At the clinic gate, a 7-year-old collapsed, crying, “Mommy has been sleeping for three days, please save them.” The doctor rushed to help the newborn twins, but as he lifted them, his hands shook. Underneath the babies was a handwritten note from the mother that made the doctor freeze in terror…

blindingly white. I was lying on a cot. The sheets were stiff and smelled of chemical lavender. My feet were heavily bandaged, throbbing with a dull, persistent ache. An IV needle was taped to the back of my small hand.

Gertrude was sitting in a plastic chair beside the bed, reading a chart. When she saw my eyes open, she immediately poured a small continue reading …