Hope

The sterile smell of disinfectant washed over Nora as she pushed through the automatic doors of the hospital, Sebastian's mother's distraught voice still echoing in her ears. Each heartbeat thrummed a frantic rhythm against her ribs, an unwelcome counterpoint to the muffled beeps and chimes within.

The hallway, once a sterile conduit to healing, now stretched before her like a tunnel of dread. Neon signs cast an eerie glow on pale walls, every passing nurse a spectral reminder of the fragility of life. Her feet, leaden with unspoken fears, led her to the room number etched into her memory. She charged to the ICU Sebastian had been admitted but his bed was occupied by someone else.

Panic clawed at Nora's throat as she reached the designated ICU room. Its emptiness slammed into her with the force of a train. Where was Sebastian? Where was his bed, the sterile wires snaking around his still form, the rhythmic beep of the monitor offering a fragile heartbeat of hope?

Nora broke into a s