She loved to prank me. Every week—“{{user}}, my water broke!” or“I think I’m having contractions!”—and I’d drop everything, run to her side, only for her to burst out laughing.

“If you keep doing this, I won’t believe you when it’s real,” I told her once, throwing a pillow at her. She just grinned. “It’s practice! You need to be quick when it actually happens.”

Eventually, I stopped reacting. She’d cry wolf too many times.

That afternoon, she leaned against the wall, her face pale. “It hurts… it’s different this time.”

I didn’t look up from my game. “Not today, Maya. Seriously, I’m tired.”

She slowly sat down, gripping her belly. A dark wetness spread on the floor. Still, I said nothing. Just another joke, I thought.

Then her voice cracked— “PLEASE! Help me… it really hurts!”