Alvara
I woke up slowly.
Not the sharp kind of waking where panic jerks you upright, but the heavy kind ,like my body was dragging itself back from somewhere deep and dark. Everything felt distant. My limbs were heavy, my head throbbed, and there was a dull ache spread through me, settling into my bones.
The room smelled unfamiliar. Clean.
Sterile.
Hospital.
The realization drifted in gently, like fog instead of a storm. My eyes fluttered open, squinting against the pale light above me. White ceiling. A faint beeping somewhere close by. The low murmur of voices outside the room.
I tried to move, and pain answered immediately , sharp in my back, tight in my abdomen. A soft sound escaped my throat before I could stop it.
“Alvara.”
The voice came instantly, too fast, too c
