She stared at the frosted glass blindly, holding the image in her mind of what lay beyond it. Her friend, flat and more still than she’d ever known him to be, tubes emerging from mouth and limbs, a machine breathing for him. Silent, as he was never silent.
He would never strive for the last laugh again.
She shifted slightly, and just like that she could see his face, slack in sedation, through the clear stripes in the glass. Something tore inside her.
“Come back. Come back. Come back!” Her voice cracked on the tears choking her throat, and she crumpled, sobs dragging themselves out of her chest, her mouth warped around a despairing cry.