A memory from her youth brought a slight smile to Estelle’s face. She remembered asking Cristofer, “If I asked you to skip class and go to a concert with me, would you come?”

Back then, Cristofer had responded with a bright smile and a gentle voice, “Of course, I would. I’ll accompany you wherever you want to go as long as you ask me.”

Thinking of those happier times, Estelle felt a bit more at ease, and her worried expression softened. She explained to the nurse, who had been ...