franceslievens | The Belly as a conversation starter

She smiles at my ever growing bump when she sits herself beside me on the underground train. "That must be a girl," she exclaims. I nod and say it indeed is a girl growing inside me. "Such a round belly, I knew it would be!" And then she goes on telling her life story – about the little girl she had that died during childbirth. I nod again, not really knowing what to say when she goes on about the pains she endured all on her own when she tried to push the baby out without any help. I can't quite make out whether she hadn't dared to call for help, or just couldn't. "They told me I killed the baby. It got stuck, and I didn't call for help." She blames the country where she lived back then, Portugal. She couldn't get pregnant after that experience. I listen, nod, fall silent, as she does after her heart-breaking story. Would there be anything other in her life that needs telling?