Tears of Love and Regret

Arturo made sure that he didn't forget anything before leaving the building where he was currently employed to as a security guard. When he had confirmed that nothing was left behind, he waved to the other guard who'll take over for the next shift to let him know that he'll go ahead.

​As soon as he reached home, he called out for Coreen, his daughter. A silence answered him so he thought that maybe Coreen didn't want to talk to him again or maybe she was already asleep.

​When Coreen was younger, the two of them used to be close. Coreen only had her father and Arturo only had his daughter. Arturo's failure to fulfill his promises and his lack of time for his daughter drew the line between him and Coreen to the point that they weren't talking to each other anymore. Arturo tried to approach her of course, but it was Coreen who kept on ignoring him.

​He didn't bother with the silence anymore; it had been always this way between them. It was a long day, he was tired and he was already looking forward for a slumber. But before going to bed, Arturo decided to get some water first. He marched towards the kitchen and to his surprise, he saw his daughter lying on the floor, unconscious. Faster than the speed of light, he ran to his daughter and checked on her. Coreen was embracing herself, evidence of how she was shivering before she collapsed. Arturo carried his daughter in his arms; the heat of Coreen's body overwhelmed his senses. Panic creeped into his system even more. But he didn't entertain the thought, instead he ran faster to their neighbor's doorstep. He didn't care that it was already almost midnight; he pleaded with his neighbor who owned an Ikot jeep to bring them to the nearest hospital. Arturo didn't have words to explain what happened because of fear, panic, and everything in between. Besides that, he actually didn't know anything. His neighbor, an agent of humanity, didn't need explanation, he immediately responded to Arturo's cry for help.

Arturo cried the whole drive. He didn't know what will become of him if he lost his daughter. He prayed a million times. When they arrived in the hospital, Arturo rapidly alighted from the jeep to ask for assistance, and right away, nurses and other hospital crew responded. Arturo never wanted to leave Coreen, but as they were approaching the emergency room, the nurses asked him to just stay in the waiting area. He argued that his daughter needed him now more than ever. But the physicians had already begun to attend to Coreen and the nurses had closed the door before he could utter another word.

The moment made him think of all the times he was supposed to be with his daughter. Did they have to pay for the time wasted this way? He felt so restless. He paced back and forth, never calm even for a second. His tears didn't stop flowing. Every second felt like torture.

When the doctor finally came out of the emergency room, Arturo's heartbeat stopped.

Arturo was holding his breath as the doctor spoke. "Her condition's stable now. She's still unconscious, but I guarantee you that she'll wake up in a few days." then Arturo sighed and thanked God.

​Arturo took care of his daughter day and night. He took a leave from work to focus on monitoring his daughter's condition. He told her stories that he had never told her. Even if he looked like a crazy man talking to an unconscious child, he didn't stop and he continued on telling her stories that he thought will make her happy.

"Any signs of consciousness?" the doctor asked. One of the nurses changed the IV fluid and another checked Coreen's vitals.​

​Arturo glumly shook his head. "This marks the fourth day, Mr. Ramirez," said the doctor. "But don't worry, your daughter's case is not severe; she's not even near to danger. She'll wake up anytime. We'll make rounds as usual to check her vital signs." Arturo nodded and they left.

​Feeling down, Arturo turned to Coreen again. "Sweetie, do you remember that time when you had a dance presentation during elementary?" he smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.