The Cost Of Forever

what happens if i

a truth I have been hesitant to acknowledge. I am seated on a bench hidden in

one. It's been days since I last had some alone time, and now that I

fly as my chest becomes tight.

it doesn't halt the overflow. What if all of this effort ends up being futile? The donations, the medical care, the optimism I've been holdi

ot where no one is able to witness me, I am simply falling apart. As I bring my hands to my face, tr

if I alre

the fissures I have been trying to hide. I have lost count of how many times I've told myself to keep going, to withstand, to rema

feeling of being helpless. Wave after wave of suffocating emotion brings everything I've been holding onto to the sur

s overwhelming, and I find myself uncertain if I

s me from the spir

. She appeared to be no older than six years old, with messy pigtails and vibrant green eyes that

smile, a forced expression

s better. Then, silently, she takes something out of her pocket a

ys simply, pushin

etely surprised. "You're no

big deal. "It's what my mom gives me when

of everything weighing me down. It's different-something more delicate, somethi

in me, leaving me speechless. Instead, I extend my hand and grab the loll

urmur, my voice

back along the path, her pigtails bouncing with each movement. I keep my

y silly how a tiny thing like a stranger giving me a piece of c

en my fingers. It may be a silly action, yet it serves

enough for me to resume moving. I don't have the amswers. I am unsure about what the future holds, whether Lila will recover, and if

moving. I have

it's over. And I'm not

brushes against my face, allowing me to finally have a clear mind after days of mental

he type that follows a tumultuous event. The type of feeling that seems possible,

y back to the waiting room. Lucas and Clara are still there, both of them standing as soon as they se

tepping forward, concern

my hand like a reminder of something brighter. "Yeah," I say quietl

ply observing me. After that, he nods, with

etting worried," she admits softly, her grip tightening in that way

ing into her warmth for just a second befo

mething unreadable flickerin

ker of hope burning just a lit

y the sterile hospital walls and the uncertainty that stil

ver yet. Maybe w

la and feel the lollipop in my pocket, a small

tiny bit of hope that everythin