She was declared dead at 7:54 PM

She picked up the first child. Then the second. Her hands trembled, but her resolve remained. She walked to the bed and gently placed them on Elena’s still chest, one on the left, the other on the right. Their warm little bodies pressed against her skin, which already seemed to be growing cold.

“Come back,” Angie whispered, her eyes welling with tears. “Your children are here now.”

For 30 seconds, nothing happened. Only the tiny breathing of the newborns and the faint hum of the disconnected machines could be heard. Angie felt her heart leap into her throat. She took a half step back. Then she saw a movement. Minimal. Barely a tremor in Elena’s left hand. Anyone else would have mistaken it for a spasm. Not Angie. She brought her hand to her mouth. Elena’s fingers closed slowly around the edge of the nearest baby’s blanket.

And then Elena opened her eyes.

It wasn’t cinematic. She didn’t scream or jolt up. She opened her eyes like someone laboriously climbing out of a well. Empty at first. Lost then. Alive at last. Her gaze took a few seconds to focus. It went to the baby on the left. Then to the one on the right. She didn’t say a word. Nor did she need to. Only two thick tears slid down her cheeks and onto her hair.

Angie pressed the call button so hard she almost broke it.