Chapter LXXII: Momento Temporis
Liz rushes through the sterile white hallway, the smell of antiseptic and flowers strangely mixing in the air. Her heart pounds—not from fear this time, but from hope. From longing. From something she's held back for far too long. Her hospital gown flutters behind her as she ignores the shouts of a nurse and the distant call of her grandmother. She doesn't stop. She won't stop.
She reaches a door at the end of the corridor, half-open, where sunlight spills in like liquid gold. The warmth pulls her forward.
And there—seated in the middle of the hospital garden—is a figure bathed in that very light. A silhouette. Calm. Still.
As he turns his head, Liz's breath catches.
It's Bennett.
He smiles softly, gently, like he's been waiting for her all this time.
