The quiet morning sunlight flooded through the large glass window, casting long golden beams across the white room. The air was warm, smelling faintly of clean linen and fresh white roses sitting in a glass vase on the wooden side table.

Clara stood completely frozen near the open doorway, her small hands staying midair. Her dark eyes wide with pure, breathless wonder, she stared at the hospital bed in the center of the room.

The woman sitting up against the soft white pillows looked pale and fragile. Her dark hair fell over her thin shoulders in soft waves, and her face was lined with the quiet marks of a long,...