The words replayed in her mind, circling like hungry wolves.

"-not breathing-"

"-major heart attack-"

Chihiro travelled in the ambulance with her father to the hospital, twenty minutes drive from Tochinoki. She stared at him in quiet horror. His eyes were closed and skin clammy white. There was a tube going into his mouth and one in the crook of his arm. His bare chest had wires monitoring his heart rhythm. Though she had little medical knowledge, she knew the rhythms wriggling on the screen were not normal.

"Not much further now," said one of the ambulance officers. It was unclear who he was speaking to.

At the hospital, the ambulance was met by an additional two officers, and they swiftly wheeled Akio to the ICU. Chihiro hurried after them, forgotten by the medical staff. Not that she could blame them - her father's life was on the line.

They raced through a few corridors to the emergency ward. Her father disappeared through a door ahead, and Chihiro was stopped by a nurse wearing a face mask.

"I'm sorry, miss," the woman said. "You can't go through here. Please come with me, your father is in safe hands."

Tears spilled down her face.

"But my dad…"

"Everything will be alright. The medical staff need to concentrate. They are doing their best, I promise. Please come with me. I will get you something to drink."

The nurse led Chihiro through the hospital to a small waiting room with couches, a TV, and a box of children's toys. There were no other people inside.

"I will be back in a moment, I promise."

Chihiro stared at the nurse as she left, then stared up at the TV. She watched passively at the images on the screen but did not process them. Fear had turned her mind to mush and her blood to ice. Her father could be dead already and she hadn't had the chance to say goodbye. And she had been so reckless, making him walk to work when he was clearly unwell. This was her fault.

"Chihiro! I'm sorry it took me so long to get here."

She frowned at the woman who had appeared in the doorway and was walking towards her. The stranger was tall and wiry, with long brunette hair that fell down to her waist. She was dressed in ordinary clothes - trousers and a sweater - but there was something unusual about her. She shone with an otherworldly beauty that could make people stop in the street and stare.

The tall woman sat next to Chihiro and pulled her into a hug that felt so familiar.

"Lin."

"I'm so sorry! I knew something was off but I didn't figure it out until it was too late! I'm sorry!"

"You're human again," Chihiro said, stupidly.

"Of course I'm human, dummy!" Lin said fondly. "How else could I get in here? Your mother is on her way, and your father, he's… alive."

The nurse returned to the waiting room with two takeaway cups of green tea, one for Chihiro and the other for Lin.

"Would you like me to sit with you?" the nurse asked kindly.

"I'm… I'm okay, thanks," Chihiro sniffed. "But when my mum arrives, can you please bring her here? Her name is Yuuko Ogino."

"Of course. I will wait for her at the front desk."

After the nurse had left, Lin whispered in Chihiro's ear.

"She's a spirit too. A good one."

"Lin," Chihiro sobbed, fresh tears running down her cheeks, "will my dad be alright?"

Lin handed her a tissue. "I don't know the future," she said softly. "But what I do know is that these staff are good people. They will do everything they can, I know it. And your father's colleagues helped him as soon as he collapsed, so he's got a fighting chance."

Lin kept her arm around Chihiro, urging her to drink the tea. With her throat swollen from crying, Chihiro coughed and gasped. But she persisted, silent tears running down her cheeks. Each sip did make her feel a little better.

The spirit nurse from earlier opened the door and brought Yuuko in. Chihiro immediately stood up and ran to her mother. They embraced, crying into each other's shoulders.

"Is it true?" Yuuko sobbed in her ear. "Your father, he's not…?"

"Mrs. Ogino," interrupted the nurse gently. "Your husband is in surgery."

"I need to see him!"

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Ogino, but the doctors need to work. I will let you know as soon as possible when he's in the ward and you can see him."

"No! No, I need to see him now! He can't leave me! He can't!" Yuuko wailed.

"Mum, it's alright," Chihiro soothed, not feeling much better herself. "We can trust them."

Yuuko bawled her eyes out, and the nurse sat with her on one of the guest couches. Chihiro joined her mother, and Lin gave them some space. The kitsune watched the TV, but she was really listening out if Chihiro needed her.

Every second felt like a lifetime. Fear of the unknown, and memories of her father on the ground and in the ambulance brought waves of fresh tears. Chihiro called out to Haku with her heart, and she felt his comforting presence instantly, even if she could not see him. The nurse could not sit with them for the duration of the surgery, but she checked in on them frequently to reassure them, and offer hot drinks and biscuits. Chihiro had never drunk so much tea in her life.

Hours later, in the early afternoon, the nurse finally brought them good news.

"You can see him now," she said. "But he's still asleep. Don't worry if he does not wake up today, he's been through a lot."

Yuuko and Chihiro clung to each other as they walked down the sterile hallway. The fluorescent lights stung their eyes after hours of crying. Lin followed at a respectful distance. Not once had Yuuko asked who the stranger was - she probably guessed that Lin was there for someone else.

When they finally lay eyes on Akio, Yuuko gave a strangled cry that would haunt Chihiro for the rest of her life.

Her father was tucked into the bed, hiding the wounds from the surgery, but there were tubes and monitors everywhere. A ventilator was keeping him alive. He looked more machine than human.

"I will give you some privacy, but if you need assistance you can ring the bell here," said the nurse, gesturing to the blue nurse button on the side of the hospital bed. "It's lights out at 9. When you want to go home just let me know and I can organise a taxi for you."

"Thank you for looking after us," Chihiro croaked.

The nurse smiled and bowed herself out. She pulled the privacy curtains around the Ogino family, protecting them from the outside world.

#

Yuuko and Chihiro spent hours by Akio's bedside, even past lights out. When Yuuko began to nod with exhaustion, Lin stuck her head through the curtains and told Chihiro she would organise a ride for them. On the way out, Chihiro and Yuuko thanked the nurse who had comforted them earlier.

Lin disappeared from the ICU, but Chihiro wasn't worried. When the cab pulled up at their little blue house back in Tochinoki, a little white fox was already waiting for them. She wagged her tails when they arrived, but gave them space.

They didn't bother showering. Yuuko collapsed in her bed, fully clothed, and Chihiro joined her. They slept through the night. Chihiro was so exhausted that she didn't even dream, but she knew Haku and Lin were looking out for them.

The next day Chihiro and Yuuko woke up early, and after a shower and a simple breakfast of rice and vegetables they returned to the hospital. Akio opened his eyes that afternoon, flitting in an out of consciousness. He probably didn't even realise his wife and daughter were with him. Meanwhile, Lin checked on Chihiro and Yuuko hourly, bringing them food or magazines. Visitors were normally not allowed, but the clever kitsune knew how to move around undetected. Yuuko rarely gave Lin a second glance.

The following day, Akio was wheeled out of the ICU and into the cardiovascular ward. He was fully conscious now, but too exhausted to say more than a few words at a time. Even breathing looked like it was painful for him. His colleagues showed up at the hospital that night after work, with armfuls of flowers and sweets. Their visit brought a smile to his face, and Chihiro knew then that her father was going to be alright. She cried again, but these were tears of relief.

Her father was released from hospital two days later, and Chihiro came to pick him up. Save for the radio playing in the car, she drove her parents home in silence. In the back seat, her father fell asleep while her mother held his hand. Even after they arrived at home, his expression remained troubled, or perhaps it was just pain. Chihiro did not dwell on it. Together with her mother they helped him into the house, fussing over him and making him comfortable on the couch.

A full recovery would take months, and their small family met each day as it arrived. Chihiro knew how lucky she was to still have a father and she appreciated every moment with him.

Akio spent much of the day resting, either in bed or falling asleep in front of the TV. But the troubled mien did not disappear from his face, not even in sleep. During his first week back at home, Chihiro often caught him watching her with a crease in his brow. Each time he looked away in embarrassment. A few times he would look at her and open his mouth to say something, but thought better of it.

One lunchtime, Yuuko told them that she was going out to run some errands and buy groceries. The only food in the house was leftover stir fry, so Chihiro warmed two bowls in the microwave and brought them into the living room. Her father was on the couch, watching the midday news. They ate in silence - speaking still caused Akio some pain, and he couldn't laugh without his features spasming in pain. He only watched serious shows now.

Lin entered the room and jumped up onto the couch. Chihiro scratched the fox behind the ears and gave her a piece of chicken.

"Chihiro, why is a fox following you?"

Both Chihiro and Lin looked at Akio.

"You mean my dog? Lin?"

"She's obviously a fox," her father replied.

Chihiro frowned. Could her father see Lin's true form? Why hadn't he said anything earlier?

"Lin has been walking with me, on my pilgrimage."

"She looks like a messenger kitsune."

Lin's ears twitched. "Can you hear me, pops?" she asked.

Akio frowned. "I know you just said something, but I can't understand."

"Dad, how long have you known?"

"She was in the hospital before. I saw a beautiful woman talking to you. Lin is the beautiful woman and the fox."

Chihiro's heart was pounding. What was going on?

Akio picked up the remote and switched the TV off. "Sweetie, I- I want to tell you something. When I had my heart attack, I think I died."

She held her breath. Her father looked at the blank TV screen, too nervous to meet her gaze.

"I had a vision. I woke up on my back in a snowy forest with a white dragon standing over me."

Chihiro's heart skipped a beat.

"I don't know how, but he turned into a young man, and he helped me up so that I was standing next to him. He introduced himself as the guardian spirit of the Kohaku River: that place you always like to visit. I was so afraid - he had dragon's eyes - but he was kind and courteous. A real gentleman. He promised me that I was going to live, because I was the father of a woman he loved dearly and he wanted to be part of our family."

Tears spilled down Chihiro's cheeks unchecked. Akio smiled at her, his eyes watering too.

"So, he was real after all. He is a good man. He helped to save my life."