It was quiet in the countryside, too quiet sometimes. The kind of silence that left space for thoughts to turn dark. Her house sat tucked at the edge of a narrow gravel road, surrounded by hills and whispering trees. No neighbors close enough to hear. No traffic. No noise. Just birdsong and wind. And lately, the occasional low hum of aching discomfort beneath her skin.
She sat on the edge of the couch that night, body curled forward, hands pressing into the heavy swell of her breasts. The pain was dull, then sharp, then dull again. Her shirt was already damp. Milk had soaked through the thin fabric in two perfect circles. She hadn’t expected it to last this long. The hormones, the fullness, the aching weight that came with her body still producing after birth.
Even though she had given t
