RecklessSoul06
> …Are you sure? You don't have to say yes just to be nice, Kana.
Lonelygirl4556
> I know. But… maybe it's not such a bad idea.
Rose raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised, while John leaned back with a knowing smile curling on his lips.
Lonelygirl4556
> I mean, I've been through a lot, yeah. And I'm still dealing with it. But maybe that's exactly why I can talk to him.
She glanced down at her hands, curled tightly around her phone like it was the last thread tying her to something solid.
Lonelygirl4556
> If there's even a small chance I can help him feel less alone… then I want to try.
John gave her a small nod and typed out a reply.
Gamerboy115
> Alright. I'm inviting him to the video call, okay?
Lonelygirl4556
> Sure. Go right ahead.
John briefly exited the video call. A few quiet minutes passed. Kana stared at her own reflection on the screen, she could feel her heart thumping a little harder than before. Rose stayed silent but observant. Then suddenly, John reappeared, and alongside him, a fourth window opened.
A young man with snow-white hair appeared on-screen. He had a pale complexion and eyes dulled by exhaustion and something heavier. His posture was slumped, like someone carrying invisible weights.
For a moment, no one spoke. The silence wasn't awkward. It was tense. Like all of them were afraid to break something fragile.
Kana took a breath and then stepped into the silence.
Lonelygirl4556
> Hey… you must be Liam, right? I'm Kana. It's really nice to meet you.
The boy raised his head slightly, blinking like he wasn't sure if she was real.
Beethoven110
> …Yeah. That's me. John told me there was… someone I could talk to. I guess that's you?
Lonelygirl4556
> Yeah, that's me. (pauses) And the other girl is Rose. She's our friend.
Gamerboy115
> More like our group's emotional mascot.
RecklessSoul06
> Hey!!
They all laughed lightly, even Liam, surprisingly. It was soft, almost accidental. But it was there.
RecklessSoul06
> Hey! No fair! Now you're giving the new guy the wrong idea about me!
Gamerboy115
> Sorry. I couldn't help myself.
As the laughter faded, the atmosphere felt just a bit lighter. Kana leaned in slightly, as if that brought her closer to Liam somehow.
Lonelygirl4556
> John told me what happened. About Emma. About the hospital. I can't say I know exactly what it felt like, but… I do understand the kind of pain that leaves you feeling hollow.
She paused, fingers tightening on her phone again.
Lonelygirl4556
> When I was first admitted here… I was hopeful. Scared, but hopeful. But then a month passed, and my family stopped visiting. My calls went unanswered. One day I dialed home and my mother picked up and told me she didn't have a daughter.
Liam's eyes widened, and for a moment, everyone was still. Kana's tone had stayed calm, but there was a tremble behind the steadiness, one only John caught. He noticed the slight shift in her voice, the tiny bead of sweat trailing down her cheek. She was pushing through the pain to speak, and he suddenly felt a pang of guilt.
Gamerboy115
> Kana… do you want to stop?
She looked at him and shook her head firmly, voice low but certain.
Lonelygirl4556
> No. I need to say this.
She took a breath, then continued.
Lonelygirl4556
> I reached a point where I didn't want to be here anymore. I climbed to the hospital roof one night… thinking I'd jump…. That maybe if I ended it myself, the pain would stop. But when I looked over the edge, all I felt was fear.
Her voice grew quiet.
Lonelygirl4556
> I couldn't do it. I backed away, crying. And even now, with my heart condition and the uncertainty of every day… I still get scared. But I don't feel alone anymore. That's because I have people like John & Rose, who chose to stay. People who saw me.
Liam's gaze dropped. Her words stirred something in him. His thoughts flashed back, Emma's smile, the kiss in the parking lot, the screech of tires. The moment she was taken from him.
Beethoven110
> Emma… She wouldn't be in a coma if it weren't for me. I should've performed that night. I should've been brave. But I ran. I hid. And because I did, she followed me. And the truck…
He shook his head, hands covering his face briefly.
Beethoven110
> I needed someone to blame. So I blamed myself. And I thought… if I just disappeared, maybe the world would be better off. But when I was drowning… I realized I didn't want to die. I was terrified. If John hadn't been there…
His voice cracked and trailed off.
Kana's voice came soft, like a blanket over a wound.
Lonelygirl4556
> …Then maybe that's why we're both still here. Because someone reached out, even when we thought no one would. Even when we didn't believe we deserved it.
Liam looked up again, eyes glassy, meeting her gaze through the screen.
Beethoven110
> You think… it's okay for people like me to keep going? Even if we've hurt others?
Lonelygirl4556
> I think… that's exactly why we keep going. Because we've been in pain. And because of that, we can recognize it in others. And maybe, just maybe… we can stop someone else from feeling as alone as we did.
A beat passed. It wasn't silence. It was space—space for truth, for healing.
RecklessSoul06
> You're not alone now, Liam. You've got us.
Gamerboy115
> Yeah, man. Welcome to the group of broken but awesome people.
RecklessSoul06
> Hey! Speak for yourself. I'm not broken!
Gamerboy115
> You're right. You're not awesome either.
RecklessSoul06
> HEY!!
Liam laughed—this time, a bit louder. His hand instinctively moved to his chest. It still hurt… but it also felt lighter.
Beethoven110
> I don't know if I'm awesome… but thanks.
Kana smiled too. Her fingers loosened their grip on the phone, the tension draining from her body like water.
Lonelygirl4556
> You don't have to be awesome. You just have to be here. That's more than enough.
And for the first time in what felt like forever, Liam didn't feel like a mistake. He didn't feel like a burden. Just a boy on a screen with people who saw him.
He placed a hand on his chest, where that ache had lived for so long, and smiled. The feeling spread—quiet, but real. And on the other side of the screen, three others smiled back.
Four windows. Four people. Four stories tied together by pain… and stitched together with hope.
********
Two hours had passed since the video call, and Liam now lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling with a soft, almost unfamiliar smile playing on his lips.
His hand rested gently over his chest, as if trying to keep hold of the warmth that still lingered inside him, a warmth he hadn't felt in what seemed like forever.
As he slowly sat up, his thoughts drifted back to something John had told him earlier that day.
Liam: So this is what he meant.
A quiet chuckle escaped his lips as a vivid image of Emma's face flickered through his mind, her soft expression, the way her eyes sparkled when she teased him, and that night in the parking lot she leaned in and kissed him.
Liam: And to think I was ready to end everything and leave her behind…
A flicker of shame crossed his face, but it didn't last long. Something had changed. It wasn't a dramatic shift, not a complete fix, but a piece of him had begun to mend. And then, like a whisper in the back of his mind, he remembered something he hadn't done in a long time.
Without a second thought, Liam sprang to his feet, the sudden movement causing his blanket to tumble to the floor. He didn't bother to pick it up. Instead, he made a beeline for the door, determination burning in his eyes.
Downstairs, his family was gathered in the living room, their attention fixed on the evening news. The soft hum of the television and the occasional rustle of popcorn made it easy for Liam to slip past unnoticed. His footsteps padded quietly across the hallway floor, heading toward the garage door.
Once inside the garage, he flipped the switch on the right-hand side. The overhead light flickered to life, illuminating the space in a warm, nostalgic glow.
And there it was, centered beneath the single hanging bulb, the old upright piano.
He froze for a moment, just staring at it.
Dust coated the surface, and the bench was slightly out of place. But to Liam, it looked exactly as it had the last time he was here. This was their place. His and Emma's. The one spot where they spent hours rehearsing songs, laughing over missed notes, and dreaming about performing together someday.
He hadn't stepped foot in this garage since the night Emma fell into a coma.
Swallowing the lump forming in his throat, Liam slowly approached the piano. He pulled the bench back into position, sat down, and gently ran his fingers across the ivory keys. A tremble passed through his hand. Then, with closed eyes, he began to play.
"Moonlight Sonata."
The familiar notes filled the garage, soft and slow at first, like he was rediscovering an old part of himself. Sweat began to bead on his forehead, dripping down the side of his face as he poured everything into the song. The sadness, the regret, the memories, they all swirled together with each press of the keys.
And through it all, he smiled.
He could almost see her again, Emma, sitting beside him, laughing when he missed a chord, encouraging him when he doubted himself. The music kept flowing, faster now, more alive. His hands moved instinctively, lost in the rhythm and emotion.
Unbeknownst to him, his mother stood silently at the entrance of the garage. Her eyes glistened with tears as she watched her son, overwhelmed by a mixture of relief and joy. For the first time in months, she saw life returning to his eyes. And that beautiful smile—that genuine, raw smile—was everything she had prayed to see again.
*****
Meanwhile, Kana sat on her bed, staring at her dimly lit phone screen, lost in thought. The conversation with Liam replayed in her mind in fragments, his hesitant voice, his broken confessions, and most of all, the way she found herself opening up in ways she hadn't expected.
Sharing her darkest moments, her attempt, her heartbreak, her abandonment, had left her feeling exposed… but lighter too. Like maybe, just maybe, her story had made a difference.
Then, as if cued by her thoughts, John's face flashed across her mind. The way he gently pushed her to talk to Liam. The way he knew she was the one who could say what needed to be said, not out of sympathy, but out of shared pain.
She blushed at the thought of him, a faint smile curving on her lips.
Kana: John… if you keep doing things like this, I don't think I'll be able to stop falling for you…
Her voice was barely a whisper, swallowed by the silence of her room. But even as she said it, she knew—she couldn't let those feelings take root. She couldn't pursue them. Not with the time she had left.
Kana: It wouldn't be right…
She turned her gaze toward the small lamp on her desk. Her thoughts wandered, unbidden, to darker places—the night she called home only for her mother to deny knowing her, the way she stared at the hospital roof in silence, weighing her own life. The time she unburdened her entire soul to John, and later to Rose. And just tonight… she had done it again. To Liam.
And that's when it clicked.
The writing competition.
The blank page she hadn't been able to fill for weeks.
Kana: Of course!! That's it!!
She jolted to her feet, heart racing. She reached for the small journal by her bedside table and flopped to the floor with a pen already in hand.
Kana: Those feelings I had back then… I'm feeling them right now. This is it!! This is exactly what I needed all along!!
With her heart pounding and her fingers trembling in excitement, she began to write. Words spilled out in a rush—raw, emotional, real. Her pain, her hope, her story. She wasn't afraid of it anymore.