The hallway outside the ICU felt like a graveyard of breaths held too long, the lights too bright, the silence so heavy that even the drip of rain on the windows sounded like thunder.
Julian’s knees bounced restlessly as he stared at the floor. Karl sat slumped forward, his hands pressed together like he was trying to pray but couldn’t remember how. Adrian didn’t move an inch, leaning stiffly against the wall, his shadow looking just as frozen as he did. Angeline sat close to Ruby, her hand firm on Ruby’s back, though her own eyes were glassy.
Time felt like it stretched cruelly on and on until, at last, the double doors creaked open with a soft, echoing click that made every head snap up.
Healer stepped out, her gown still flecked with the faintest traces of sweat and the subtle blood. Her shoulders sagged, but her eyes tired and red around the edges held a spark of relief.
Julian stood first, his voice caught in his throat, but no words came out. Ruby pushed herself up slowly, her hands clenched together so tight the knuckles were nearly white.
Healer took a steady breath, looking at each of them in turn. "The surgery was successful," She said, voice calm but carrying just enough strength to fill that silent hallway. "There were... complications, but he held on. He’s resting now. He’ll need time–lots of rest and care but he made it through."
For a second, no one moved. It was like the words needed a moment to sink past the wall of fear that had built up around every heart.
And then Ruby let out a breath she hadn’t even realized she’d been holding. It shuddered out of her chest, and she pressed a hand over her mouth, tears spilling free this time, not the kind that burned with dread, but the kind that washed that dread away. She smiled, a crooked, trembling thing, sad and relieved all at once. He made it.
Julian pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes, shoulders shaking as he let out a rough exhale. Karl buried his face in Pillu’s side, muffling a choked sob that turned into a watery laugh. Adrian only closed his eyes, his stiff frame sinking back against the wall as he let out a slow breath that felt like he’d been holding it for years.
Healer simply nodded, her own shoulders easing as she watched them...
Milo didn’t wake up until four long days later. Four days of restless sleep for everyone else, Ruby dozing in a stiff hospital chair, Julian half-curled at Milo’s side with a hand resting protectively near his chest, Karl popping in and out with his silly jokes that barely hid how red his eyes were. Even Adrian came and sat by the window, reading in silence but glancing at Milo’s pale face every other page.
When Milo finally opened his eyes, there was a small bandage peeking from his light robe, right over the neat line of the scar that would mark his chest forever, proof that he’d fought through the storm and survived. Ruby was the first to see his eyes flutter open, her breath catching in her throat, a shaky laugh tumbling out before she could stop it. Only then did the stone in her chest start to crack, letting the warmth of relief seep in for real.
But even with that, the exhaustion stayed heavy on her bones. Those four days had only added to the weight Ruby already carried. Every day, once she left the hospital for a few hours, she threw herself into her company’s growing mountain of work — answering messages, making calls, scribbling over the new layout and blueprint ideas for the building she planned to construct once the rain cleared. Sometimes she’d lean back, close her eyes, and imagine it all done — rows of bright work tables, humming machines, a space big enough for every worker to feel safe and proud.
She still made time, too, for her secret dream, poring over the old, clunky game engine software of this world, making notes in the margins of her accounting books and sketch pads. Some nights she fell asleep at her desk, the glow of her laptop screen casting shadows across blueprints and code that didn’t quite work yet.
As if that wasn’t enough, her new shoes line had just launched — a sturdy, rain-resistant design that matched her raincoats and robes. It caused another small stir in the village, the simple, clever style getting snatched up faster than her staff could stitch them.
All of it came at a cost. Ruby’s head pounded almost daily now, a deep, drumming ache she tried to soothe with tea and silence whenever she could. But she refused to slow down. She’d come too far to look back now.
In the eyes of the village, she’d become a wonder in her own right, the second richest person in town, only behind Madame Shade with her sprawling chemical plant. People whispered about Ruby with something that was part envy, part admiration. They loved how she handled her wealth: no scandals, no messy affairs, no secret lovers.
Ruby kept her husbands close, loved them openly, cared for Milo when his surgery bills alone could have swallowed up her whole fortune but didn’t.
"Wife... it’s bitter..." Milo mumbled, his small pout making him look even softer under the pale hospital light. He held out his palm, the big red and yellow capsule sitting there like some monstrous bug he wanted to fling across the room. He’d never taken a such big medicine in his entire life and now this thing looked bigger than his courage.
Ruby sat perched on the edge of his hospital bed, her eyes gentle but her shoulders heavy, a faint tremble in her hands as she reached out to brush a stray hair off his forehead. The dark circles under her eyes spoke louder than any words, days of worry and work etched into the tired lines beside her soft smile.
"You have to," she said, her voice calm but carrying that note Milo couldn’t argue with, the tone that said this is for your own good. "It will help with the pain," she added, tucking the corner of his blanket closer to his side.
—To be continued...🪄