216
~Mia's POV
The door clicked softly behind Michael as he stepped out, leaving the room in a quiet that felt almost too big for me.
I sank back into the pillows, staring at the ceiling for a while. My body still felt strange, like it was mine but not quite. It was weak, thinner than I remembered, and every little movement came with effort. But the strangest thing wasn't my body. It was the face I caught in the mirror earlier.
I looked... ghostly.
Like someone who'd been lost and forgotten.
I turned my head slowly toward the side mirror above the small cabinet. My face looked pale, my lips cracked and dry. My hair was a mess, flat and tangled. The girl in the reflection didn't look like Mia. She looked like a memory.
And I didn't want to be a memory.
"Nurse?" I said quietly, turning my head slightly toward the woman adjusting my IV drip.
She looked over, startled but kind. "Yes, sweetheart?"
