A Place to Belong
Days later, while he was sitting up and going through a basic check-up with Phil, he glanced over at me and Paul. We were still there, still hunched over our textbooks, determined to finish the work piling up before midterm exams. Paul grunted in frustration, complaining about the teachers being unreasonable, and I caught the barest hint of a smile flicker across Valik’s face. A small thing—so brief it could have been missed—but it was real. I saw him stifle a laugh when I knocked my pencil against Paul’s head, scolding him for slacking off yet again. It wasn’t much, but it was a sign—a tiny glimpse of life returning, of engagement beyond just existing in the hospital bed. When Phillip finished his assessment and handed me the summary, the three of us were finally alone in the room. I sk
- Writer
