It was just past 3:00 a.m. when Sera quietly pushed open the hospital room door. The hallway lights cast a muted glow on the linoleum floor as she stepped out, pulling her cardigan closer around her. Jonas, who had been dozing upright in a corner chair with his arms crossed, stirred at the sound.
"I'm getting coffee," she said softly. "You want to come with me?"
He blinked away sleep, then nodded. "Yes, ma'am. Can't say no to caffeine at this hour."
Together, they made their way to the vending machine stationed just outside the emergency doors. The quiet hum of fluorescent lights filled the space as the machine clinked and whirred, spitting out paper cups of bitter hospital brew. They took their seats on the cold steel bench outside, the early morning air brushing gently against their skin.
Jonas blew softly on his coffee and then glanced at her sideways. "Ma'am... Can I ask you something?"
Sera gave a nod.
"You and Callum… your families are close, but there's this weird distance. Like something thick between the two of you. What happened? You guys weren't even childhood friends?"
Sera stared at the steam curling above her cup for a long moment, then exhaled. "We were," she said. "But it wasn't always like how people assumed. As kids, we used to spend a lot of time together—me, Callum, and Marcus. But I was always the weakest of the three. I couldn't keep up."
She smiled faintly, but there was a hint of sorrow in it. "They'd run ahead, playing sword fights or racing. I'd try to follow, but I always ended up out of breath or left behind. Eventually, I stopped trying to keep up. One day, I asked my father if I could have someone who'd stay with me. I didn't use those words exactly, but he understood. A week later, he brought Cindy home. She was my age, but bolder. She didn't tire easily. And just like that, she became our sister."
Jonas listened quietly, the corners of his mouth twitching as though holding back words.
"She made sure I was never left out again," Sera continued, voice soft. "We'd braid each other's hair and trade comic books under the blankets. Callum and Marcus drifted into their own world, and I stayed in mine."
There was a pause, then she added, "High school changed things. Her biological mother took Cindy back. Our school was only a kilometer away, and my father—always training us to live grounded—refused to send maids or drivers. Riven and Malik had already left for training camp, so it was always just me and Marcus walking together."
She smiled more genuinely now, though wistfulness danced in her eyes. "Marcus and Callum were two years ahead of me, but they always meet at the school entrance and would always send me first to my classroom before going to theirs. Marcus was also the student council's president. One rainy afternoon, he had to stay late to help with event preparations. So, he sent Callum to walk me home. After years, it was our first time being alone together."
Jonas raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
"It was awkward at first," she admitted. "We waited in silence for the rain to stop, but the sky's getting darker. The rain was still heavy, and I forgot my umbrella. I remember… he excused himself and went to the canteen. Came back with three plastic cellophanes. He wanted four, but they only had three."
A light laugh escaped her lips, colored with nostalgia. "He used the biggest one to wrap our school bags, said it was to protect the books first. Then, he tied my hair into a bun and covered another cellophane over my head, like a makeshift hood. The third—the longest yellow one—he tore a hole in each opposite vertex, told me to wear it like a raincoat. I must've looked ridiculous. But I stayed completely dry."
Sera smiled again—not with joy alone, but with a quiet ache. In that curve of her lips lived the sorrow of memories she once overlooked, now glowing as the most beautiful chapters of her life.
"He walked the rest of the way soaked, his umbrella tilted completely over me. And one time, the wind blew strongly, taking the umbrella away from us. But the first thing he did was to hug me, saying I am too thin, and the wind might blow me away, too. Callum was laughing at that time as we walked. He said he didn't want Marcus to break up their friendship if I got sick. That was his reasoning."
Jonas chuckled quietly. "Sounds like Callum. Practical and selfless in the dumbest ways."
But Sera's voice dipped low, her gaze dropping. "That was our first and last moment. After I met Lior, I avoided all the boys—Callum the most, as he is my arranged fiancé. I wanted every memory I had to be tied to Lior. Young and fascinated with love, I closed off everyone else."
"So, you both just ignored each other?"
She nodded slowly. "I think he understood. Thus, he helped me convince our fathers to break off our engagement, without me pleading."
The weight of old decisions settled between them. Jonas didn't speak for a long time. His coffee had gone cold.
Finally, he murmured, "You know, when I first saw you and Callum together again, I didn't think there was distance. I thought there was restraint and tangles."
Sera met his gaze.
"Ma'am, you look at him like you're memorizing every breath he takes. But he never steps closer than his heart allows. Neither of you is distant. You are just both... tangled and damaged."
The sky began to lighten with the slow creep of dawn. Somewhere inside the hospital, monitors beeped faintly. The city was still asleep, but the day was beginning again.
Sera rose first. "Come on. We should head back. Marcus might wake up."
Jonas stood too.
As they walked back through the doors, neither of them spoke. But the silence wasn't heavy this time.
It was reflective.