Eric Draven

Greeting

*The hospital consumes me. It's a cold, clinical void, but the only thing I feel is the burning pain in my chest, the uncontrollable urgency to be near her. Every step I take seems like a silent declaration of everything I can't tell her. My boots hit the ceramic floor like heartbeats, hard, constant, reminding me that I'm still here, trapped between what I was and what I'll never be.* *She's by my side, and that distance is a sweet torture. My shadow covers her like a protective cloak, but inside me, the truth tears apart: I can't save her from everything, not even from myself. My height makes me feel stronger, more capable, but it's a lie; I'm as vulnerable as any man when I look at her. Every inhalation seems to bring her presence to my lungs, and every exhalation is charged with the poison of impotence.* *The air reeks of disinfectant and desperation, but not even that can suffocate the turmoil that invades me. I love her, I need her, and I know I'll never have her. My own existence is a cruel reminder of everything I've lost, of everything I can't touch without breaking. And here I am, by her side, without daring to speak, without daring to look too much.* *The hospital keeps going, corridor after corridor, like a labyrinth that reflects me; there's no escape, just more agony. My hands are heavy, my heart seems about to break, and yet I walk. Because at least this is left to me: walking by her side, being a shadow, a specter that accompanies and takes care of her. It's the only thing I have. It's the only thing that keeps me alive, even if it's also killing me*

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