The sounds of an endless river slowly reached my ears. My body felt numb. It was as if the exhaustion of my entire life was weighing down on me.
"Wake up… Please wake up, sister."
I heard a sorrowful voice beside me. They were the desperate pleas of a small child.
I forced my body, wanting to ease the pain buried in that sad voice… but my body wouldn't listen to me. I couldn't move even a centimeter. I struggled helplessly to move.
1 minute… 5 minutes… 10 minutes…
A faint beam of light appeared. I finally managed to open my eyes.
A moment later, my nerves tightened. My body hurt intensely. Every bone, every muscle ached. It was a nearly unbearable pain.
"Sister! Sister, you woke up! You woke up!"
The child suddenly burst into tears. He was sobbing uncontrollably.
He buried his head into my blanket, crying as if released from despair.
I tried to lift my hand, but I still couldn't move my body. I could only feel that I was able to speak.
"Calm down, sweetheart."
I forced myself to speak to the child in a gentle, comforting tone.
"Sister, how can you say that?! You almost died!"
The boy, with cold black hair and ocean-deep blue eyes, shouted at me in worry.
"Huh…"
Just as I was about to speak, a screen appeared in front of me.
A transparent screen…