A Part of Behind

03

In the midst of the dark night, they chased a nearly forgotten promise, hoping to bring a little comfort to their suffering friend.

Then the three of them walked into the hospital, the typical hospital scent hit them - the strong smell of disinfectant and cold air.

Cyra approached the information desk, "Excuse me, we are looking for a patient named Cleodore Dietrich who was in an accident."

The nurse directed them to Cleo's room and they immediately moved towards it.

In the middle of their journey, Lyra felt something was amiss. At the end of the corridor, she saw a familiar figure. A man lying on a hospital bed was being pushed by a nurse.

She stopped, her eyes wide. "Dad?" she whispered, almost disbelieving. However, her vision was blurry and she shook her head, convincing herself that it was not their father. Their father should be at home, not here.

But as they approached Cleo's room, a nurse came up to them. "Excuse me, are you Cleo's family?"

Cyra nodded, "No, we're his friends. We're here to visit Cleo."

The three of them walked slowly towards Cleo's room, their hearts pounding. When the door to the room opened, a sad sight greeted them.

Cleo, their classmate who was always full of energy and cheerfulness, was now lying weakly on a hospital bed.

The three of them saw Cleo's parents sitting next to his bed, their hands tightly clasped, their faces pale and tense. They whispered prayers, begging God to heal their child quickly.

Cleo's mother turned her body, looking towards the three of them and said, "Oh, there's Cyra and Lyra."

Cyra and Lyra immediately held Cleo's parents' hands while praying for Cleo to recover and be able to do activities as usual. They felt as if their world had turned upside down. Cleo, their good friend, was now struggling between life and death.

"Hopefully Cleo will recover soon," said Cyra and Lyra while gently patting Cleo's mother's shoulder.

"Thank you all for taking the time to visit Cleo here," said Cleo's mother.

Cyra and Lyra's mother only replied with a smile and looked towards Cleo, who was helpless with bruises all over his body.

"We pray for you, Cleo," whispered Cyra, reaching for Cleo's cold hand. "We all pray for you."

A few minutes later, after visiting Cleo, the three of them said goodbye and prepared to go home. Then, their mother led the way out of the room when suddenly a nurse ran towards them.

"Excuse me, are you the family of this person?" said the nurse, showing a identification card.

Their mother took the card and looked at it slowly, reading every word. She held back tears that were about to flow down her cheeks.

"Mom, what's wrong??" shouted Cyra and Lyra while holding their mother's hand.

"Where is this person now?"

"In that room, ma'am," the nurse then directed them to another room, and when the door opened, they saw a familiar figure.

A person lying on a hospital bed, looking weak and pale.

Lyra felt the world spinning. This unexpected surprise and reality made the three of them frozen, unable to move.

The incident that night, which should have only been about visiting Cleo, had now turned into something much more serious and shocking.

Lyra held her breath as she looked at the figure lying weakly on the hospital bed.

Her chest felt tight, and her eyes filled with uncontrollable tears. "Dad..." she whispered with a trembling voice.

Cyra, Lyra's younger sister, who was standing next to her, saw confusion and panic on her sister's face. She held Lyra's hand tightly, giving her support and strength.

"We have to stay calm, Lyra. Dad will be okay," their mother said softly, trying to calm them down.

The nurse who was beside them looked at Lyra and Cyra with sympathy. She understood how difficult this situation was for them.

With caution, the nurse approached them and said, "I'm sorry, but I have to tell you what happened."

Their mother looked at the nurse with hopeful and worried eyes. "What happened to my husband?" she asked with a trembling voice.

The nurse took a deep breath before answering, "Your husband was almost a victim of a group of robbers. They tried to rob him, and in an attempt to defend himself, he was severely injured."

The nurse looked at Lyra with empathy. "We are still investigating this incident, but it seems that your father was the wrong target. He may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Cyra felt angry and upset. "Who could do such a thing to our father? How could someone be so cruel?"

The nurse nodded, understanding Cyra's feelings. "We will do our best to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice. Meanwhile, your father is in intensive care. We will do everything we can to heal him."

Lyra looked at her father lying weakly on the hospital bed, tears streaming down her face.

She gently grabbed her father's hand. "Dad, we're here with you. We will take care of you and help you recover."

Cyra also grabbed her father's hand, holding it tightly. "We love you, Dad. We will always be by your side."

The nurse gave a sympathetic smile before leaving the room, leaving the three of them in silence, only filled with the sound of their father's heart monitor machine.

Lyra and Cyra looked at their father, their gazes empty, as if trying to digest the bitter reality they had just received. They felt like they were in a nightmare that they couldn't wake up from.

Although their mother's heart was also shattered, she tried to be a pillar of strength for her two daughters. She approached Cyra and Lyra, embracing them both and speaking with a gentle yet firm voice.

"My children, we have to be strong. Your father is a fighter, and he will definitely get through this. We have to be by his side, giving him the strength to fight."

"But Mom, this is all so difficult. We're not ready for this." Cyra said as she cried.

"I know, my dear. No one is ready for something like this. But we have to fight and stay strong, for your father, for all of us."

"But Mom, what will happen next?" Lyra asked.

"We don't know, dear. But we have to pray and hope for the best. We have to believe that your father will recover and come back to us."

The three of them sat by their father's bedside, hugging each other and trying to find strength within themselves.

After hours of staring at their weak father, Lyra and Cyra finally succumbed to exhaustion. They fell asleep in their mother's embrace, seeking a little peace in their dreams.

Their mother remained awake, watching over her two daughters and her husband. She couldn't sleep, her mind filled with endless worries and questions.

As dawn broke, their mother rose from the chair beside their father's bed. She looked at her two sleeping daughters, feeling a little relieved that they could rest for a moment from all this chaos.