To Perceive an Image

Forty-Nine: Images of A Hidden Secret

Maryanland, October 13, 2040, 7:00 PM.

I will admit that my ideas of Lyaly's secret did not include a whole grown man in them.

The sight of who I assumed to be a six-foot-tall man dressed in casual sweatpants and a hoodie walking in led to me removing my oxygen mask.

But seeing Lyaly walking up to him and holding his hand made me desperate to put it back on.

Was I in a coma long enough for this to happen, or what?

Sapphire ignored their evasion around strangers upon seeing the blooming happiness on Lyly's face and welcomed the stranger inside.

"Hi, come in, there's a chair over there if you want to rest." They gave a small yet confused smile as they pointed at the chair in front of me.

Seriously, Sapphire, the one in front of me?

I haven't gotten the opportunity to look at myself, but it doesn't take rocket science to conclude that my unkempt hair and hospital gown aren't a luxurious look. So, the very pristine stranger might have to excuse me.

I will say that he looks like a kind guy. Let's see where this goes.

Shaking his head, he offered us a smile in return, "no, it's alright. I figure you need the rest more than me." His gaze moved from Sapphire to Lyly, giving them a soft smile before shifting it to me.

"These are for you, I'm glad you're okay, Miss Suhayl," his heartwarming words made me almost miss his hands taking out a beautifully arranged bouquet of different colored roses from behind him.

"Thank you, and just Azail is fine," I smile and gesture for Lyly to take the flowers on my behalf, which she does.

The same girl takes a deep breath, hiding behind the flowers before finding the courage to speak.

"Sapphie, Aza, meet Ronan, my boyfriend," she delivered quite the blow with her statement.

Sapphire's eyes widened while I started choking on my spit, which prompted Sapphire to hand me a cup of cold water.

"Sorry Ronan, we're never usually this dramatic, we're just shocked," are you sure about that first thing, Sapphie?

We're dramatic as fuck, but that's beside the point.

Ronan, in his apparent easygoing nature, chuckled, waving it off, "it's okay, I figured this would be your reaction, considering the angel I call my girlfriend is a sister to you both."

Okay, awe.

At the mention of the word girlfriend, a visible shift overtook Sapphire's demeanor.

"Ah, if she told you about that, then I'll assume she also told you about how overprotective we are of her," their voice adopted a sudden darkness to it.

Ronan nodded, "yes, she did. We thought it would be smart to get to know each other first before dating, and those long night conversations involved talking about her two closest friends." His words must've satisfied the mother goose in Sapphire, judging from the approving nod.

Despite the uncomfortable itchiness in my throat, I had my questions to ask.

I sit up straighter with the help of Sapphire.

I fire the one question that I have in mind. In all honesty, I have a million, but I think this one will get me multiple answers. "Okay, now get to explaining from the point you first met to now," my now stern voice demanded.

Like children, they both nodded and took a seat. Well, they went to the same chair that we suggested for Ronan. Their alike thinking led to Lyaly sitting in Ronan's lap since he got there seconds before she did. I tried not to laugh at the sight of a blushing Lyaly, but couldn't. I'm sure they do this in the privacy of being alone, but I would also blush to death if that happened in front of my friends.