Chapter 4 – The Tree Behind the School

The beeping faded as suddenly as it had appeared.

Amira’s grip on Ash’s arm loosened, her breathing uneven. The white walls vanished, replaced once more by the familiar hallway, the lockers, the muted glow of the lights overhead.

She blinked rapidly.

“I saw something,” she said. “A hospital room.”

Ash didn’t deny it.

“That happens sometimes,” he replied gently.

“Sometimes?” Her voice trembled. “That didn’t feel like a dream.”

He nodded. “It isn’t.”

They walked outside without another word. The air felt heavier, as if the world itself knew she was asking questions she wasn’t ready to answer.

Behind the school, the large tree stood quietly, its branches stretching outward like open arms. The moment Amira saw it, her chest tightened.

“This place…” she whispered. “I know it.”

Ash smiled faintly. “You always did.”

They sat beneath the tree. The grass was cool beneath her fingers, grounding her in a way nothing else had.

“You came here whenever things felt too loud,” Ash said. “You said the world felt softer under this tree.”

Amira closed her eyes.

Laughter echoed in her mind.

Her own.

Clear. Bright.

She smiled before she realized it.

Ash noticed immediately.

“There,” he said softly. “That smile. You used to make that face when you finally relaxed.”

Her smile faded.

“You keep talking about me like I’m already gone.”

His shoulders stiffened.

“Because I’m scared,” he admitted. “If I stop remembering you the way you were… I don’t know what I’ll have left.”

She turned to face him fully.

“Tell me the truth,” she said. “Not the careful version.”

The wind rustled the leaves above them.

“It was raining that day,” Ash began. “We were walking home together after school. You were talking about how you hated walking fast in the rain.”

“I do hate that,” she said automatically.

He nodded. “A car ran the red light.”

Her breath caught.

“I didn’t see it,” he continued. “You did.”

Images flooded her mind—headlights slicing through rain, the sound of tires screaming against wet pavement.

“You pushed me,” Ash said, voice shaking. “You shoved me onto the sidewalk.”

“And then?”

His eyes glistened.

“And then the car hit you instead.”

The world seemed to tilt.

“I remember the impact,” she whispered. “The cold.”

Ash nodded slowly. “You were still conscious when the ambulance came. You kept asking if I was okay.”

Tears welled in her eyes.

“That sounds like me,” she said.

“It was,” he replied.

She hugged her knees to her chest.

“Am I dead?” she asked quietly.

Ash’s breath hitched.

“No,” he said firmly. “You’re still alive.”

“Then why does it feel like I’m fading?”

He looked away, unable to answer.

The leaves above them began to shimmer, light seeping through the edges of the world.

Amira noticed.

“Ash,” she whispered. “This place… it’s breaking.”

He reached for her hand.

“Please,” he said. “Not yet.”

She squeezed his hand gently.

“I think,” she said softly, “I don’t have forever.”

The wind picked up, carrying fallen leaves around them like drifting memories.

And deep down, Amira knew—

This world was only borrowing her.

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