Case numbers were still terrible. Hospitals were still full. Staff were still exhausted.
But admissions stopped accelerating.
Then, slowly, they fell.
Claire sent Ethan the chart at 2:13 a.m.
CLAIRE: Don't celebrate yet.
ETHAN: I am celebrating quietly.
CLAIRE: Quietly is acceptable.
Ethan showed Maya in the morning.
She looked at the line for a long time.
"Do you think this is it?"
"Arthur says never declare victory before the exam papers are marked."
"Arthur also says potatoes don't count as vegetables. His judgment is questionable."
Still, hope changed the city.
Curtains opened more often. People waved from balconies. Children drew rainbows in windows. Someone chalked THANK YOU DRIVERS outside Ethan's building.
He photographed it before the rain washed it away.