The Girl in the Rural Breeze

Star

I was lying in a hospital bed, the room filled with a heavy silence. Pale light seeped in through a half-closed window, casting a dull glow over the sterile walls. Machines beeped softly beside me, each sound echoing like a countdown. My body felt weak, almost weightless, as if I were drifting away.

I tried to move, to lift my hand, but my strength was slipping, leaving me with only a growing emptiness. I could feel myself fading, inch by inch, as if life were slipping out of me like sand through open fingers. My chest tightened, and panic rose, but there was nothing I could do to stop it. No one was there-just the endless, quiet room and the feeling of slowly being pulled under.

The last thing I heard was the slow, steady beep of the machine beside me, until it stretched into a long, flat line.

I woke up with a jolt, gasping for air, my heart pounding. My room was dark, and the sheets were tangled around me, grounding me back to the present, but the chill of the dream stayed. The feeling of that empty room, the slow fading-I couldn't shake it.

Lying back, I stared at the ceiling, my breath still uneven. I closed my eyes, trying to steady myself, but my mind drifted to the day, to the gym, to the flash of energy and life I'd felt watching him on the court. The way he'd looked at me, just for a moment, with a warmth that somehow pushed back the shadows.

I stood up and sat by my bedroom window, gazing out at the night sky as silence settled around me. But my mind... it wasn't silent at all. It kept drifting back to him, to the way he laughed with his friends, the way he moved on the basketball court. That boy. It felt so ridiculous, so unfair-to feel this drawn to someone when I knew I shouldn't.

Why couldn't I shake this feeling? I didn't even know his name, yet every time I closed my eyes, his face came to me so clearly, like he'd always been part of my world. It felt ridiculous-impossible, really. And wrong. I wasn't supposed to feel this way about anyone.

I took a deep breath, forcing myself to face reality. With a sigh, I muttered to myself, "Lila, you need to stop this. You know better. You know this can't happen." My hands clenched in my lap as I reminded myself why. I knew better than this. I knew my life wasn't like everyone else's. There were things he couldn't know about me, things I could barely face myself. The doctor visits, the medications... the way every day felt like I was racing against something I couldn't control. I didn't know if I'd even be here a year from now.

My heart ached with the thought. Why would I want to bring someone else into this mess? It wasn't fair. Not to him, not to me. But the more I told myself to walk away, the more my mind kept returning to that boy. It was like trying to hold water in my hands-it kept slipping through.

With one last look at the stars, I whispered, "I don't even know him, and I already know he deserves better than this. Better than me." And as I lay back, eyes heavy with unshed tears, I told myself the hardest part would be letting go-if I could even make myself do it. I knew I had to convince myself to listen.

The next morning, I woke up feeling as though I'd barely slept. The city outside was already awake-cars humming along, people bustling, voices blending into a steady rhythm. I got ready slowly, trying to keep my mind clear. But in every quiet moment, he would slip back in-the boy with that easy smile.

I shook my head, brushing the thought away. I didn't need this kind of distraction. I had enough weighing me down already. I hadn't even wanted to come to this city in the first place, but it was the only way to stay close to the doctors, to keep up with all the appointments and treatments.

As I grabbed my bag and headed out, I couldn't help but think back to a time before all of this. Before the doctor's visits, the endless pills, and this relentless illness. Back in my village, life had felt so different. I could still remember the mornings when I'd wake up to the sound of birds chirping outside my window, the sky painted with soft colors as the sun rose over the fields. Those days, I'd run barefoot through the grass, breathing in the fresh, crisp air, never thinking twice about anything.