Beats
She cried out last night and I went to check on her. She was still asleep, on her belly, her arms around her head.
I caressed her hair, my other hand on her back as it moved up and down just so slightly.
Then, for the first time, I felt the urge to hear her heartbeat. Weird that I didn't think of doing this before.
I pressed my ear on her back, and there it was, beating faster than I had imagined. Air, filling and leaving her lungs. We stayed like this for a few minutes, and she must have been aware of me, as her heart rate slowed.
I asked myself often in the past: Can I love? What is love supposed to feel like?
This must be it!