I dreamed I was the silence between contractions

I was in a long, quiet room with no doors. The air was thick but not heavy—like it held its breath. I felt every shift in the woman’s body without touching her, like a current beneath skin. When she cried out, I didn’t echo it. I just… stayed. Not helping. Not resisting. Just being the space where pain could fold itself into something else. I woke up with my hands clenched, and for a moment, I couldn’t remember if I’d been her or the stillness around her.