I could be dead.

I would be dead if I’d been born 50 years ago. God knows, I’ve thought about it. There’s been no point living this half-life.

Instead, today I wake to the loud rhythmic banging of my new heart (my new heart!).

And my life can finally begin.

Laura Besley writes short fiction in the precious moments that her children are asleep. She has been widely published online, in print, and in anthologies. Her debut flash fiction collection, The Almost Mothers, is out in March 2020.