The king of everything

Chapter Twenty five- Hope's words

The hospital felt colder that morning, the air thick with an unease I couldn't shake. My dad had barely spoken the past few days, and each time I left his side, it felt like I was walking away from him for the last time. The world outside the hospital—school, exams, my friends—it all seemed like a distant dream I could barely remember.

But that morning, my phone buzzed with a message. It was from Hope. Her name, glowing softly on the screen, felt like a lifeline pulling me out of the fog.

*"Hey, Aaron . I've been thinking about you. Don't lose faith, okay? Things will be alright. You're stronger than you think."*

I stared at her message, feeling a flicker of warmth I hadn't felt in days. Hope had always been the one to ground me, to remind me that no matter how bad things got, there was always something to hold onto. She didn't sugarcoat things, but she believed in me—maybe more than I believed in myself.

I typed back, trying to keep it together.

*"Thanks, Hope. It's just been really hard. I don't know how to deal with any of this."*

Her reply came quickly.

*"I know it's tough. But you're not alone. Remember that. And college? Things are back to normal. Exams are over, the chaos has settled. It's weird without you here, but we're all rooting for you."*

I could almost hear her voice, calm but reassuring, as if she were standing right next to me, telling me to hang in there. Things back at school had moved on—exams were done, life had returned to its usual pace—but I wasn't there. My world was still stuck in that hospital room, the weight of my dad's impending death pressing down on me every minute.

I replied again, my fingers hesitating before hitting send.

*"I feel like I'm missing everything. Like life is just... happening without me."*

A few minutes passed before her next message.

*"It might feel like that now, but you're not missing anything important. The real stuff, the things that matter, you're dealing with that right now. You're right where you need to be. And when you're ready, school will be there. Life will be there, waiting for you."*

Her words hit me harder than I expected. Right where I needed to be. I didn't know if I agreed with that, but it made me pause. Maybe I was exactly where I needed to be—by my dad's side, even if it meant the rest of the world was moving on without me. Hope had a way of putting things into perspective, and in that moment, I felt a sliver of calm settle in.

*"Thanks, Hope. I really needed that."*

I didn't know how things would play out, but her message reminded me that there was life beyond the walls of this hospital. There were people who cared, who hadn't forgotten about me. And maybe, just maybe, I wasn't as lost as I felt.

I slid my phone back into my pocket and leaned back in the stiff hospital chair, staring at my dad as he slept. His breathing was shallow, but steady. He wasn't gone yet, and until he was, I was going to be there with him. I wasn't ready to let go, but maybe I didn't need to be. Not yet.

As the hours passed, I thought about what Hope had said—about not losing faith. Maybe she was right. Faith wasn't just about believing in something greater; it was about believing that I could survive this. That I could come out the other side, even when it felt like everything was falling apart.

I didn't know what would happen next, but for the first time in days, I felt like I could breathe. And for now, that was enough.

**Chapter Twenty-Five: Hope's Words (Continued)**