This archive report was first published on 9 May 2020.
On a typical evening, a man was enjoying a movie with his girlfriend, having had a good spell for a few months. But little did he know, his life was about to take a dramatic turn.
As they made dinner together, his girlfriend suddenly told him she needed to tell him something. He had heard of a technique where women lie on a man's chest to listen to his heartbeat, and he was prepared to apologize and promise to never sin again, even though he didn't know what it was that he had done.
But what he was about to hear was not what he had expected. His girlfriend revealed that she was late, not for a meeting or a party, but because her periods were two weeks late. The man's throat went dry, and it suddenly became harder to breathe.
He was 25, and this was not what he had signed up for. He felt blank, unprepared for the news, and his mind became foggy. He even forgot how to think. He tried to play it cool, but that only works in the movies.
As the reality of the situation sunk in, the man's thoughts turned to the future. He was trying to figure out whether it was more viable to rob a bank or a forex bureau. He was even planning on how he was going to break the news to his family.
But then, his girlfriend told him that her periods had come. The man felt a mix of emotions - relief, fear, and uncertainty. He realized that the fear of fatherhood is real, and it's a feeling that many men dread.
