Crimson sat on the edge of the stark hospital bed, her fingers tracing the bland, white sheets that had been her constant for the past few days. The room’s silence pressed on her, thick and heavy, each breath and heartbeat amplifying in the stillness, reverberating back to her like whispers from the walls. She sighed, the sound hanging in the air, a lone witness to the solitude that clung to her like a heavy shroud. It wasn’t just the room that was empty. Solstace’s absence was like a void, sucking the warmth out of the space around her.
A soft knock on the door broke her reverie, and she looked up to see Lila, her presence like a burst of sunshine in the dreary room.
“Hey, Crimson, ready to blow this popsicle stand?” Lila asked with a smile, though her eyes held a depth of understandi
