✦ Four Months Later ✦
The grass beneath my bare feet is soft, slightly damp with last night's dew—a delicate, cool kiss against my swollen skin. Each blade bends beneath my weight, whispering against my soles.
Winter has already settled over X Country, but its touch here is gentle, nothing like the biting, merciless cold of Crystal Country that cuts through bone and memory, that leaves its mark on the skin long after you've stepped indoors.
I walk slowly, my body heavy with the fullness of late pregnancy. My whole body feels heavier and more rounded now that I'm in the final weeks of pregnancy. My belly has grown larger than I ever imagined—a round, firm curve that seems to have its own gravity, its own rhythm. If I look down, I can barely see my feet, just the tips of my toes peeking out beneath the curve of my belly. My ankles are swollen, my fingers feel thick, and there's a constant ache in my lower back.
