CIAN
I felt a surge of desperate clinging hope in my chest the moment my father's eyes opened. Cassia touched his arm and I leaned closer while Charon stood on the opposite side of the bed, holding our father's hand.
Cassia's voice broke as she attempted to speak, but the words would not come, so I forced mine out. "It is okay, Dad," I said quietly, the words hollow and meaningless. I despised how small those words sounded, he needed our reassurance right now.
But what could I possibly say to make things better? What could any of us say?
Then I saw it: panic erupting in his eyes as they darted around frantically, his pupils blown wide with fear. For a terrible, fleeting moment, I thought he might speak.
Please, I prayed. Please say something.
I knew it was impossible; I knew what
