The Next Day...
That night, the rain poured heavily over the city of Heidelberg, drenching the streets and shrouding everything in a cold mist that made visibility poor.
Swish…
Swish…
The whispering sound of car tires against wet asphalt sliced through the silence, mingling with the unspoken tension of the three people inside—a scene akin to a lifeless Noir painting, void of warmth, void of soul.
Lily sat in the backseat, her hands tightly clutching her mother's trembling fingers. An unshakable unease coiled in her chest ever since they received the call from the hospital.
Her gaze remained fixed on her father, who gripped the steering wheel with white-knuckled tension. The car sped through the rain-slicked streets, faster than usual, yet no one dared to tell him to slow down.
Deep inside, Lily kept praying.
She wished this was just a nightmare.
That when she opened her eyes, everything would return to normal.
Even as her mind swirled in turmoil, as sharp as thorns digging into her chest—
'Daisy will be okay… right?'
But that fragile hope crumbled the moment they arrived at the hospital.
When she saw Daisy's motionless body, her breath caught in her throat.
Lily's hand flew to her mouth, stifling a sob.
Her twin sister lay on the hospital bed, her delicate form marred with bruises, her once lively face ashen and pale. Her lips had turned a sickly shade of blue, and her neatly combed hair was now tangled, stained with dried blood.
The sterile scent of disinfectant mixed with the beeping sounds of monitors filled the room.
Inside the cold ICU, Daisy lay unconscious, connected to a web of life-support machines. A ventilator kept her breathing, while an ECMO machine—the last resort to replace her failing lungs—hummed faintly, each pulse counting down the moments of her life.
Their father stood stiffly beside the bed, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white. Meanwhile, their mother…
Their mother could no longer hold back her sobs. Her slender frame trembled under the weight of cruel reality.
"Daisy…" Azalea's voice cracked, her tears falling like shattered pearls.
Lily hesitated, then stepped forward, reaching out with trembling fingers.
She held Daisy's cold hand in hers.
"… "
The doctor exhaled heavily before delivering the inevitable truth.
"We've done everything we can." His voice was solemn, his usual warmth replaced with something heavier. "But in Daisy's condition… her lungs are beyond recovery. The internal damage is too severe. The only hope left is a transplant."
Silence.
A dreadful, suffocating silence.
Her father's gaze darkened as he turned to the doctor. "Then find a donor! Call anyone—we'll pay whatever it takes!"
But the doctor only shook his head. "You know how difficult it is to find a compatible lung donor. Daisy doesn't have days or weeks to wait. She needs a transplant now, or…"
He didn't need to finish the sentence.
There was no time.
Azalea's heart-wrenching cries pierced through the suffocating silence, raw and desperate like the wails of a mother about to lose her child.
"No… my baby girl… you must be in so much pain," she sobbed, gripping Jacob's arm, her delicate fingers clutching at his shirt as if her despair alone could turn back time. "Doctor, please! Take mine! Take my lungs instead! You can do it now, right?!"
Jacob's strong frame trembled as he wrapped his arms around her. "Honey… sshhh, please calm down. I will do anything to save our daughter." His voice, usually firm and unwavering, was barely a whisper now.
Lily clenched her fists, her teeth digging into her lower lip.
She wanted to say something.
She had to.
The room was drowning in grief, and yet—
"I'll do it."
Her voice rang through the air like a thunderclap.
A bombshell that left the entire room frozen in place.
Azalea spun around, eyes wide in horror. "Lily, don't say that!" Her voice trembled. "You know your heart condition! A surgery like this could—"
"Could kill me?"
Lily smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.
Her father's eyes burned with fury—fury born out of terror. "Absolutely not, Lily! No one is letting you do this!"
But she didn't back down.
She met their gazes, unwavering. "Daisy doesn't have a choice. But I do."
Tears streamed down her mother's face, her body shaking as she grasped Lily's hands. "No, sweetheart… You are just as important to us! Do you think I can bear losing either of you?! If something happens to you—"
Her voice broke.
Her father clenched his jaw, his head bowed as his large hands covered his face.
For the first time in her life, Lily saw her father—a man of strength, of iron will—reduced to a vulnerable shell.
"… Lily." His voice was barely a whisper. "You're my daughter too."
His shoulders trembled. "How… How can I choose between my own children?"
Lily gently grasped their hands—both her mother's and her father's.
"I'm not asking you to choose," she whispered. "I'm just asking you to let me give Daisy a chance. A chance I never had."
Her mother covered her mouth, silent tears pouring down her cheeks.
"I never had a normal life," Lily continued softly. "But Daisy can. She can go to college. She can fall in love. Get married. Live the life we always dreamed of."
Her mother shook her head violently, unwilling to accept her words. "No… no, sweetheart, don't say that…"
Lily only smiled. A gentle, knowing smile.
"I always knew my time was limited."
"I've made peace with it."
"But for once… I want to choose how my story ends."
Silence.
Then, at last—
The doctor spoke. "If the family agrees… we can proceed with the surgery tonight."
Jacob Sinclair closed his eyes, taking a slow, shuddering breath.
And then—
"… Alright."
Azalea let out a strangled sob, shaking her head. "No! Jacob, take back your words! I won't allow it!"
But Jacob remained silent, his eyes closed as he endured the full force of his wife's broken fury—her fists pounding against his chest, her voice cracking with every scream of denial.
"NO, LILY! LISTEN TO ME!"
Lily stepped forward, wrapping her arms tightly around her mother's trembling frame.
"I'll be okay, Mom."
Tears rolled down her cheeks. "Just wait for me in Dad's arms… We'll be okay."
Drip.
Drip.
In the quiet, their fates were sealed.
---
The operating room was cold.
Lily lay on the surgical table, dressed in a pale hospital gown. The overhead lights cast a blinding glow, forcing her to squint.
A nurse approached, placing an oxygen mask over her face.
"Just breathe slowly," the nurse murmured. "Everything will be alright."
Lily wanted to nod, but exhaustion was seeping into her bones.
Oddly enough, she felt… at peace.
Her mother once told her—
"Every flower has its own time to bloom and wither."
Maybe…
This was her time.
"I will bloom together with Daisy, in the bright blue sky."
With that thought, Lily closed her eyes.
The anesthesia took hold. Her consciousness began to fade.
But just before everything turned to darkness—
A voice.
A deep, unfamiliar voice whispered into her ear.
"Crystal… You have finally returned."
Then—
BEEP—
Lily woke up.
Her eyelids fluttered open, revealing a wooden ceiling covered in cobwebs.
"… Hngh."
The bed beneath her creaked as she stirred.
A cold breeze sent shivers down her spine.
"This… isn't a hospital."
Her fingers trembled as she reached up—
The needle marks were gone.
Her hands weren't her own.
Her body wasn't her own.
With her breath caught in her throat, Lily turned toward the mirror in the corner of the dimly lit room.
The reflection staring back at her_ Wasn't Lilyana Sinclair.
"W-Who… are you?"