A soft rhythm echoed steadily through the quiet hospital room.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
The faint sound of the heart monitor filled the stillness like a distant pulse of life. Pale light from the hallway filtered through the half-open door, casting long shadows across the white walls and the silent figure resting on the bed.
Claire lay motionless beneath the thin hospital blanket, her breathing slow and even. The bandage around her leg was carefully wrapped, and strands of her dark hair rested gently against the pillow.
To anyone watching, she looked as if she were simply sleeping.
But somewhere deep within the quiet darkness of her unconscious mind, something had begun to stir.
Fragments of sound drifted toward her like distant echoes.
A voice.
Low.
Familiar.
*Claire…*
*I know the truth.*
*I know you were reborn…*
The words seemed to ripple through the darkness surrounding her mind.
*And I was too.*
Claire's consciousness trembled faintly.
For a brief moment, it felt as if she was floating between two worlds—one silent and heavy, the other slowly awakening with forgotten memories.
Then the darkness began to shift.
A soft glow appeared.
And suddenly—
She was somewhere else.
The warm light of evening lanterns illuminated a quiet restaurant terrace. Soft music drifted through the air, blending with the gentle murmur of conversations from nearby tables.
The sky above was painted with deep shades of blue and silver as night settled over the city.
Claire blinked slowly.
She was sitting at a small table by the window.
Across from her sat someone she recognized immediately.
Miko.
He looked slightly older than the Miko she knew now—more mature, his expression softer but filled with the same warmth she remembered.
A gentle smile rested on his lips as he looked at her.
"You're thinking too much again," he said lightly.
Claire blinked again, confusion flickering briefly in her mind.
But when she looked around the table, she noticed something.
Two plates of food.
A candle flickering softly between them.
And Miko's hand resting casually beside hers on the table.
Her chest tightened slightly.
This wasn't the present.
This was a memory.
One she had lost after being reborn.
Miko leaned forward slightly, studying her face with affectionate eyes.
"You've been quiet tonight," he said softly.
"Are you tired?"
Claire slowly shook her head.
"I'm just… thinking."
Miko chuckled gently.
"You always do that."
The candlelight danced across his face as he looked at her with quiet admiration.
Then he reached across the table and gently took her hand.
His fingers were warm.
Claire felt her heart flutter unexpectedly.
"I really love you, Claire," Miko said.
His voice was calm, sincere—so honest that it made the moment feel fragile and precious.
Claire stared at him.
A soft breeze moved the curtains near the window.
For a moment, everything felt peaceful.
Simple.
Happy.
Miko squeezed her hand lightly.
"After we graduate," he continued, his eyes bright with quiet excitement, "I want to travel with you."
Claire tilted her head slightly.
"Travel?"
"Yeah."
Miko leaned back slightly in his chair, imagining it as he spoke.
"Somewhere far away."
"Maybe somewhere with mountains… or the ocean."
He smiled.
"We could just leave everything behind for a while."
Claire found herself smiling too.
"And what would we do there?"
Miko laughed softly.
"Nothing special."
"Just walk around… explore places… eat strange food."
His gaze softened as he looked at her again.
"But the important thing is that we'd be together."
The candlelight flickered between them.
For a moment, the world outside that small restaurant table seemed to disappear.
Miko's voice became quieter.
"Claire…"
He hesitated briefly before speaking again.
"I want a future with you."
Claire felt her chest tighten gently.
In that moment, she could see it clearly.
The happiness she once had.
The life she had once believed in.
A life that existed before everything went wrong.
But suddenly—
A distant voice began to break through the memory.
Soft.
Urgent.
Calling her name.
"Claire…"
The restaurant lights flickered.
The dream began to tremble.
Miko's face blurred slightly as the scene slowly faded.
The voice became clearer.
Closer.
"Claire… wake up."
Back in the quiet hospital room, Claire's fingers twitched faintly against the bedsheet.
And somewhere between the fading dream and the waking world—
Her consciousness began slowly returning to reality.
The warm glow of the restaurant slowly dissolved into darkness.
Miko's voice faded.
The soft music, the candlelight, the quiet laughter—all of it slipped away like mist disappearing in the morning sun.
Claire felt as if she were being pulled upward from deep water.
Her body felt heavy.
Her mind slow.
Then another sound reached her ears.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
The steady rhythm of a machine.
Her eyelids trembled slightly.
Light pressed gently against them.
With a slow effort, Claire forced her eyes open.
The world appeared blurry at first.
White.
Quiet.
Unfamiliar.
For a moment, she simply stared at the ceiling above her.
The faint smell of antiseptic filled the air.
A hospital room.
Reality returned piece by piece.
The car.
The headlights rushing toward her.
The sudden pain.
Her breath caught slightly in her chest.
*It was a dream…*
The memory of the dinner with Miko still lingered faintly in her mind, vivid and warm, yet already slipping away like a fragile illusion.
But it hadn't felt like an ordinary dream.
It felt like a memory.
A part of her life that had been buried somewhere deep within her mind.
Before she could think further, a voice suddenly broke the quiet.
"Claire?"
The voice trembled slightly.
Claire slowly turned her head.
Beside the bed, her mother was sitting in a chair, her eyes wide with relief the moment she saw Claire's open eyes.
"Claire, you're awake!"
Her mother immediately stood up and hurried closer to the bed, gently taking Claire's hand in both of hers.
"Oh thank goodness…" she whispered, her voice filled with emotion. "You scared me so much."
Claire blinked slowly, still adjusting to the light.
"Mom…"
Her voice came out soft and weak.
Her mother's eyes glistened slightly, but she smiled warmly.
"The doctor said you would wake up soon, but I was still so worried."
Claire shifted slightly on the bed, noticing the dull ache in her leg.
The bandage wrapped around it reminded her of what had happened.
Then she noticed someone else standing nearby.
Randy.
He was leaning quietly against the wall near the window, his expression calm but his eyes fixed carefully on her.
The moment Claire looked at him, he straightened slightly.
Relief flickered briefly across his face, though he quickly hid it behind his usual composed expression.
"You're awake," he said softly.
Claire looked at him for a moment.
Something inside her stirred.
Then suddenly—
His words from earlier returned to her mind.
*I know you were reborn.*
*And I was too.*
Claire's eyes widened slightly.
Her heart skipped a beat.
That voice…
She had heard it clearly while she was unconscious.
It hadn't been part of the dream.
Randy had said it.
The room suddenly felt quieter.
Claire stared at him, confusion slowly filling her expression.
Randy noticed the change in her gaze.
For a brief moment, neither of them spoke.
Her mother gently squeezed her hand.
"You should rest," she said softly. "The doctor said you were very lucky. Your leg is injured, but it will heal."
Claire nodded faintly.
But her attention remained on Randy.
Because now she wasn't sure which part of her memory had been a dream—
And which part had been the truth.
Randy held her gaze for a moment longer before quietly looking away.
Yet the silence between them now carried something new.
A secret that neither of them could ignore anymore.