The Moon Knows How to Play

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

"Elunar..."

Her name fell from my lips like a prayer, fragile and desperate. But she didn't stir. She sat on the edge of the hospital bed, her posture rigid, her eyes fixed on the blank white wall as if it were an abyss only she could see. The fluorescent light above us flickered faintly, washing her skin in a pallor that made her look like a statue carved from sorrow. A single tear slipped down her cheek, silent, vanishing into the stiff cotton of her gown.

I reached out, my hand trembling, and enclosed her cold fingers in mine. Her skin felt lifeless, fragile, like porcelain that might crack under the weight of touch. "You have to eat," I whispered, the words dragging against my throat.

She shook her head once—slow, deliberate. No words, no sound. Just that refusal.

A hollow ache stretched inside my chest. Since the moment the doctor told us our baby was gone, she hadn't spoken more than a few words. She hadn't looked at me. She hadn't wept the way I wanted her to—loud and raw, so I could hold her and let her spill it all out. Instead, she simply drifted into silence, and it was worse than any scream.

I swallowed hard. Our child... our child was gone before I ever got to see their face. I didn't know if it was a boy or a girl. I didn't know if they would've inherited Elunar's emerald eyes or my stubborn jaw. All those tiny, ordinary dreams—the weight of a small body in my arms, the sound of laughter in the ranch, birthdays with cake and candles—they evaporated like mist. A future stolen before it even began.

But what gutted me most was this: Elunar was slipping away too. Piece by piece, she was breaking, her light extinguishing. And I couldn't stop it.

The door creaked softly. I turned, and there stood Tito Heraya. His broad shoulders sagged, his eyes swollen and rimmed dark from nights without sleep. He looked like a man carrying the world's heaviest grief, and maybe he was.

Elunar finally spoke, her voice trembling, fragile as a thread of glass. "My baby... is gone."

Her words shattered me. Quiet, yet they fell like hammers, breaking every piece of me that had been clinging to hope.

Tito's gaze shifted to me, heavy and sorrowful. "Hijo," he murmured, his tone soft but weighted, "I will stay with her. You've been here nearly three days. Go home. Rest. Your parents must be worried sick."

I forced a smile, though it was empty, bitter. "I can't leave her. Not until she walks out of here with me."

His sigh was long, weary. "You need rest, Thunder."

"I can't rest while she lies like this," I said. My voice cracked.

Beside me, Elunar's face remained frozen, her eyes still fixed on that wall as though she were chained to it. I pressed my forehead gently to her temple, tears stinging.

"She's traumatized," Tito whispered. "Losing a child... it isn't something you can easily believe. It will take time. Time for her to return to herself. Time for both of you."

Elunar suddenly broke, a sob wrenching from her chest. I climbed onto the bed and pulled her into my arms. Her body shook violently against mine. "Elunar. Baby? Can you hear me?"

Her lips trembled against my shirt. "My baby..."

I stroked her back, whispering into her hair. "I know. I know, love. I feel the same. But we have to be strong. For each other. I'll be strong for you if you can't be for yourself."

Her fingers clutched at my shirt as though she were drowning. She tilted her face upward, and her tears streaked down her cheeks, glistening under the cold hospital light. "I can't, Thunder. I can't. Our baby is gone. There's no reason to marry now. No reason. I failed you. I failed our child. I killed our baby."

"No." My palm cradled her face, firm but gentle, forcing her eyes to meet mine. "Don't you dare say that. Don't you dare blame yourself. You did nothing wrong. I will marry you because I love you, not because I'm forced to. Not because of obligation. Because I choose you, Elunar. Always you."

Her arms tightened, desperate, shaking. I kissed her hair, holding her as if I could anchor her shattered soul. "You didn't kill our baby. You have no fault in this. None."

The door opened again, breaking the fragile moment.

Eclips stepped inside. She was draped in black, her movements deliberate, her lips curving into the faintest smile before it quickly morphed into something sympathetic. "Condolences," she said softly, her voice like silk dipped in venom.

Elunar stiffened. The grief in her eyes flared into rage. She turned, pointing a shaking finger at her sister. "You killed my baby!"

Eclips froze, eyes wide, her hand flying to her chest. Tears welled suddenly, falling fast down her cheeks. "Elunar... how can you say that?"

Tito rushed forward, wrapping his arms protectively around Eclips. She wept into his chest, her cries echoing off the sterile walls.

"Elunar," I begged, holding her tighter. "Please. You're not yourself. She's your sister. She wouldn't—"

"I know it was her!" Elunar screamed, her voice raw. "I saw it in her eyes when she gave me the wine! She poisoned me! She killed our baby!"

Eclips shook her head violently, sobbing harder. "I could never... I would never do that! I'm your sister!"

Tito's tone turned sharp, his face lined with sternness. "Enough. Elunar, you are blinded by grief. I did not raise a killer. I raised two daughters."

Elunar grabbed fistfuls of my shirt, her emerald eyes blazing with pain. "Thunder, please. Please believe me. You have to."

My heart tore in two. God, I wanted to believe her. Every fiber of me wanted to take her side, to trust her instincts. But there was no proof, nothing but her broken voice and her grief, and I couldn't condemn someone with only that.

"I want justice too," I whispered, my words heavy as stones. "But not like this. Not with accusations we can't prove."

Her face twisted in anguish. She shoved me away, her voice a jagged scream. "Go with them then! Side with them! Leave me like everyone else!"

"Elunar, please—"

"You don't know her!" she cried. "You don't know what she's capable of! She'll do anything to have you!"

"That's not true!" Eclips wailed, her sobs shrill.

I reached for Elunar again, but she shook violently in my hold. Her tears scalded my chest. Her voice cracked, softer now, trembling. "Will you still marry me?"

I cupped her face again, my own tears falling. "Yes. Nothing has changed. Next month, our wedding will still happen. Nothing will stop us. But now... we have to bury our child properly. To let him—or her—rest in heaven."

From the corner of my vision, I saw Eclips stiffen, her tears faltering for the briefest second.

Elunar clung to me like she would vanish if she let go. "Please... don't leave me."

"I never will," I vowed, my voice fierce with conviction. "But promise me one thing."

She blinked, confused. "What?"

"Promise me you'll eat. Since you woke up, you haven't touched food. You can't fight if you don't have strength."

Her lips quivered into a faint, broken smile. "...Then feed me yourself."

I pressed my forehead to hers, closing my eyes, letting the silence stretch. Outside the door, the world went on. Inside, our world had already ended, and all I could do was hold her in the ruins.