Hibernation.
A stillness that blanketed the forests not just in snow but in breathless quiet. Even their scents had faded.
And just as Kaya had feared, she fell sick two weeks after the snowfall. That morning, when Kaya woke up, her head was groggy, as if fog had settled deep inside her skull. Her entire body ached, every limb heavy, like someone had beaten her in her sleep. Her throat burned with a sharp, itchy pain, and her nose was so stuffy she could barely breathe.
Cough, cough, cough.
Each cough scraped her throat raw, as though tiny blades were cutting from the inside. Her voice refused to come out—it was hoarse, broken. Just like the common cold she had seen others suffer before… but in her case, it hit harder. Maybe because she had never truly let herself get sick before. Maybe because, this time, there was no one else around to notice.
