Nina's eyes lit up with joy.
One of her babies was about to hatch!
She quickly shoveled the last few bites of food into her mouth and hurried to the bedside, leaning over the edge of the bed to stare at the egg with the crack.
The fracture lay along the upper middle of the shell—a thin, delicate line. From inside came faint, rhythmic tapping sounds.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Nina guessed the little one was pecking at the shell.
The other eggs had gathered close around it, as if forming a protective circle.
Mino and the others hastily swallowed their food as well and rushed over to join her. All of them stood by the bed, eyes fixed unblinkingly on the egg that was about to open.
After a moment...
Crack.
The fissure widened slightly.
Then everything went quiet. Even the tapping stopped.
Nina's heart tightened. "Mino… do you think the shell is too hard? What if the baby can't break through? Will he be okay?"
