Chapte-1 It's Time
Hope’s POV
"We're losing her!"
The shout pierced the darkness, followed by a chorus of frantic voices bleeding into one another.
The last thing I remembered was being wheeled beneath the blinding lights of the operating room, nurses moving in blurred silhouettes, and Gabriel, my brother, standing over me until the anesthesia dragged me down.
Now, it felt like something had gone catastrophically wrong.
"Her pressure's bottoming out!"
"Start compressions!"
"Come on, Hope..." Gabriel’s voice broke through the noise, raw and furious. "Stay with me!"
"Charge to two hundred." A sharp jolt racked my body.
“Again,” Gabriel ordered immediately.
“Dr. Lancaster... you need to stop.” A woman’s voice trembled. “There's nothing more we can do.”
“No!” Gabriel snapped. “No f*****g way!”
“Please,” she pleaded. “Let her go, doctor. Let her return to the Moon Goddess with dignity.”
I wanted to open my eyes and tell them I was still here, that I could hear every word. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't move a finger, part my lips, or force my eyes open.
My body refused to obey.
The voices grew fainter. The steady beeping of the monitor stretched into one long, unbearable sound.
The steady beeping of the monitor stretched into one long, flat tone.
Wait... was that me? Was I dying?
Oddly enough, I wasn't scared.
Maybe I should have been. But after eighteen years of living with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome and knowing my heart could give up at any moment, death wasn't nearly as frightening as I'd imagined.
Instead, it felt... peaceful.
The beeping slowly faded into silence. Then a cool breeze brushed against my skin.
When I opened my eyes, the operating room was gone.
I stood beneath the brightest full moon I had ever seen, its silver light spilling across an endless meadow, bathing it in an ethereal glow. The air was crisp, carrying the earthy scent of fresh blooms instead of disinfectant. For a moment, I simply stood there, unable to believe what I was seeing.
Almost hesitantly, I drew in a breath, expecting the familiar pain to follow.
It didn't.
My lungs filled with cool, effortless air. For the first time in my life, breathing didn't hurt. Tears filled my eyes before I even realized I was crying.
I had spent eighteen years watching other kids live while I just tried to survive. Yet through every hospital room and every failing test, my family had fought for me with everything they had.
Gabriel had become a doctor because he wanted to save me, spending years searching for treatments. Even when I started losing hope, my family never did.
Even now, they were still fighting.
A lump formed in my throat. How much more could I ask of them?
Maybe... this was enough.
As the thought settled in my heart, a gentle breeze drifted across the meadow.
I looked up, and a woman stood a short distance away, dressed in white, her long silver hair catching the moonlight as it swayed softly in the breeze. Nothing about her frightened me. If anything, her presence felt strangely familiar, filling me with a peace I'd never experienced before.
A soft smile crossed her lips.
My eyes widened as I realized who she was. Mom had told me countless stories about her.
The Moon Goddess.
Was I dreaming? Or was I really dead?
“Come, my child,” she invited softly. “It’s time.”
I stared at her outstretched hand, my heart aching at the thought of leaving my family behind. But I couldn't ask them to keep fighting for me. It wasn't fair.
So, I took a slow step toward her.
With every step, the weight I'd carried for eighteen years seemed to grow lighter. The fear that had followed me my entire life slipped away, replaced by a calm I'd never known.
The meadow grew brighter, silver light wrapping around me like an embrace. I smiled. But just as I reached for her hand, a voice cut through the silence.
“I will never let my sister die!”
The words echoed across the meadow, distant at first, then growing louder with every heartbeat.
“I don't care what it costs!” Gabriel shouted, his voice raw with desperation. “Do you hear me? No matter the cost, I will bring my sister back to us!”
Suddenly, the warmth surrounding me faded.
The silver light flickered, and the peaceful meadow dissolved before my eyes. Panic gripped me as the ground beneath my feet trembled.
Then a sharp pain tore through my chest.
I gasped, clutching my heart as an unfamiliar warmth spread through my body. It raced through my veins like liquid fire, fierce enough to steal the breath from my lungs.
But this wasn't the pain I'd lived with for eighteen years. This was different.
Something deep inside me was awakening... something that had been asleep my entire life. Before I could make sense of it, the last traces of silver light disappeared.
And darkness swallowed me whole.
