“No, Mom! I really saw him! I woke up during the night because I was thirsty. I walked past his bedroom. The door was open. Dad was standing next to his bed!”
Elena felt a wave of anxiety rising inside her, but she tried not to show it.
“It was dark. You probably mistook something for your father. That sometimes happens.”
“No! He was standing with his back toward me. When I saw him, I got so scared that I ran away.”
For the rest of the day, her daughter’s words kept echoing in Elena’s mind.
Almost three years earlier, her husband, Viktor, had been involved in a terrible car accident. Doctors had fought for weeks to save his life, but his injuries were so severe that he had lost the ability to move or speak on his own.
Because of the brain damage, Viktor barely responded to his surroundings. His eyes remained closed, his body was motionless, and doctors could detect no signs of conscious communication.
