( PH 2 )
The corridor outside the intensive care unit was too quiet.not silent but controlled.Artificial every sound felt measured.distant,
A soft mechanical rhythm echoed through the space.
"Beep… beep… beep…"
It came from somewhere inside the room.Behind the closed glass door,
where he was.
Anie sat alone on the cold metal chair.
Her hands rested on her lap, fingers loosely intertwined.but they weren't still
They moved slightly.subtly like her body hadn't yet understood that everything was over.
Or maybe that it wasn't,
Her eyes remained fixed on the door.
on the faint reflection of herself staring back from the glass surface.
Synapse Medical Complex :
The name was etched near the entrance panel.clean precise emotionless.just like this place,
A few people passed through the corridor occasionally.doctors staff
voices muted.
Everything felt… distant like she wasn't really part of this place.like she didn't belong here.
And yet,
she didn't leave her chest rose slowly.
then fell.
"He's stable for now."
The doctor's voice from earlier echoed in her mind.
"Severe trauma energy impact. Internal stress." a pause.
"He's lucky."
Lucky her fingers tightened slightly.
that word didn't feel right because she knew the truth.It wasn't luck It was him
her eyes lowered.
Fragments of the previous night began to surface again.not clearly,not in order.
Just pieces,,
"DOWN!"
A sharp pull.
her body forced to the ground.the crack of energy above her head.
"Stay there."
His voice calm,even then.
"You're not alone."
That moment that tone her breathing faltered.
Why?...,
Why did he keep doing that?....,
Why did he her thoughts stopped
because she already knew the answer.
He didn't hesitate not once not when the hunters surrounded them.not when the shots were fired not even,
when the attack was meant for her, her fingers curled slightly.
She remembered that moment clearly.
too clearly.the energy bolt coming straight toward her.fast unavoidable,
And then he moved no hesitation no calculation.Just instinct,
"CRACK!"
The impact not on her on him her chest tightened.sharply,That sound still echoed in her ears.why would someone do that? ,Her eyes lifted slowly back to the glass door.
Behind it machines kept him alive steady.controlled,but he wasn't awake
he wasn't speaking he wasn't there.
And for some reason that felt wrong.
She leaned back slightly against the chair.her gaze drifting upward to the sterile white ceiling.
"…why am I still here…?"
The words slipped out quietly almost unconsciously.
She could leave there was nothing forcing her to stay.no obligation no reason.
And yet she hadn't moved hours had passed.
Still she stayed her fingers tightened again.because every time she tried to stand something stopped her.
Not fear something else something unfamiliar her chest felt heavy.
Not painful but present real her eyes slowly closed.
and memories surfaced again this time
not from last night.from before,much earlier warmth laughter .
A different place, a different time a rooftop.
The wind moving softly through the air.
"You think too much."
A voice light teasing she turned.A boy stood there.leaning casually against the railing.not serious not tense alive.
"You don't think at all.",she replied he laughed.
"I do.", he said,
"Just not about useless things."she frowned slightly.
"Everything matters."he shrugged,
"Then you'll get lost in everything."
Silence then,
"Maybe that's the point."
she said quietly he looked at her for a moment then smiled.
"…you're weird.",her lips pressed slightly.
"You're annoying.",
Another laugh the memory felt real too real.her chest tightened again,because she knew what came after.the warmth faded the scene shifted.cold white the same kind of corridor.
Hospital she stood there younger still.
waiting,
"Condition critical.",A voice distant,
"Energy-related trauma." her fingers trembled.
"No…"
She stepped closer to the door but it didn't open.didn't change didn't respond.Time passed she didn't move
just like now waiting.
Hoping for something anything the sound,
"Beep…" slower, "…beep…",
her breathing stopped,
"No…" the sound, "…beep..."
Flat endless empty her eyes widened.
"No !"...,
The memory shattered Anie's eyes snapped open.her breathing uneven fast.sharp the present rushed back the corridor.the light,the door her hands were shaking.not from power from something deeper.
"…again…",,she whispered,,
Her gaze slowly turned toward the glass door.inside machines still beeped steadily.Not flat not silent alive her chest tightened again.different this time
not just fear.not just memory a quiet desperation.
She stood up slowly her legs slightly weak.but she walked step by step.
Until she stood right in front of the door.
Her reflection stared back at her.
Tired, confused uncertain but her eyes
focused.
"…you're not dying." she said softly,
not to herself.to him a pause,
"…you can't."
Her fingers lifted slightly almost touching the glass but stopped.right before because she didn't know what she was feeling.
Not fully not yet but one thing was clear
she wasn't leaving.
Not this time not again and as she stood there,
The past and present overlapped silently.two doors, two moments two lives.
One loss one still uncertain and somewhere deep inside something began to change.