I am standing in my aunt’s house. It really isn’t my aunt’s house in real life, but I still know it is her house. My whole family is there. My cousin’s ex-girlfriend stands in the corner, extremely pregnant. Suddenly she starts to go into labor. My aunt bustles over and insists that she deliver the baby here and won’t let her go to the hospital.
The baby is born without a sound. My aunt spanks her butt, holds her upside down, throws her up in the air. Still nothing. The baby is turning blue. Everyone is panicking. I run from the room.
I find myself on a vaguely familiar couch. Orange, yellow and brown plaid. I cry into the pillows, hard. Hot tears steaming down my face, leaving a saltwater stain. Then I remember.
I enter the birthing room again and shout for my aunt to unclog the baby’s nostrils. I close my eyes and listen to the baby’s first wail.
I wake up and it is my birthday.