Asieh had an ultrasound appointment at 6:20 in the evening. She had pain around her belly button, and her doctor had told her to get an ultrasound.

She had not made an appointment with one of the famous ultrasound clinics, but the waiting room was still very crowded.

The receptionist told her, “Your bladder has to be full.”

Before leaving home, Asieh had drunk two glasses of water, so her bladder was already quite full. She sat down and tried not to move too much.

Half an hour later, only two people had been called in.

She turned to the woman sitting next to her, who was holding a large water bottle.

“How full does your bladder have to be?” she asked. “So full that you can’t hold it anymore?”

The woman smiled.

“Is yours already that full? Mine is the opposite. I’ve been drinking water for over an hour—two full bottles—and I still don’t feel anything.”

Then she asked, “Are you pregnant?”

Asieh shook her head.

“I might be,” the woman said. “The test was negative, but my doctor told me to get an ultrasound because my period is late. I feel like I’m pregnant. For the last two nights I’ve dreamed that I was breastfeeding a baby. That must mean something, right?”

Asieh smiled.

“I hope it’s a girl,” the woman continued. “The first child should be a girl, don’t you think? Do you have children?”

Asieh shook her head again.

“Was it your decision or your husband’s? My husband and I both love children, especially him. His nieces and nephews adore him. Do you have nieces or nephews?”

Just then the receptionist called Asieh’s name.

Her new friend winked and said, “Go ahead. I’ll be next.”

Asieh hurried into the examination room.

More than anything, she wanted to tell the doctor, Please don’t press on my stomach.

She was concentrating so hard on not wetting the examination bed that she barely listened.

The doctor said a few things while another person wrote them down.

“What did you find?” Asieh asked.

“Nothing unusual,” the doctor replied.

“But my belly button hurts.”

“It could be a digestive problem.”

Asieh wiped the gel from her stomach, climbed carefully off the bed, and left the room.

Her new friend went in right after her. They smiled at each other as they passed.

Asieh rushed to the bathroom. The water hose was lying on the floor, but she sat down anyway and finally relaxed.

She pressed gently on her belly button.

It still hurt.

A few minutes later, they both came out.

“What happened?” Asieh asked eagerly.

Her new friend looked at her with tears in her eyes.

“It was a cyst,” she said.