"Where is Zeco?"
Charlotte and Isabella exchanged a glance, as if my words were a blade reopening a wound that had just been stitched shut. But before either of them could answer, slow footsteps echoed from the corridor. A soft knock sounded on the wooden door.
The door creaked open.
I froze.
Someone stood in the doorway—or rather, struggled to remain standing. His body was wrapped in white cloth from neck to feet. The wrappings were stained with dried blood, and his eyes… that gaze was still Zeco's, but also not. Full of pain, yet alive. Wounded, yet unbroken.
"Hey," he said softly, as if his voice was wounded too. "You finally woke up, Hiro."
I couldn't move. My chest tightened with emotions I couldn't immediately name—relief, worry, anger, heartbreak… and gratitude. Gratitude so deep it caught in my throat.
His legs could barely hold him. Carla and Charlotte rushed to his side, each supporting one arm, gently guiding him inside. He gave them a faint smile, then his eyes met mine. I rose from the bed, frozen as I looked at him.
We sat beside his bed—Charlotte on the right, me on the left.
Isabella—just entering with a cup of hot tea—began to explain, "That night, we had to take a shortcut, Hiro. To save your life. But we knew the path was far more dangerous than the usual one. A pack of Arctic wolves attacked."
Charlotte continued, her voice trembling, "Zeco… he jumped off the cart. He lured the wolves away… alone. We couldn't stop him. A sacrifice had to be made."
I looked at Zeco. He stared at the floor, then smiled—lightly, but with pain.
"I only did what I had to do," he said. "I told you, didn't I? I wanted to prove that I could do something. That I wasn't just someone standing behind you all."
"But beside us," I replied, with a soft smile.
His words pierced my heart like a gentle arrow. I looked at the bandages—how fragile his body had become, yet how strong his spirit still was.
Without saying a word, I embraced him.
He groaned softly—his wounds still raw—but he didn't resist. In fact, he returned the hug, even if just lightly.
"Thank you, Zeco… You saved my life. All of our lives…"
"You're a hero, Zeco," I whispered.
"So the hero's finally awake?!" said Dr. Charlotte, breaking the emotional silence. She stood proudly in the doorway, adjusting her glasses with a smirk.