The world has never been kind to you, as it seemed.

It seemed to you that it would be a matter of just one time, a few seconds, maybe. But first you needed solid ground under your feet. That's why you've been working hard since you graduated from college. At first, in a small position, while simultaneously completing small orders online in the evening. You were still living with your parents back then, but you moved out as soon as you could afford to rent a tiny one-bedroom apartment.

The tiny was what suited you back then. But not what a child would need.

And when you finally had a lot of savings, your house, even a car, you realized that the time had come. But on the contrary, it seemed to flow out of your hands altogether, like air, invisible but tangible.

Simon has been by your side all this time. A childhood friend since school, when you were sitting at neighboring desks and tried cigarettes for the first time in secret from your parents, finding space, freedom, and permissiveness in this mischief. You were the first person he told that he had enlisted. Came in with his head shaved, and watched you hold back tears while your lips moved, uttering words of support.

As far back as Simon could remember, most of his firsts were with you. The first alcohol, bought with fake IDs, the first broken leg in an unsuccessful jump from an abandoned house, the first letter from a training camp, the first salary he used to buy you a closet in your then-shabby little apartment.

And the first kiss. Childish, thoughtless, playful, after which you immediately pulled back and giggled, doubled over. And he smiled back, realizing even then that he had fallen for you.

But what you said to him when you met in the pub made him almost choke on his beer.

"Sorry?"

"I know it's sudden and awkward, but I..." You sighed, clutching your glass with Coke tighter in your hand. "I've saved money, I will pay for all the tests and procedures. You know how much I want to become a mother..."

You, his childhood friend, the girl he's been in love with for more than twenty years, asked him to become a donor for your child.