In the days that follow, Elena creates a careful routine—medication, breathing treatments, gentle meals. But it is Isabella who brings light. She tells stories, sings softly, and sits quietly when Oliver is too tired to speak.
One night, Isabella tells him about a castle in the clouds where no one hurts anymore.
“Is it real?” Oliver asks.
“Yes,” she answers. “That’s where people go when they’re very tired.”
Elena listens, stunned by her daughter’s calm wisdom.
At the end of the first week, Jonathan comes home to see Oliver downstairs for the first time in months, playing with clay beside Isabella.
“I made her a puppy,” Oliver says proudly.
Jonathan’s chest tightens.
That evening, Elena admits, “My father died of cancer. Isabella helped care for him.”
Jonathan later confesses Oliver’s mother, Rebecca Harrington, left after the diagnosis, unable to face it.
As Oliver weakens, Isabella stays close.
“You’re the bravest,” she tells him.
One night, she gives him her teddy bear. “You need it more.”
“It’s my favorite thing,” Oliver whispers.