NEW BEGINNING

JOSH

PRESENT DAY

The hospital halls were too bright. The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead as I carried Asha in her car seat, her little rainbow blanket draped over her. She babbled softly, clutching her stuffed elephant, blissfully unaware of the heaviness weighing

on me.

I nodded to the nurses at the palliative long-term care wing as I entered. They gave me small, sympathetic smiles-the kind that cut deeper because they reminded me that this was my reality. This was Laura's reality. Room 308. Laura's room.

I hesitated at the door, glancing down at Asha. "Okay, baby girl," 1 whispered, more to myself than to her. "Let's go see Mommy."

I pushed the door open and stepped into the room. It didn't look like a hospital room anymore, not really. Jess, Luke, and I had spent hours transforming it into something that felt more like home.

Laura's favorite colors-soft greens and blues-adorned the walls in subtle touches, from the curtains to the throw pillows on the small couch in the corner. Her easel stood by the window, angled just so to catch the natural light. The painting she'd been working on before the accident sat there, unfinished but beautiful-a hazy sunset over a calm ocean. 0.00%

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NEW BEGINNING

to paint to-instrumentals, mellow beats, and the occasional

peaceful, almost like she was just asleep. Her dark hair was brushed and braided, and her face still had that same quiet beauty that had always taken my breath away. But the stillness of

on the floor and gently lifted her out. She squirmed in my arms,

her little hands patting at Laura's arm. My chest ached as I

to the bed, leaning forward with my elbows on my knees. The words I'd been rehearsing in my head felt heavy, like they were stuck

I'm sorry. For everything. For not being enough to

I continued, my voice breaking. "More than you'll ever know. But I... I need time. I need time to

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NEW HER

now, I'm not doing a

Laura. I just... I need to find a way out of this loop before

do everything I can to make sure she knows how amazing you are. I'll tell her about how you used to dance in the kitchen, how you could make a masterpiece out

myself together,

lingering there as if I

beside her mother, her tiny hand clutching Laura's shirt. I gently picked her up, cradling her

stood there for a moment, looking down at Laura, trying to memorize every detail of her face, the way the light played

you," I whispered one last time, my voice barely

walked out of the room, Asha heavy in

didn't dare look back.

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III

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