Chapter 0 - .

Prologue

Thank you for reading.

A phone call came in from an unfamiliar number.

Without thinking much of it, she pressed the call button—only to hear the voice of the medical center where she had undergone a full physical checkup two weeks earlier.

“Please… don’t ignore these results.”

They insisted firmly. She was told she needed to return for additional tests.
She had thought, Wow, health screenings have become pretty thorough lately.

And then—

“—Stage III.”

The doctor at the major hospital she was referred to delivered the words.

It felt like a blow.

“Wh… Doctor… Does that mean I might die?”

She asked desperately.

The doctor explained many complicated things, but she pushed all of that aside.

There was only one thing she needed to know.

“I have three children. The youngest is only three years old. I—I can’t die yet.”

We will do everything we can.

The doctor had said so. And he truly meant it.

She underwent four surgeries. After five long years of fighting the illness, her body became battered beyond repair, and she arrived at the edge of death.

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I’m not a healthy wife…”

She lay on the hospital bed. It had been a long time since she could even sit up.

Worried about the family she would leave behind, she wept as she spoke to her husband.

Her voice barely existed anymore; even she wasn’t sure if any sound was coming out. She couldn’t move a single finger. All she could do was apologize between ragged breaths.

Her husband, now painfully thin himself, looked like a patient too.

“It’s okay. Really. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of everything.”

“I’m sorry… The kids… spoil them lots… be gentle… don’t get angry…”

The faces of their children came to her mind—children who had been holding back their feelings for her sake.

She wanted to do so much more for them.

No matter how much it hurt, no matter how hard it was, she could have endured anything… if only she could stay with them.

Her eyes slowly stopped opening.

Ah… so this is the end.

“You did so well. You fought so hard. It must have hurt so much. It’s okay now. You can rest.”

Her husband’s voice echoed softly.

…I can rest now? …Finally…