Between Bruises and Blooms

It began with a can of Monster
I couldn’t finish.

Then the Starbucks Double Shot energy drinks
stayed full beside me, too.

My body whispered
before my heart understood.

So, the day before my period was due,
I took a test
in the middle of a workday,
thinking,

Maybe.

Two lines.

A thousand questions.

I was scared.
I was hopeful.
I was carrying more
than anyone around me could see.

Christmas arrived
with morning sickness,
a stomach bug,
a trip to the hospital,
IV fluids,
and quiet prayers
that these tiny lives
would keep holding on.

Then came words
no pregnant mother wants to hear—

Subchorionic hematoma.

I learned quickly
that joy and fear
can share the same heartbeat.

On December 13, 2024,
I sat alone
for an ultrasound
that would change my life forever.

One heartbeat.

Then another.

I don’t remember
if the world stopped turning,
or if my own heart
simply forgot how.

Twins.

The two little girls
I’d secretly wished for.

Even now,
sometimes I look at them
playing together,
laughing over secrets
only sisters can understand,

and I think,

There are really two of you.

Life has never been easy.

There have been tears,
sleepless nights,
double the diapers,
double the cuddles,
double the worry,
double the love.

But if I could go back
to the woman standing at work,
holding that positive test
with trembling hands,

I’d smile and whisper,

“Things will all work out the way they’re supposed to.”

Because one day,
you’ll look at two little girls
who changed everything,

and you’ll know—

some miracles
don’t arrive one at a time.