Three Years Forgotten, Why Go Crazy When I Say Goodbye? novel Chapter 453

Willow listened quietly without interrupting him, the gentleness in her eyes deepening into profound empathy.

Ethan looked up, meeting her gaze steadily, and continued in a soft voice, "But you didn't. You look at me with completely calm eyes. You didn't look away, and you aren't pitying me. You're just looking at me like I'm a normal person."

A warm, genuine smile curved Willow's lips. Her tone was firm and resolute. "You are a normal person."

That single sentence landed with quiet impact. It wasn't deliberately comforting or overly sentimental, yet it struck straight at the softest part of the teenager's heart.

"The illness is just something attached to you. It's your hardship, but it's not your entire identity," Willow said in a soothing, earnest voice, talking to him exactly as she would a peer. "You are Ethan. You are your own person. You have your own thoughts, your own hobbies, your own life. You shouldn't be defined by a medical condition, and you certainly don't need to be treated differently."

Hearing this, Ethan's thin shoulders relaxed just a fraction. The heavy gloom that had settled in his eyes for so long dissipated slightly, revealing a glimpse of the bright clarity a boy his age should have.

He fell silent for a couple of seconds before asking softly, "So, did you come here just to do research and record my symptoms too?"

"Before we got here, yes, but not entirely anymore," Willow said honestly. "The research is my job. I need real case data to study and conquer this disease, hoping it will save you guys from suffering so much in the future. But more than the data, right now, I want to hear your thoughts."

"My thoughts?" Ethan looked a little surprised.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify