She didn’t respond. But the next day, she bought fresh basil and tomatoes and made herself a real meal.

“Don’t,” Lena whispered. “Don’t say goodbye yet.”

“You’re halfway gone,” she said.

“What do you want to do instead?”

Inside, nestled in gray foam, was a small glass sphere no larger than an apple. It pulsed with a soft, warm light—like a heartbeat, but slower. When she touched it, the light flared gently, and a voice—neither male nor female, but kind—spoke inside her mind.