The journey back from the hospital was a blur. Marina remembered neither the streets they crossed, nor the color of the sky, nor the music that must have been blaring from the taxi radio. A single word looped in her skull, each syllable a hammer blow: pregnant. It echoed, distorted, took on monstrous proportions. Preg-nant. A state that usually evoked joy, anticipation, love. For her, it was a verdict, a biological time bomb.
She opened the door to her studio and slipped inside like a thief, locking it behind her as if she could lock reality out. The silence of the apartment felt like a slap. It was too normal, too consistent with her life before. Nothing had changed, and yet, everything was different. She slid down to the floor, her back against the door, and burst into tears. They weren
