"Yes, Star," Gabriel said quietly. His tone held something careful, almost wary. The nurses had warned him that she sometimes surfaced for moments of clarity before slipping back into her psychosis.
But this felt different.
Her eyes were too clear. The tears flooding them were fresh, not confused. It was the first time he had seen her truly present.
Her voice shook. "My baby… she's really dead."
"Yes," Gabriel replied. He would not lie to her. Not about this.
A sob broke through her breath. "Why? Why did this happen to me? Why?" Her voice wavered, rising and falling like it hurt to speak. "What did I ever do to deserve this?"
Gabriel watched her. From the photos he had seen since he first found her years ago, back then when she still had light in her, a pep in her step, he remembered how different she once looked. Now all he saw was a frail, hollow woman who seemed as if someone had stolen everything she believed in.
