THE TRUTH
Day 115 — ICU Room 412, Evening
Dante waited until Aria’s eyes were fully open and tracking before he began.
A doctor had come and gone. Had examined her with careful professionalism, checking her responses, shining lights in her eyes, asking her to squeeze his hand. She’d managed it all with the focused effort of someone relearning how to exist in her own body.
Now it was just Dante and Aria. The machines beeping their steady rhythm. The ventilator replaced by just the soft sound of her breathing.
“You’ve been unconscious for three months,” Dante said. His voice was flat. Clinical. Like he was reporting data rather than describing the death of their life together.
Aria’s eyes widened slightly. She tried to speak but nothing came out. Her throat was too raw. The ventilator
