Cinder
I wake up with a start, heart pounding in my chest as if I’ve been running for miles. The room is still dim, the sun just beginning to peek through the curtains. For a moment, I’m completely disoriented, unsure of where I am or why I feel this strange mix of exhaustion and exhilaration.
And then I see them - the three tiny, sleeping forms in the crib beside my bed. My children. My beautiful, precious triplets. Instantly, the memories of yesterday come flooding back. The pain, the fear, the indescribable joy of bringing these little lives into the world. Two boys and one girl, each more perfect than the last. I can hardly believe they are ours, that my body somehow found the strength to create not one but three miracles for me and Pike.
My hand comes up to rest on my still-swollen
