Goodbye, Mr. Regret

Jessica stood there in stunned silence for a long moment, unable to process what she'd just heard. She truly hadn't expected a second chance.

For so long, she'd believed there was no hope left for her; she'd practically given up on herself.

But maybe, she realized now, you should never quit before the very end-no matter how bleak things seem. There's always a sliver of hope left in life.

It was only after the doctor explained things that she understood: her cancer hadn't spread, and the medication she'd been taking was actually working-there were even signs that the cancer cells were shrinking.

And now, her hospital had just introduced a new treatment for liver cancer. With this technique, they could control the spread of cancer cells before surgery, and if the numbers dropped low enough, she'd be eligible for an operation.

Of course, finding a suitable liver donor on short notice was never going to be easy.

"Do you have any immediate family?" the doctor asked. "If you do, we'd like to bring them in for compatibility testing."

Her mind went blank. Her father was the only close relative she had left, and ever since her mother died, he'd vanished. She hadn't seen him in years.

She explained the situation to the doctor, who nodded sympathetically. "If that's the case, we'll need to search the donor registry. It can take a long time-there's a long line of patients waiting for a match. We'll put you on the list, but your best bet would be to contact your father and bring him in for testing. There's a much higher chance of success with an immediate family member."

Jessica scrawled a note on her notepad: "Okay, I understand. I'll do my best to reach him. Thank you."

to something else. The hospital stocked the same medicine, and the doctor even prescribed her

her to keep her spirits up. "A positive attitude

was shining-warm and bright, bathing the

ages, she felt a strange,

maybe her body had started

behind her suffocating

father, or to wait for a matching donor,

thought back to

aphasia. Her grandmother had

over the

Jessica

money, she'd tried even more clinics and specialists, but nothing

a glimmer of recovery. She'd even met Herbert,

developed after years of research-one

health, life would open