On Earth, within a hospital room crowded with medical tools and blinking devices, a girl lay on the bed, taking shallow, uneven breaths. This girl appeared to be around sixteen years old.
Her skin was dry and pale like that of a corpse, her arms and legs so thin they resembled fragile twigs. Her face—one that might have looked cute under different circumstances—was twisted into a pitiful, agonized expression.
She seemed to be in constant pain, and the look on her face silently begged for anyone watching to relieve the suffering etched into her every breath.
Nurses and a few doctors moved in and out of the room, each casting pitying glances her way. But beyond those fleeting expressions, there was nothing they could do for a girl who lived every waking moment in torment.
Time passed quietly, until the door of the hospital room slid open and someone stepped inside.
The man who entered had a neat, well-groomed appearance, and a practiced professional smile rested on his face. His clothing alone was enough to identify him as a doctor.
He walked closer to the girl lying on the bed and observed her for a moment, his expression shifting into something contemplative. Then he widened that practiced smile and spoke gently.
"How are you feeling today? If there's any new discomfort or any change you've noticed in your body, please feel free to tell me."
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Maya's POV
'Yes, I'm in a lot of pain. So much that if I were able to move, I would have torn apart the part of my body where it hurts.'
With great effort, I moved my lips and replied to the doctor in a strained, barely audible voice.
"No… aside from the discomfort I described a few days ago, there's nothing new."
The doctor's smile widened even further, but the pity I could clearly sense in his eyes only made that stretched smile feel all the more fake.
He tried to put on what looked like an encouraging expression and spoke in a cheering tone.
"You should stay strong, just like you always have. I'm sure the day will come when you become healthy like any normal person."
'Yeah, I don't think a day like that will ever come. And even if it somehow does, I'd rather not hope for it in vain.'
Hearing the doctor's encouragement left me unsure whether I should get irritated or just laugh.
'He's said some variation of that line so many times that even he must be tired of hearing it.'
"Your parents contacted me," the doctor continued. "If everything goes well, they might get a week-long holiday from work to spend more time with you. Your mother told me she's trying to switch shifts so she can stay overnight next week. And although your sister is busy with high school, she'll probably visit whenever she has free time."
After saying that, he turned around and left the hospital room, gently waving his hand as he walked out.
And once again, I was left alone in this room, with only the soft beeping of machines and the sound of my own shallow breathing to keep me company.
Thoughts and memories drifted through my mind as I lay there.
Sixteen years.
That's how long I have spent in this hospital room.
I was born with a rare illness that left most of my body below the neck paralyzed—only my hands could move.
I've spent almost all of those sixteen years trapped within this room.
The absurd amount of time I had to live here forced me to shift my attention toward other things.
So I spent most of my time watching anime, reading manga, and devouring novels—especially those where a noble lady marries a prince and lives happily ever after in a beautiful castle, adored by all.
Those stories made me think and feel so many things.
The lives of those female leads looked too beautiful in my eyes.
They had so many things in their lives—some had a great purpose to achieve, some had something they desperately wanted to protect, and some had loved someone so deeply they wanted to chase after him.
Those female leads faced countless obstacles on their way, yet their determination for their purpose always pushed them forward. And in the end, they were always victorious, spending the rest of their lives with their loved ones, happily.
'Even though I knew they weren't real, I couldn't stop wishing I could be like them, just once.'
Why do I live?
Because I don't want to die and disappear forever.
Yet this constant—but meaningless—struggle always made me question my purpose in life.
And always, the answer was the same:
I have no purpose in life.
I wanted to meet different people too, I wanted a purpose I could give up my life for, and I wanted to love someone so deeply that I could chase after them forever as well.
But this life never gave me a chance for any of that.
And because of that, I started resenting the world and blaming it for all my suffering.
I believed that it was needlessly cruel to me while being kind to everyone else.
But that shallow way of thinking didn't last very long.
Somewhere along the way, my eyes started looking past my own suffering.
The more I learned and understood about the world, the more my thoughts shifted.
This world… It's wonderful.
So many different people live in this world, and all those different people carry different dreams and desires. Yet all those dreams and desires can be fulfilled within this world.
If you work hard enough, then no matter what you desire—be it Love. Honor. Wealth. Recognition. Existence itself.—you can fulfill those desires in this world—as long as you have the ability to move toward them.
But some people just don't have the ability to work toward their dreams, just like me.
Those people are just unfortunate; their inability isn't anyone's fault.
After continuing those thoughts for a while, I slowly turned my head toward the door of this hospital room as I recalled the last words the doctor said before he left.
My family and some close relatives visit me inside this room from time to time.
Both my parents work until night, so they have very little time to visit me. And my older sister is normally busy with high school, so it's hard for her to visit me very often as well.
When they do visit, they give me sincere encouragement to get better and care for me while they are here.
Yet, I could see that they were actually very worried for me. They tried their best to hide it, but I could see that worry clearly within their eyes.
They smiled, yet that happiness never reached their eyes. They said they were glad to spend time with me, but all I could see in their eyes was worry. There was no happiness.
And that worry is one of the reasons that has made me hold on to this life up until now.
I don't want them to be sad because of me, I don't want to give them these emotional scars.
That's why I will continue to live on. If not for myself, then for them, so that—
Suddenly, a powerful jolt rushed through my entire body.
It was followed by agony so intense that all my usual suffering felt light in comparison.
My mind felt like it was breaking apart, and my heart felt like it was being strangled — crushed from the inside out.
That pain drowned the entirety of my body and mind, swallowing everything until nothing remained but pain.
Then, just as suddenly, the pain began to vanish. And a sinking feeling engulfed me.
It was like I was falling into nothingness and disappearing forever.
The sensation of my body was slowly fading away.
My vision flickered, a cold numbness crept through my fingertips, and the edges of the room blurred into a shapeless haze.
Instinctively, I understood what was happening to me.
I… was dying.
The medical devices around me erupted with frantic beeping, and several nurses and doctors rushed into the hospital room within minutes, shouting things that I could no longer understand.
To me, this death felt like a paradox.
I feared disappearing forever… yet a part of me wished for it, hoping that my sixteen years of suffering would finally end.
My thoughts slowed down, disappearing alongside me.
The last thoughts that came to my mind were those female leads, and then they too disappeared.
And darkness claimed me in its entirety.
That was how my story came to an end—at least, that was what I thought at that time.