Astennu
“Hey, Luce?” Badru entered her private hospital room first. I followed close behind.
The room was dimmed with the blinds closed, just as our mother’s had been. A tiny figure huddled in the bed on their side, the blankets pulled up over their head. For a second, I could have been fooled into thinking Lucy was still asleep if not for a quiet little sniffle and a movement of her elbow.
“You in there?” I gently jostled her shoulder.
“I really wanted to believe all of it was a nightmare… but it isn’t, is it?” The lump spoke under the hospital blanket.
“No, I’m sorry Lucy,” Badru pulled up an armchair to the side of the bed. “Do you remember much?”
“I don’t remember going to bed this morning after the shift I covered,” her face poked out over the blanket hem, revealing a pair of re
