The world outside her window never changed.
Morning, afternoon, and night. All melted together under the same shade of pale white. The faint humming of the ventilator filled the room like a quiet lullaby that never stopped. Beeping monitors, the scent of alcohol, the soft rustle of nurses' footsteps, these were the only sounds She had known for most of her life.
Her body felt weightless, not in the freeing way of air, but in the fragile way of paper, a body too light, too weak, too breakable. Tubes ran along her arms like vines, feeding life into a body that refused to give up, even when the soul inside had started to drift.
She often stared at the ceiling, tracing imaginary constellations on the white surface. Sometimes she pretended that the sound of footsteps in the hallway were horses running, strong, graceful, and alive. It was a small dream, but it kept her heart from sinking.
She had always loved watching races including anime, the TV mounted in the corner of her room playing an anime. Umamusume: Pretty Derby, shining under the blazing sun, their hair fluttering behind them as they ran with impossible speed. She envied their freedom. How the wind touched their faces. How the crowd screamed their names. How their hearts burned with purpose.
She smiled faintly. "Maybe... if I was born there... I could've run too."
The words came out like a whisper, carried away by the rhythm of the machines. Her vision blurred as fatigue set in again. The nurse had turned off the lights, leaving only the moonlight to wash over her pale skin.
Her hand reached out weakly toward that light. Cold, trembling fingers trying to grasp something that wasn't there.
"Just once..." she murmured, her voice barely audible. "I want to feel the wind..."
Then, everything went quiet. The beeping slowed. The hum softened. Her eyelids grew heavy, and the world faded into silence.
But silence wasn't the end.
When she opened her eyes again, the first thing she saw was sky. A vast, endless blue sky. The scent of grass filled her lungs, her lungs. Her body felt different, strong, warm, alive. Her fingers trembled, not from weakness, but from shock.
The wind brushed her cheek. Her golden hair danced wildly behind her, catching streaks of silver light from the rising sun. Her heart pounded fast, too fast, but not from pain.
And then she heard it.
The sound of hooves striking the earth.
Not machines. Not footsteps. Real, living sound.
Her reflection glimmered in a puddle nearby, a girl with long blonde hair streaked white, eyes glowing like the sky, and a pair of twitching horse ears resting on her head.
Her breath caught in her throat.
"This... this isn't a dream, right?"
She took one step. Then another. Then she ran.
For the first time in her life, she felt the wind, real, sharp, alive.
No tubes. No walls. No pain.
Only freedom.
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Author: Erm… she's totally about to fall. Anyway, this fanfic is also on Wattpad. I mean, I am the author after all.