Two days passed with her mind dwelling on the disturbing speculation. Rakia decided to go to the doctor for a check-up and got permission to leave early on the pretext that she wanted to go to the hospital to see her father. It wasn’t a complete lie, but she had another purpose. Upon arriving in Oregon, she immediately headed to the gynecologist’s office after registering herself for today’s examination.

“Do you remember the last time you had your period?” asked the doctor who was preparing to check Rakia’s blood pressure using a blood pressure monitor.

“A month ago, and I think it’s late this month.” Rakia said her speculation. The...