Chapter 3: Heartbeat
The room was silent as the doctor pulled off his mask, his expression dull. He glanced at Ephyra's lifeless form on the operating table, her pale skin almost translucent under the harsh hospital lights. The nurses began disconnecting the machines, their movements slow.
One of the nurses gently pulled a white sheet over Ephyra's body, covering her face. "Poor girl," she whispered to herself. "So young... and to go like this."
The doctor nodded but said nothing. He had seen countless deaths in his career, but something about this one—perhaps her youth, her innocence—struck a chord deep within him. He lingered for a moment longer before stepping out of the operating room. At the same time, the nurse went to the heart monitor, and just as she was about to disconnect it, a single blip appeared on the screen.
A heartbeat.
Another blip followed, and then another. The slow, steady rhythm of Ephyra's heart returned, weak but unmistakably alive. A collective breath of disbelief swept through the room.
"Doctor Liam! She's alive!" the nurse exclaimed, while the one who had covered Ephyra hurriedly pulled back the white cloth.
"Oh my God! She came back to life!" the third nurse covered her mouth in disbelief.
Liam was already beside Ephyra in a heartbeat, his hands moving swiftly to reconnect the machines and check her vitals.
"Prepare a new round of IV fluids and monitor her oxygen levels closely," Doctor Liam commanded, his voice laced with urgency but also amazement. This wasn't supposed to happen. She had died, and yet, here she was, alive by some miracle.