Inside the softly lit hospital tent, life ticked along in quiet rhythms—the steady beep… beep of monitors, the whisper of canvas walls swaying as the evening breeze sneaked in like an uninvited guest. Shadows stretched and shrank across the partitions, animated by the warm amber glow of the overhead lights, giving the whole place an oddly intimate, almost unreal calm.
Eliana Bennett Vexley lay propped against a mountain of pillows, her slender body still betraying the toll of everything she'd been through. Color was slowly returning to her warm brown skin, as if life itself was cautiously checking back in. Her long, curly black hair spilled over her shoulders in a glossy cascade, framing her heart-shaped face—beautiful, yes, but currently stuck in an impressive state of emotional overload. Confusion, relief, disbelief—every feeling fought for space in her expressive honey-brown eyes.
