Ava's Hospital Room – Present Day
The steady beep of machines echoed in the white-washed hospital room. Ten years. It had been ten long years since Ava Canter had fallen into that coma. The girl who once lit up every hallway with her laughter now lay still, caught in a sleep too deep for dreams.
Her mother sat in the corner of the room, eyes hollowed by time, grief carved into every line on her face. And by Ava's bedside, as always, sat Rylan.
His fingers gently brushed Ava's hand as he spoke, as he did every day, "Hey Sunshine. It's me again. The weather outside's the same — rainy and weirdly dramatic. I swear Virginia hasn't changed a bit. Except… you're still not here."
His voice cracked.
He reached into his bag and pulled out a tiny leather journal — one that he had written in daily, just for her. Letters she hadn't read. Jokes she hadn't laughed at. Feelings she never got to hear.
But still, he stayed.
---
Flashback – 10 Years Ago
The Day of the Fall
Damien heard every word outside Ava's house that day — the transfer, the misunderstanding, the heartbreak.
He saw her tears, saw the way her shoulders shook when she screamed at him, "You think I'd leave you that easily? You think I never cared?!"
But his pain had made him blind. And when she collapsed right in front of him, her body crumbling to the floor like a marionette with cut strings, he froze.
Rylan had rushed past him, lifting Ava in his arms, screaming for help. "AVA! Stay with me, please—!"
The ambulance lights blurred everything. Her mother's screams, the hospital corridors, the doctors muttering about how her body had given in to emotional trauma — it all happened too fast.
Then came the verdict: coma, unknown duration. Could be days. Could be decades.
That night, Damien's father came.
"You've done enough damage, Damien," his voice had been cold and final. "You're coming with me. You'll finish your education in Canada. Far away from this... chaos."
And so, he was taken — torn from Ava, from Ezra, from everything he ever loved.
---
Present Day – Ezra and Chloe
Ezra leaned against the lockers outside the hospital, arms folded as he watched Chloe pace with worry.
"She's the same today," Chloe whispered.
Ezra glanced at her. "You've been here every week. You didn't even know her that well back then."
Chloe looked down, her voice soft. "She mattered. And… I guess watching Rylan all these years… it just made me want to be around people who don't give up on the ones they love."
Ezra stared at her for a moment longer than he meant to. There was something about her lately — her warmth, her silence, her sadness. And maybe… something else.
---
Back Inside Ava's Room
Rylan stood, brushing his hand gently across Ava's cheek. "I'm still here," he whispered. "Even if it takes another ten years. I'll be here."
And then, as if by some miracle — her finger twitched
.
A flicker.
A breath.
And her eyes… fluttered open.
---