For a while now, I had been feeling a dull ache at the tip of my belly, but I didn't want to tell anyone. I felt swollen, like I could burst at any moment. I had reached my seventh month of pregnancy, and all I could do was beg these babies to stay inside me a little longer, so they could be born healthy—without needing any intervention.

Today, I started work earlier. My shift officially began at seven-thirty, but I arrived at seven, tidied up the kitchen, and sat down. The ache came and went,