Unwed Mother

At 18, she thought love was sweet. Until the pregnancy test showed two lines, and the boy who taught her to 'calculate safe periods and take emergency pills' turned away with, 'How do you know the kid is mine?' Penniless, clutching a crumpled flyer, she pushed open a door she shouldn't have. On the operating table, the girl next to her said, 'This is my fourth time.' She finally understood—some lessons no one taught her, but the price was hers alone to pay.