MAYAThe first thing I felt was the weight.Not the pain though that was there but, a dull, deep ache that lived in every muscle and bone, but the heaviness of simply existing again. My eyelids were lead and my throat was like sandpaper. Somewhere nearby, machines beeped in a slow, steady rhythm that matched the sluggish thud of my own heart.Maybe days?I didn’t know it yet, but that was how long I had been gone. My lips parted. A dry, cracked sound scraped out of me. “Mom…?”The chair scraped. Footsteps. Then my mother’s face was above me, eyes already flooding, hands trembling as they cupped my cheeks like she was afraid I might vanish again.“Maya- oh my God, Maya-” Her voice broke completely. She pressed her forehead to mine, tears dripping onto my skin. “You’re awake. You’re awake, baby. You’re here.”A second presence filled the other side of the bed. My father’s large, warm hand closed over mine. When I managed to turn my head, his eyes were red-rimmed, jaw clenched so tight
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