- V -
"One step at a time, Ms. Taniyama, you can do it!"
She grasped at the metal bars parallel at both her sides, curling her fingers tightly to keep them from slipping. Sweat pooled at her back, dripping down her legs that struggled to stand. Her muscles refused to cooperate, rebelling against what her brain demanded them to do.
The doctors said the slight paralysis was a temporary after-effect of her minute-long clinical death. Then there's also the six epinephrine shots that restarted her heart. Six. One would have been enough, she was told. Six could have killed her again.
"Three more steps and we're done for the day, you can make it!" the nurse encouraged her.
She took in a deep breath and released it in short puffs, arms burning with the effort to support her body as her legs threatened to fold against themselves. With eyes unfocused, she looked out the window to the hallway and saw him, hands pressed against the glass.
'I believe in you,' he mouthed.
Those last three steps weren't as daunting anymore.
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