Chapter 2: Rebirth
Vlad tried to stop Yelena as she left his room, but no words came out. He opened his mouth, but all that escaped was a broken, soundless gasp. His body felt powerless, overwhelmed by emotion too heavy to put into words.
He pushed the blanket off and stepped down in a hurry, fearing his sister would be gone if he did not stop her, but his legs gave away, and he fell face-first onto the floor.
He did not care about the fall or his current state, and in pure desperation, he scrambled to his feet, crawling and clawing his way toward the door.
He used the door to get back up and pulled it open with all the strength he could muster, making it slam against the wall. His breath was ragged, his chest heaving as he looked for his sister.
And there she was.
Yelena stood in the hallway, looking back, blinking in surprise at his sudden appearance.
Vlad froze, his grip tightening on the doorframe as the world around him seemed to blur. His mind refused to believe what he was seeing, his years of experience roaring at him that she was not his sister.
Yelena had died years ago.
Yet here she was, standing before him, whole and unharmed, slightly younger, but there was no doubt that she was Yelena, his elder sister.
She looked at him, her light brown eyes filled with confusion and concern. She seemed so real, so present, so impossibly alive that Vlad wished it to be true.
"Vlad?" Yelena said, tilting her head slightly. Her voice carried that familiar measured tone, a mix of concern and annoyance. "What’s wrong with you? You look like you’ve seen a ghost."