The luxury of unity

The first moments were the strangest and most terrifying ever, as my memory, strangely, still retains the details of my sudden arrival, devoid of any introduction or preamble; a girl carrying me with blood-stained hands, and a strange man pinching my back to make me cry, but everyone in this terrifying place was wearing white, according to what my half-closed eyes saw, and on an old bed a woman was lying motionless, groaning in pain, with a bloody rope coming out of her. I had no idea where the rope ended before the strange man grabbed his sharp scissors and cut it without mercy, causing a lightning bolt of pain that split our bodies - the woman and me - into two, and drew a permanent scar on my stomach that I still carry to this moment.