Lilian woke slowly, as though her body was returning to her from somewhere far away.
Her eyelids felt heavy. Her limbs even heavier.
For a few seconds, she just lay there, staring at the ceiling, letting the quiet of the room settle around her. There was a strange softness in the sheets, and a faint ache in her body that made her pause without fully understanding why.
Then something flickered at the edge of her mind.
Not a clear memory.
More like a feeling.
Warmth. Close breath. A voice she trusted. Hands steadying her when she drifted too far.
Her brows knitted slightly.
She turned her head into the pillow, trying to pull the memory into focus.
It resisted.
But the feeling remained.
Her lips slowly curved into a small, uncertain smile.
“We… did it,” she whispered.
The words s
