Maya's POV
It had been three weeks since we moved Mom to Mercy Medical Center. Three weeks of watching her fade a little more each day, her body shutting down in slow motion while I grew bigger with new life,
The contradiction wasn't lost on me—death and birth happening simultaneously, like the universe couldn't decide whether to give or take.
I was dozing in the chair beside Mom's bed when Alex's phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen, frowned, then stepped into the hallway. Something about his expression made my stomach clench with worry.
Jake was on the other side of Mom's bed, reading aloud from her favorite mystery novel even though we weren't sure she could hear anymore. Her eyes were closed, her breathing shallow and labored, the morphine keeping her in a twilight state between
