THE NEW WORLD The air was cool on the balcony, carrying the scent of pine and damp earth. It was that blue hour of the morning, just before the sun breaks over the horizon. The world was still. For the first time in years, the silence wasn't heavy. It was light.

I leaned against the stone railing, wrapping my shawl tighter around my shoulders. My belly was heavy now, a constant, beautiful reminder of the life growing inside.

I waited for the familiar prickle in the back of my mind—the sharp ...