A Girl Appeared Beside My Hospital Bed — Then She Said My Name

I spent fifteen days in a hospital bed after the car accident—fifteen endless days under bright lights and the constant sound of machines. My body was badly injured, my voice was gone, and the doctors kept telling me I was lucky to be alive. But it didn’t feel like luck. My children lived far away, my friends returned to their own lives, and every night felt longer than the one before.