She smiled. “What kind?”

A long pause, then almost in a whisper, “Anything with rhythm. I liked dancing.”

Sofia felt something stir in her heart. She remembered the medical reports she had overheard the nurses discussing: his lower body was paralyzed, and rehabilitation would be slow and uncertain. But nowhere did it say his spirit had to be confined.

That day, after finishing her chores, Sofia returned to Daniel’s room with her phone in hand. She pressed play, and a soft melody filled the air. “I’ll dance for you,” she said gently.

Daniel looked startled, then curious. He watched as she moved gracefully across the room, her body swaying with the rhythm, her eyes bright with joy. For the first time in months, his lips twitched into something resembling a smile.

The next day, she coaxed him into moving his arms in rhythm with the music. “Just the upper body,” she encouraged. “Your body may have changed, but that doesn’t mean you can’t dance.”

Day after day, Sofia and Daniel created their own little world in that suite. She would put on a song, and together they would sway, laugh, and sometimes even sing. Slowly, Daniel’s spirit began to rekindle. His voice grew stronger, his laughter more frequent, and the light in his eyes flickered back to life.