Moriana woke to the sound of quiet breathing.
Her eyelids fluttered, heavy and unwilling, until the ceiling came into focus — the familiar wooden beams overhead, the faint scent of dried herbs, the sharp trace of medicine clinging to the air.
Her body felt wrong.
Stiff.
Bloated at the joints.
Muscles dull and unresponsive, as if they belonged to someone else.
She lifted her head with effort, breath trembling. In the corner of the room, Yulia slept curled on a worn bench, arms tucked under her cheek, exhaustion carved deep into her small frame.
Moriana tried to speak.
Not a sound came out.Her throat locked, panic slicing up her chest.
She tried again — barely a rasp of air left her lips.
Her hand fumbled toward the small table beside her bed. She grabbed the clay water bottle, fingers shaking as she forced it up.
The first sip didn't go down.Her throat rejected it.She choked, coughing violently as water spilled from her mouth and nose.
The bottle slipped from her grasp and shattered across the floor.
The impact jolted Yulia awake.
She sat upright instantly, eyes wide, then rushed to Moriana's side, kneeling beside the bed.
"Mori—!" Her voice cracked with sleep and fear."Easy… hey, easy. Just breathe. I've got you."
Moriana's coughs slowly broke apart, fading into short, shaky breaths. Her voice finally pushed through, raw and strained.
"W-what… hap…pened… Yu…li…?"
Yulia didn't answer at first. She simply wrapped her arms around Moriana and held her — tight, desperate, like she was afraid letting go might make her vanish again.
Her voice trembled against Moriana's hair.
"A year, Mori…A whole year we've been waiting for you to wake up."
She pulled back just enough to look at her, tearful eyes softening into a fragile smile.
"Welcome back."
The words struck Moriana harder than the pain in her muscles.
A year?
Moriana's eyes lingered on Yulia for a moment. She looked paler than before… thinner too, like the past days had drained more from her than sleep ever could.
Her mind reached for the last thing she remembered — and found nothing but fractured light and cold pressure behind her eyes.
She looked around again, noticing details she'd missed: new bandages, tools arranged where they didn't used to be, dried herbs replaced with fresher ones.
Yulia had been caring for her.For a very long time.
Moriana swallowed, gaze drifting over the unfamiliar stillness of her own room — a room that felt like it had moved on without her.
Moriana closed her eyes for a moment, letting her breath settle.Something pressed faintly behind her ribs — not pain, not memory… something in-between.
This feeling again...
Why does it feel like I wasn't just asleep?
The thought surfaced slowly, like it belonged to someone else.
faint voice beside her slipped through the chaos in her head."Mori."
Moriana's grip tightened around the blanket, her eyes locked on her lap, unmoving.This time… it doesn't feel like getting lost in that strange place again.
"Mori," Yulia called again.
Then her voice rose slightly, and her hands gently shook Moriana's shoulders."Mori!"
Moriana gasped and turned toward her quickly, staring for a heartbeat.
Yulia's breath escaped in a short, uneven exhale. She shifted closer and sat beside her, her fingers curling lightly into the fabric of her dress.
"Damn… I shouldn't have said you were gone for a whole year the second you woke up."
She lowered her gaze to her hands."I'm… sorry. I couldn't do anything to wake you all that time."
Moriana blinked slowly, her lashes heavy.When she finally lifted her head toward Yulia, her voice came out thin and uneven.
"…Don't apologize."
Her fingers loosened their grip on the blanket just a little.She swallowed with effort, breath shaking as she forced the rest out.
"You stayed, even when I gave you nothing to stay for."
Her eyes drifted toward the worn bench where Yulia had slept.A faint crease formed between her brows — not anger, just the weight of trying to understand.
"I should be the one… saying something. But I don't even know where to start."
She lowered her gaze again, jaw tightening as if she hated showing even this much weakness.
"…Thank you, Yuli... For not giving up on me."
A sharp pain lanced through Moriana's temple, and she pressed a hand against it with a grimace. Yulia gently took her wrist and moved her hand away.
In her other hand, she held a bowl of a steaming, crystal clear liquid.
"Drink some of this," she said softly. "Don't worry, it's normal to have a headache after sleeping for that long."
Moriana tried to take the bowl with her trembling hands, but Yulia brought it to her lips instead.
"Don't bother, Mori. Just lift your head a little and try to swallow slowly."
The cup stopped just an inch from her lips.
The clear, glossy water caught the lamplight —and for a moment, Moriana saw her own reflection forming on the surface.
Except… it wasn't hers.
A woman's face stared back at her — older, sharper, eyes burning with a tired, haunted brilliance she had never seen before.
Moriana's breath hitched.Her fingers slackened.The cup trembled.
Her eyes widened in raw panic as her lips quivered.
"W-who… is that?!"