Chapter 11: Welcome to the World

Chapter 11: Welcome to the World
The delivery room was chaotic, the pain intense and blinding, but it was a pain with a purpose. After six agonizing hours of labor, the doctor’s encouraging voice cut through the haze.
"One more push, Emily. You've got this."
With a final, exhausted cry, I pushed with everything I had left. A second later, the room was filled with the most beautiful sound I had ever heard—the loud, furious wail of my newborn daughter.
May you like
They placed her on my chest, her tiny fists waving in the air. She was perfect. She had my eyes and a wild mop of dark hair. My father, the stoic Colonel who had faced down warzones without shedding a tear, openly wept as he looked at his granddaughter.
"We'll call her Maya," I whispered. "It means courage."