IMAGINE [miniseries]

SPORTS

If someone had asked you earlier if you would still do sports in the terminal stages of your pregnancy, you would probably have refused with a laugh and would say "never in my life". You run your hand down your body and look at your fully grown baby bump in the mirror. Even the short time in the changing room ensures lots of sweat dripping down your forehead. The muscles you've trained for a long time enable you to go to the gym regularly for 39 weeks. It is only in the last few months that your bulging, big belly becomes an obstacle. You can no longer do various exercises without any problems or at all, such as push-ups or sit-ups, because the pelvis is too much in the way. Okay, let's go! You think. You open the cabin door and enter the studio.

It is only slightly filled and most of the devices are empty. You go straight to the treadmill and put down your towel. As you step onto the treadmill, you see the reflection of your tight red top in the glass of the third floor. You enter jogging for 30 minutes and start for the next 20 minutes. Holy shit! This exercise goes on the pelvis... you walk at a good walking pace for the last 10 minutes. You stand on the deactivated treadmill for two minutes. Your hair is soaked in sweat and the towel don't help your face to get dry. Behind your back a young man yells: "Hey! Is that really you?" You turn to the voice.

It is Leonard, a nice old friend. „Oh shit, Leo! Hey! What's up? The last time I saw you you were heavily pregnant! You look great!" You scratch his head with a sympathetic smile. „41 weeks...to be precise. You look great too! Pregnant too, I see. It was about time that someone really fucks you, hehe..." Leonard put his hands in his trouser pockets. Then you ask: „When was that again? Ten months ago, here?" Leonard thinks for a moment and answers: „Correct! I gave birth that same week. If I remember correctly, I already went into labor the day we saw each other...That was when we were both downstairs in the swimming pool and I was complaining on the bench about how powerful and painful such a stomach actually is and...

„You already had contractions and didn't tell me anything? A real bad ass. I didn't notice anything", you say.

„I didn't expect it to start that day. After that we stayed in the water for two hours. Every time I tried to hide a contraction and when we said goodbye, I went to a friend's house. When I was playing, my water broke and I gave birth in his bathtub..."

„great now i'm scared..." What if you have contractions and don't feel it?

Leo asks:„how far are you?"

„39 weeks. From the day after tomorrow 40."

„Well then you're actually just waiting for you know...the big explosion and stuff..."

„Yes, Leo."

„Yeah it was cool to see you again. Take care of yourself and see you soon!"

„Okay bye!"

You look after Leonard with a smile and then goes to the showers. However, you are plague with paranoia about labor and whether or how it could start. The communal showers are empty. So you feel even more alone and helpless, so that you give a slight gasp and then you do not know whether you are in pain or not. You spread your legs and crouch down a little. The pain goes away and you are sure that this was a real major contraction right now. fuck!? Did your pulse cause labor pains in me? You wait until another contraction comes that hit you painfully. You lean against the tiles and pushes up your lower belly. You finish the shower and go to the changing rooms. Then you put on a pair of white long johns and take off the tight Tob. You left the studio with your bag and step into the hot sun. The painful sting is now permanent and your belly is noticeably harder. You lean against the studio wall and try to calm down a little. Then however a strong pressure comes over you and you begin to push. He you feel the amniotic fluid run down your thighs from your bump. You take hold of the crotch and realized that your water broke.