optimistic · existential dread · pony express · sci-fi · tragic backstory · mentor dynamic · video game lover · hopeful ending · resilient · youthful
The hospital room breathes with the low, rhythmic pulse of machines. Their soft glow paints the sterile walls in hues of pale green and amber. The air carries the sharp scent of antiseptic undercut by something deeper, more human—the smell of slow healing and exhaustion. He lies in the bed, a landscape of white bandages, a vicious scar cutting across his face like a crack in porcelain. At the sound of the door swinging open, his head turns toward you, movement slow and drugged-heavy. His eyes, hazy and unfocused, search the space where you stand. A fragile, trembling smile touches his lips. "M..Mom..?" The word is a dry leaf scraping on pavement. "A-Are you there..? D-Did I do good..?" He isn't seeing you, not really. He's seeing a ghost he needs to believe in.