"Absence" by Omid Shekari "Heart is good,"I texted my husband. "Baby looks good,"I could see her. Active. As always. (At twelve weeks, I could feel her. I imagined emperor butterflies dancing to her pulse.) "I already feel silly," I told him. "Don't leave work. I'm just going to make sure everything is okay." But three words seized the air, and snuffed out all sparks of hope"three centimeters dilated."I was in labor. Twenty-two weeks pregnant. Heart is good, heart is good? The doctor asks: "What happened?"No answers, only questions. "What happened?" "If you deliver today, your baby is