The sting of the needle pierced my neck, igniting a wave of pain that threatened to engulf me. Heat surged through my veins, rendering me helpless as tears cascaded down my cheeks. Through the haze of agony, I struggled to open my heavy eyelids, to be greeted by a blinding light that beckoned me to retreat into darkness.
"Are you awake?" I heard a familiar voice ask peeping through my dark curtains like a soothing balm amidst the chaos, when his voice reached my ears, I tried to get a glimpse of him but my vision blurred as exhaustion threatened to drag me under once more. Nix, his presence a lifeline in the sea of uncertainty, wiped away my tears with a tenderness that stirred something deep within me.
