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24 Birth She can feel the bulk of him: a three story home parked under her rib cage. She can feel them reach inside her guts to pull him out, no pain, just numb tugging, wet cries from inside where he lived for nine months, her tiny kangaroo waiting like a wish struggling to come true. She feels him stretching out, one last kick to connect them. She will miss his breathing into her dreams. Will he miss her food invading his? She tries to picture life after birth, after they take him from her body, 25 her second heart delivered into heavy arms, paralyzed by the block they shot into her spine. At first, all she sees are his long fingers, nails razor-sharp tissue paper she runs across her lips tasting the salt of life. ...

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