Sammy opened the door and it creaked. Loud enough to startle me.

“I’m sorry, I tried to be quiet…” She whispered.

“It’s, no, it’s ok. I didn’t know you were still here.”

“I went home and came back. Saw Terence outside; he looks like a wreck. I brought coffee and bagels though.”

“Oh… Thanks. Thank you. I appreciate it…”

“How you doing? Did they wake up?”

As Sammy asked, we both looked over at Harmony’s bed. They looked pale, paler even than usual. Their chest barely rose and fell with each passing breath. Probably machine induced. I didn’t answer. Sammy sat down next to me and passed over a thermos.

“It’s hot, I just made it.” She mumbled.

I nodded and took the coffee but didn’t open it. I should have thanked Sammy again, but I was so tired.

We watched Harmony, surrounded by idle machinery that had not long ago pumped blood out of their inert skull. It had been chaos in the room, and then silence. No one could do anything. Harmony was gone. Their brain had stopped even while their heart kept pumping. They had left me and their body behind. It was frustratingly fitting that their heart still worked. Not even one of my parallel echoes scattered through time would get to hear it again.

Sammy stood up. She didn’t like being in one place for too long, not doing anything.

“I’m gonna ask the old guy outside if he wants a bagel.” She said.

“Vitelli? He’s back?”

“He’s asleep at the front desk.”

The thought of him coming back and falling sleep again somehow comforted me.

“I’ll just be a sec. Love you.” She said.

I exploded into sobs.

“Baby girl…” Sammy sat back down.

“I don’t think Harmony’s gonna wake up.”

I fell into her arms. Letting go of all the hope I was saving. Pushing over the walls that protected me, and the scaffolding I’d hung to build the next parapet. Kicking out the columns that held up my dreams and ripping out the chords that sang in my heart.

I felt so fucking dumb.

Then a machine beeped. Then a fan whirled. And through the fog of my own tears, I looked out across the room at Harmony.

They shivered.

Tearing out of Sammy’s hands, I hooked onto the edge of the elevated hospital bed. I watched, afraid to blink. Afraid to miss anything.

Harmony’s eyes fluttered, opened, and dilated, searching for focus until our vision met.

But they didn’t know me. I knew instantly they had no recollection of who I was. It was almost as if the Harmony I knew was gone.

But they weren’t gone. Memory or not, they’d asked for my help and even though I couldn’t fix them, I could still be there. So, I took a deep breath and smiled.

“Hi Harmony, my name is Ray.”