cold stare. “But what?”
“I… I just think we made a horrible mistake. How are we going to support the baby? We’re not even out of high school. Our parents are furious… do you think they’d help us?”
“I think so… Our baby is not a mistake! He’s a blessing from God. We’re gonna pull through.”
“…Yeah. You’re right. I’ll be by your side every step of the way. I promise.”
“…Thank you.”
The two gripped each other’s hand tightly, and deep in their hearts they felt ready to take on anything that comes their way.
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The man sat alone on a bench in the dimly lit hallway. Everything about the hallway was dull; white walls, white ceiling, grey tile flooring… the redundancy of the hall was making the man depressed. He couldn’t stand waiting any longer.
What’s going to happen to her? Is she gonna pull through? What if she—No… I mustn’t think like that.
He bowed his head and prayed passionately that everything would be alright; that she and the baby would be safe. His prayers never ceased; they continued for several hours as he waited for the slightest sign that would assure him things were okay.
Suddenly, the door opened, and out came a nurse who slowly walked towards him. His heart was filled with suspense.
“Congratulations, it’s a boy.”
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No matter how hard we try, pure innocence is an unachievable dream; an impossible feat; one that cannot be claimed by any living man on this earth. Everyone will make mistakes in their lifetime, and the consequences aren’t exactly merciful. Life is the judge, jury and executioner, and it deals severe penalties. However, if one were to strive for pure innocence, and cherish every step toward that goal; every single special moment that comes from that determination, then perhaps that person would truly be happy.

Wow, epicness has just hit the Stories forum...TT^TT. Crono will never be as good as you. -Takes a seat on the swing in the old playground scene- What a nice story, it definitely defines the marks of innocence. Well done! Crono hopes you achieve the win on this Deviant Art contest. Good luck to you, under appreciated writer. -Let's you loose from the leesh- Good bye Lassie! Whoops wrong story....

Crono : Thanks Crono. But apparently I didn't place -.-. Oh well, I guess it was nice to write something different for a change XD