Ayla did not look back as she ran out of the hospital.

The automatic doors slid open too slowly for her panicked steps, and when she burst into the open air, the cold morning wind struck her face like a slap. She barely registered it. Her hospital clothes fluttered loosely around her body, thin cotton offering no protection, no dignity, no warmth. A nurse called out behind her, confused, startled by the sight of a patient fleeing barefoot down the pavement, but Ayla did not stop. She could not. If she stopped, she knew she would crumble right there, collapse onto the concrete, and never stand up again.