The hospital ward was hushed except for the persistent hum of machines. Jamiro sat slumped in the corner chair, his fingers woven tightly together as if holding a fragile thread that might snap if he loosened his grip. The clock ticked past midnight, but he did not dare close his eyes. Alliah lay pale and still on the bed, her breaths shallow, her skin glistening faintly under the dim light.
He had grown used to the nightly rhythm—the rise and fall of her chest, the occasional murmur when she drifted through half-sleep—but that night was different. The monitors above her began to stutter. The green line wavered. Then the alarms shrieked into the silence.
Jamiro shot up, his heart hammering. “Alliah! Nurse! Somebody, please!”
Within seconds, the room was filled with urgency. Nurses hurri
