Abandoned

38

The morning sunlight puddled across the hospital floor in soft, warm squares, painting the room in muted gold. Dust specks drifted lazily through the beams as though the world was inviting Sienna to notice it, really notice it, for the first time.

She sat at the edge of the mat near the foot of her hospital bed, legs splayed in her usual frog-like posture, one hand wrapped around her elephant plush. The other hand was pressed against the metal bed frame for balance. Her eyes tracked the sunlight as it crawled across the linoleum. Something about the shifting brightness always fascinated her.

But today, something else held her attention more firmly than the light.

The hallway.

The cracked-open door revealed a sliver of the outside world, the hospital corridor with its pale blue flooring and soft buzz of distant activity. It was a world she had once hidden from, curling against Zareya whenever footsteps approached.

But now, Sienna leaned forward slightly, rocking with a restless energy that had been building for days.

Zareya noticed instantly.

She always did.

"You want to explore, don't you, little one?" she asked gently, kneeling down beside her.

Sienna didn't answer with words, but her body did. She let her plush drop to the floor with a soft thump and reached both hands up toward Zareya, chest swelling with a soft, demanding grunt.

"Alright," Zareya murmured with a smile, scooping her up. "How about we start by walking around your room first? Nice and slow."

Sienna pressed her face into Zareya's shoulder, breathing her in. She smelled like lavender lotion and warm laundry, a scent Sienna had come to rely on as deeply as air. When Zareya set her down, she clung tighter for a moment, but then curiosity tugged at her small body, pulling her forward.

Zareya offered two hands, steady and patient.

"Ready?"

Sienna planted her feet. Wobbly. Determined. Her toes curled against the mat.

And then, with the tiniest grunt of commitment, she lifted one foot.

Then the other.

Her first step of the day was shaky, legs trembling like wet spaghetti, but Zareya held all her weight easily.

"There you go," she whispered, voice full of warmth. "I've got you."

A smile bloomed across Sienna's face, wide and triumphant. She took another step. And another. They circled around the room, hand in hand, her confidence growing with every tiny victory.

When they reached the window, Sienna leaned against Zareya's leg, panting softly from the effort. Walking was exhilarating, but exhausting. Still, she pointed a small finger toward the door.

"You want the hallway?" Zareya asked softly, brushing a stray curl from Sienna's cheek.

Sienna didn't look away from the door.

She wanted more.

She wanted freedom.

Not much, just a taste.

"Alright, sweetheart. Let's go see the hallway."

She held out both hands again, and Sienna took them eagerly.

They stepped outside.

———

The hallway felt enormous after weeks confined to her room. Sienna stiffened at the unfamiliar space, her body instinctively pressing close to Zareya's leg.