“Mommy… Lilly, you’re awake!”
Zara’s eyes fluttered open at the sound, but the words seemed to pass through her like wind through an empty room. Her gaze drifted, unfocused, as if she hadn’t heard the statement the little girl had said .
Victor froze. Sister Evelyn stilled beside him. Neither said a word. They clung to the fragile hope that they had misunderstood, that shock was merely playing tricks on her mind.
But then it happened again.
Lilly clung to her, arms wrapped tight around Zara’s neck, her small body trembling with relief. “Mommy,” she whispered, over and over.
The word struck Zara like a distant bell heavy, unfamiliar, echoing in a hollow space. She gently loosened the child’s grip and looked down at her with calm, searching eyes.
“Who are you, kid?” she asked softly. “
