an's

vanished i

as pure childhood magic-a cake crowned with tiny sugar figurines, a circle of cupcakes and chocolate pops,

il, my friend and neighbor, his voic

e than a project; it was my lifeline through a hard year. Work was scarce, mo

hope burning even when everything else seemed d

called, peeking t

alongside Emily Morris, my closest friend. Emily's laugh was bright and musical, spreading w

of giggles, shouts, and the happy

other. When it was time for cake, we sang "Happy Birthday" with all the energy in the world, perfectly off-k

hiding place behind the tall rosebush. I watched him run, a grin on his face-then saw him stop short, clutching his chest

t first, convinced he was just

d forward, slow and clumsy, his big e

hrough the party nois

pled to the grass like a discarded doll. The soft thud bare

ghter and chatter died as the other children sta

Leo, my hands shaking so ba

t, listen to me

athing was shallow, almost invisible, his chest barely moving. His eyes fluttered half-cl

ce sliced through the shocked silence,

ed Leo onto a stretcher and wheeled him to the ambulance. I stumbled in behind him, my legs barely holding me upright. As the doors closed, I

around me. The air conditioner's drone became the soundtrack to my misery, every second stretching into an eternity. My mind

or, emerged. The look on hi

. He's regained consciousn

d over me, but it disap

h. "The tests and what happened today point to something more. L

ht," I managed to rep

lieve he may have a congenital heart condition. He'll

thout showing obvious signs. Every sentence felt like another blow, hammering away at the ordinary life I thought we still had.

in the air, crushing wha

cost?" I asked, not pausi

estly, the sooner we operate, the bet

d in my mind, vast and cruel-a single