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A boy who appeared to be between fifteen and sixteen years old lay motionless on a white stretcher.
It was hard to guess his true age. His body was thin, almost skeletal, and his gaunt expression made him look older than he was. His gaze was dim, empty, as if the light of life had left his eyes long ago.
He had been confined to that hospital for over twelve years. It all started on an ordinary school day when he suddenly fainted during class. He woke up three days later, already hospitalized, with tubes connected to his arms and machines beeping all around him.
Since then, that had become his world.
A white room.
The strong smell of alcohol.
The view from the second floor, where he could only see other gray buildings.
Very little human contact.
His only solace came from memories of better times and the small distractions that remained to him.
"Hmm... I wonder if the national team played today?"
He thought, eyes fixed on the opaque window, as if he could see the stadium beyond the clouds.
He loved sports. Football was his passion.
Running, speed, strength, perseverance.
But above all…
Freedom.
The freedom athletes exuded with every step on the field.
"It's been two days since Doctor Maria came... Did she forget my weekly appointment?"
His thought was brutally interrupted.
"AaaAAAHHH!!!"
A scream tore through the air, shattering the hospital's tranquility.
An unbearable pain suddenly struck him.
It wasn't just physical. It felt as if every cell in his body was being stabbed, as though boiling lava had been poured inside him and his skin was being whipped with burning thorns.
"MY GOD! WHAT IS THIS?! HOW CAN SOMETHING HURT THIS MUCH?!"
He tried to reach the emergency button beside the bed, but… his body no longer responded.
Nothing moved.
The pain felt as if it were trying to rip his soul from his body — and maybe that's exactly what it was.
"A-A-AM I GOING TO DIE TODAY?!"
Panic completely consumed him, but only for a few seconds. In the midst of the agony, something inside him... calmed.
An epiphany.
"M... maybe... this isn't so bad."
"If this is the end... then I'll finally be free."
And so, he stopped resisting.
The pain vanished as if it had never existed.
Time seemed to slow down.
The sound of the machines faded into the distance.
Only silence remained...
And peace.
With a gentle sigh, he closed his eyes for the last time.
At that exact moment, the door was kicked open by doctors and nurses rushing in, shouting his name and trying to revive him.
But he... was no longer there.
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