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“Well Honey, you know this decision is entirely up to you, but we don’t really have the luxury to choose the perfect time,” said Mark.
The mysteries of existence had been igniting Cecile’s imagination. Are we just left to numerical odds and chance, or is there more to the process of generating – and maintaining – – life? Are we just lucky or are certain things truly meant to be? For some reason she did not have the same reassurance that she did when she was pregnant with Sophie. She felt her current pregnancy was just a very unlikely yet lucky event that could be taken away from her as easy as it came. Mark kept trying to convince her that this baby was too a miracle baby – beating the odds without any help from fertilizing treatments - but for Cecile, fear was louder, more present, and more convincing, than hope.
Upon entering her 3rd trimester, Cecile had already officially told everyone she knew that she was pregnant – something that took her a long time to do, due to her fear of a late miscarriage. Despite the ups and downs of a high-risk pregnancy, baby Mary had definitely brought the family closer together. They had fun listening to Sophie’s questions about the baby. One day, after Mark had taught her about parasites, Sophie asked her mom how did the baby crawl into her belly, making her laugh, then having to explain – again – where babies come from.
Making it to her 7th month had enhanced many of the contrasting emotions that a high-risk pregnancy can bring: Cecile was extremely happy that the baby had made this far, and each milestone she went through meant less chances of having a late miscarriage. However, the farther she got into her pregnancy, the more she started acknowledging the chances of a premature birth. At times, the deep fear she felt would open the doors of her imagination to all the scary possibilities that would await her daughter in case she were born earlier than expected.
At that point, the only thing that could distract Sophie from her mom’s protuberant belly was a butterfly cocoon she had found in the