SEEDLINGS

Zevana stared blankly at the calendar on her phone screen. She tried to recalculate, although it was clear that the answer she would get would not change. The date of her last period was more than two weeks past.

"I'm not usually like this... Is it possible..." Zevana muttered under her breath as she looked at her face in the mirror. Her face looked paler every day. Her gaze then turned to her stomach, which still looked as usual.

"My stomach is still normal. It's not enlarged. That means I'm not pregnant, right?" she said softly while stroking her stomach.

---

That night, after finishing work at Café Moris, Zevana sat in the small kitchen of her apartment. It was quiet, with only the ticking of the clock on the wall. Her mind drifted to the night where everything began and changed.

Her relationship with Algha, the man she first saw on the LED screen at the concert and now a regular at the café where she works, has led her into a complicated situation. She never expected that the night of passion would now haunt her with anxiety and uncertainty.

"What a fool... what a fool! I'm such a fool," Zevana said to herself.

---

Zevana began to feel unusual changes in her body. Every morning, she felt nauseous for no apparent reason. Even though she tried inhaling wind oil or perfume, the nausea did not go away. In fact, she vomited several times, although it was only a watery liquid like phlegm.

Her body also felt tired more easily than usual. Her routine as a waitress at the café now felt very tiring, whereas before it was not. Since that night, Algha has also been seen less and less at the café or contacting her.

"Where has Algha been? Why hasn't she been coming? Maybe she left me after..." Zevana muttered as she cleared the cafe table.

Occasionally, the possibility that she was pregnant with Algha's child crossed her mind. However, for the umpteenth time, Zevana tried to deny everything.

"Maybe I'm just stressed out from work. It's only natural, I usually just study and go to college," she muttered again.

Working as a waitress at Café Moris was quite draining. Even at home, it was her sister who did most of the cooking because Zevana was not the type of woman who could cook, let alone be good at it.

After work, Zevana lay down on the sofa. She was sweating profusely on her forehead.

"Are you home yet? Wait a moment, okay. I'll cook some vegetables first. I'll warm up the side dish later," said Zidan, her younger brother, as he walked into the kitchen wearing a white T-shirt.

"No, it's okay. I have no appetite. I just want to drink some juice," Zevana replied as she moved from the sofa to her room.

Zidan stopped his steps and looked at his sister in surprise.

"Huh? Juice? Seriously? Won't you get a stomachache later? My brother's stomach is sensitive, you know. You'll get diarrhea again," Zidan said in surprise.

"No need to nag. I'm just not feeling well, maybe I'm tired. Please make some juice. Use whatever fruit is in the refrigerator," Zevana half shouted.

Zidan walked over to the fridge and opened it, only to find it was filled with yellowing mustard greens.

"There's no fruit," Zidan replied sullenly.

"Yes, just use the yellow mustard greens," Zevana replied innocently.

Zidan immediately felt annoyed and approached his sister. He took a mustard leaf from the fridge and smashed it on Zevana's forehead.

"Eat the yellow mustard! Mustard is a vegetable, dear sister!" Zidan babbled, and they burst out laughing together.

Zidan then looked at Zevana with a serious expression.

"Sister, are you sick?" he asked suddenly.

Zevana was silent for a moment. "No, really. I'm fine. Why do you ask?" she replied as she opened her wallet and handed Zidan a twenty thousand note.

"I feel like you're different. You're often nauseous, and you look more tired than usual," Zidan said in a worried tone.

Zevana just shook her head. "It's nothing. I'm just tired. There's a lot of work at the cafe."

Zidan didn't fully believe her, but he chose to remain silent. He knew that if his sister didn't want to talk, forcing her to would only make things more awkward.

"Alright, I'll buy some fruit first. The change is for the popsicles, right?" Zidan said with a smile.

"Yes, you candy boy," Zevana replied, smiling too.

The next day was a day off for Zevana. She was happy to be able to rest all day.

"I'm so happy! Today I can lie down as much as I want without doing anything," she said happily.

However, not long after, her cell phone rang. A call came in from Algha. She was reluctant to pick it up, but by the fourth ring, she finally gave in.

"Hello," Zevana answered lazily.

"Where are you going? Why aren't you at work today?" Algha asked in a worried tone.

"Shouldn't I be the one asking? Where have you been since that night?" Zevana replied curtly.

"I had a job out of town, so I didn't come to Café Moris," Algha replied.

"Oh, you didn't even have time to call me or send me a message?" said Zevana irritably.

"Never mind, there's no need to argue about little things like this. The important thing is that I've contacted you, right?" Algha said in an irritated tone.

"What are you saying, a small thing? It's not just about that, it's also about what you did that night," Zevana replied in a trembling voice, holding back tears.

"You... arrgh! I think I called you by mistake! Why is this even an argument? Didn't we agree that night?" said Algha, her temper rising.

Zevana was unable to answer. She chose to remain silent and hung up the phone. She buried her face into her pillow, while on the other side, Algha felt guilty and tried to call her again, but Zevana did not respond.

---

At two in the afternoon, Zevana woke up after crying for a long time. She was still thinking about the question that had been haunting her.

When the apartment was quiet because Zidan wasn't around, Zevana went down to the convenience store wearing a pastel jacket. She bought a pregnancy test kit.

"Is this it?" asked the cashier, who was usually familiar with her, but this time looked a little awkward.

"Yes," Zevana replied nervously, even though no one was watching her.

After paying, she hurried to the elevator in the east lobby. Zidan came from the opposite direction, but they were not in the same elevator.

Arriving at the door of the apartment, Zevana grew nervous as she opened the door with her access card.

Suddenly, from behind, Zidan startled her.

"DOR!"

"Aaarrgh!" Zevana was shocked.

PLUK!

A small object fell onto the carpet of their apartment. Zevana was transfixed. Zidan stared at the object with a shocked expression-he recognized the device from the television.

What would happen next? Was Zevana really pregnant?

To be continued...