The Last Hope

Hana, twelve years old, stood silently outside her parents’ study door, listening to her father’s trembling voice and the doctor’s calm words.“She’s in the final stage… there may be only a few months left,” the doctor said.Her father’s voice broke: “So there’s no hope left?”A long, heavy silence was the only answer.
Hana’s heart clenched. Tears welled up in her eyes and she fled the house in silence, running toward the riverbank. She climbed the rails of the old stone bridge, ready to let go—when suddenly a soft, hissing sound above her stopped her heart: a transparent balloon was descending from the sky, with a rope ladder swaying beneath it.
A mix of fear and curiosity made her grab the ladder and climb, her legs trembling. In the distance, she saw a massive, abandoned fortress rising out of the mist, its walls like living stone.