Sunday nights were supposed to feel like a gentle close to the week, a quiet lull before the chaos of Monday returned. For Clara Hart, the air outside St. Mary’s Hospital felt thick, like a curtain she had to push through with each step she took. The fluorescent lights from the building still clung to her vision as she walked out with Elena, their arms brushing against each other. Lily was stable, the doctors had said. The surgery had gone better than expected, and now all that was left was recovery—weeks of careful monitoring, follow-ups, and medication that seemed to carry more zeroes on the bill than Clara could count.
But Lily had smiled.
That was what mattered.
Clara closed her eyes briefly as they walked toward Elena’s beat-up hatchback. The echo of Lily’s laughter—thin, still fra
