Race Against Time

Dying?

No. No. It wasn't possible. Manuela had just said her heart was beating! Byleth had thought she'd finally have a chance to be happy! After years of torment and never knowing if she'd suddenly shut down, Byleth had thought she'd finally had hope.

Well, obviously that was foolish.

Byleth immediately shut her teal eyes in silent depression and acceptance. Those three words were all she'd ever heard her entire life, but Byleth had always brushed it off. She had never been affected by those words. She had known she'd be alright.

This time, Byleth knew the doctors were right.

"No," Jeralt growled, refusing to believe it, and Byleth kept her eyes shut. She didn't want to see how horrified her father looked at those words. They both knew her death was a long time coming, yet, now that it was here...neither of them could believe it. He knew the doctors were right this time based off of Byleth's reaction alone. "This has got to be a joke."

"I'm sorry, you two," Manuela's voice was the softest and gentlest Byleth had ever heard it, with no snarky comment plastered on. Somehow, Byleth knew it to be true this time. "Your heart is beating again, but it's causing all sorts of problems with how your body has adapted. We'll look for a cure, but we've never seen any case like yours so..."

"...How much time do I have left?" Byleth's voice trembled despite her best efforts to remain strong. How was this happening now? Byleth had never felt happier, and now her body decided to start malfunctioning!? How was this fair to her!?

Manuela grimaced, sadly glancing at her clipboard before looking back to Byleth. Byleth didn't want to hear it, but she needed to know. How much longer of this life did she have?

"...A year, at most."

Oh, no.

"A year!?" Jeralt exclaimed, an angered look on his face. "She's finally got a beating heart! That's what all you doctors have been claiming she needed, shouldn't she be fine!?"

"That's what we thought. We didn't anticipate her body rejecting the normal circumstance of, well...being a human," Manuela shot back, before toning it down with a sigh. "I'll do all that I can to try and solve this mystery and get Byleth to proper health. You know I will."

"Thank you Manuela," Byleth said quietly. The physician did mean it, and Byleth believed it, but she also believed that no matter what Manuela did, she'd never be able to find a cure. She hadn't been successful so far, why would she start now?

There was only one thing Byleth could do now...and that was to die.

"Hell with 'thank you'!" Jerslt yelled, slamming his hand down on the table as he stood. Byleth got up from where she sat, pulling on his arm to stop him from trying to attack Manuela. "What do you mean a year?"

"Dad, stop," Byleth pulled him backward, pressing her lips together in a grimace. She wasn't happy about it either, but it wasn't Manuela's fault. "Thank you, Manuela. We'll be going now."

"Here's some medication for your heart," Manuela said softly, handing Byleth a bottle of pills. "If it begins to hurt, take two tablets. It should work, but, well...we never know with you."

"Thank you. We'll be going now."

Byleth dragged her father out of the room by the sleeve, a solemn look on both of their faces. Once they had made it into the car, Jeralt continued to yell.

"Kid, this cant be right. There's got to be a mistake!" Jeralt continued to deny the truth. "Come on. We're going back to Manuela."

"Dad-"

"Telling me my kid is dying...hmph," Jeralt took a brief moment to curse under his breath. "I know better than to believe that crap."

"Dad-"

"You're not dying. You've been fine all this time-"

"Dad, stop!" Byleth finally interrupted him in a loud voice, managing to make him stop. She sighed, buckling her seatbelt before reaching over to place a hand on his. "...I can feel it, Dad. My heart just knows. Manuela was...telling the truth."

"...But why now? After all this time, just why?" Jeralt's voice faltered as he leaned his head against the steering wheel in desperation. "This can't be happening..."

"I don't know," Was all that Byleth could say. Neither of them were criers, so they were just quiet in solemn silence.

Death...

Byleth knew she was supposed to be dead from the beginning, with her heart that never beat and all that. She'd even felt dead her whole life; she'd never really had a purpose. Now, she was starting to feel happiness, and now, her heart decided it was time to die? How in the world was that fair?

Byleth didn't want to think about that...

"...Why don't you go home?" Byleth suggested to her father quietly. "Drop me off at the bar, I'll run it tonight. I need a distraction."

"Kid, I'm not going to make you work," Jeralt said firmly. "We're just going to be closed today. I'll give Shamir a call and let her know. Let's...Lets go home, alright?"

"...Okay."

The drive home was spent in solemn silence.