CHAPTER 4 — TWENTY YEARS LATER WAS RIGHT ON TIME

Six months later...

A small ceremony took place inside the same children's hospital where their friendship had begun.

There were no luxury decorations.

No celebrity guests.

Only doctors, nurses, former patients, and children still fighting cancer.

Instead of wedding gifts, Ethan and Lily asked every guest to donate books, toys, and treatment funds.

At the entrance stood a glass display case.

Inside were two faded paper cranes.

Beside them rested a small plaque.

"Promises made with hope should never be buried by fear."

Together, Ethan and Lily established a foundation that reunited families separated by medical emergencies and supported children battling life-threatening illnesses.

Every year, they visited the pediatric ward.

Every child received a paper crane.

Every parent received a message:

"Never stop believing in tomorrow."

One afternoon, a little girl undergoing chemotherapy looked at Lily and asked,

"Do miracles really happen?"

Lily smiled and glanced at Ethan.

"They do."

"They're just sometimes... twenty years late."

Ethan reached for her hand.

This time...

He never let go.

And neither did she.

THE END