1

She waited a full hour on the leather sofa in the waiting room, surrounded by dozens of women—most with swollen bellies, clearly in the final months of pregnancy. A sense of unease washed over her; the sound of the air conditioner—pumping out cold air heavy with the pungent scent of rubbing alcohol and disinfectants—made her feel as though she were suffocating.

She tried to distract herself by repeatedly checking her phone, yet the strange sensation that had dogged her all week offered no real respite: an inexplicable exhaustion,

nausea that struck every morning, and dizzy spells that sometimes made the ground seem to sway beneath her feet.

She breathed a sigh of relief when the nurse finally approached her and said

: "This way, please, Miss; it’s your turn."

She rose quickly and followed the nurse down the quiet, white corridor until they reached the examination room.

The doctor greeted her with a cheerful smile, rising from her seat—appearing somewhat full-figured—to welcome her warmly.

"Hello... What seems to be the problem?"

She sat down across from the desk as the doctor picked up a small file and opened it.

"My health has deteriorated over the past week"

... I’ve been feeling generally exhausted and constantly nauseous

." The doctor responded in a serious tone:

"And an aversion to food as well, isn't that right?"

She nodded in agreement:

"Yes... At first, I thought it was just fatigue from work."

"In that case, please step up onto the examination bed..."

After two minutes of silent examination, the doctor helped her up and returned to her seat behind the desk; a broad smile spread across her fair, round face as she prepared to break the news.

"It seems your little family is about to grow with the arrival of a new member."

She blinked several times and asked:

"Pardon?"

The doctor’s smile widened as she slid the examination report toward her.

"Congratulations, you are two months pregnant... and the symptoms you experienced earlier were signs of pregnancy."

She stared at the doctor for a long moment, then let out a short, bewildered laugh

. "No... there must be some mistake."

The smile gradually faded from the doctor’s face.

"There is no mistake in the test results."

She shook her head vigorously, as if trying to shake those words loose and cast them out of her ears

. "That’s impossible."

"And why is that impossible?"

She raised her eyes to the doctor; her face had gone completely pale, drained of all color.

"Because I’m not married."

The doctor furrowed her brows slightly, but Asiya was consumed by shock; she swallowed hard and whispered:

"And because I have never been with a man in my life

." ❈-❈-❈

She hurried out of the examination room, trying to convince herself that it was a simple matter—just a lab error, a mix-up of names, or some ordinary explanation that would set things right.

Yet, the doctor’s words kept echoing in her mind:

"You are two months pregnant."

She gripped her handbag tightly—perhaps too tightly—as if needing something tangible to prove she was still standing on solid, rational ground. Deep down, she tried to scoff at the idea, to dismiss it entirely as impossible...

but she could not find the certainty that might have saved her. She knew her own body well... and the details of her life... yet something deep within her refused to be reassured. Her phone began to ring, heralding an even greater disaster: it was her mother.

The calls came in rapid succession; she ignored them and tucked the phone back into her bag, resolved to speak to her only after returning home. But where could she run?

After all, she would eventually have to go back.

She suddenly collided with a nurse in the hallway—someone she hadn’t noticed because she had been distracted by her phone. She let out a soft groan as she stepped back, then quickly apologized:

"I’m sorry..."

She looked up.

"Are you alright, ma'am? I apologize; I didn't mean to..."

But she received no reply; the nurse had stopped—frozen completely

in place—and was staring at her for a long, unsettling moment. Then... the nurse’s face suddenly went pale, as if the blood had drained from it

all at once.

Her eyes widened slightly, confirming the woman's identity, and her features trembled in silence.

It was as if she had seen something that should not exist at all—

something she wished would vanish from the face of the earth forever

. ❈-❈-❈