A second chance.
That was what I wished for.
The one thing I prayed for every night before I sleep. The one thing I prayed for, at the very night before I woke up in an entirely different life.
A new life.
My second chance.
❈❈❈
I was 30 years old wh...
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—St. Lucas Hospital, Special Treatment Room, year 2012. Day 6 of treatment—
"How long have I been in here?"
It was a long day. I had multiple tests done to my body, and even underwent a physical therapy to inspect how my heart and my other internal organs were doing. They let me hang around the hospital area, allowing me to do a little sightseeing—not that there was much to see there anyway—before they sent me back into my room. The feeling of the bed underneath my body was making me feel both sick and sore once I was back that could only lie there motionless.
"One week, give or take," my mother answered me. "You're getting bored, aren't you?"
I sighed, moving about on the bed to find the perfect angle to lie down more comfortably. "I'm feeling more tired than bored, actually. Did they tell you when I can go home yet?"
"Nothing yet, but I'm sure they'll let us know soon," she said, running her fingers on top of my head, and I was thankful that the nurses had helped me wash them just yesterday. "You should rest. You seem tired after those long hours on the lab earlier."
"I can't, Mom," I said, shaking my head slowly. "My back is hurting me, and if I lie on my side, my head will hurt. I feel like nothing I do will help me rest on this bed."
She leaned down to kiss my forehead, patting the pillow beneath my head to help me settle down. "Be patience, okay? I'm sure they'll let us take you home soon. You already seem to be getting better already," she said, sitting down next to the bed.
I didn't answer her right away, knowing that perhaps none of these treatments or tests they were giving me would help much. Aside to the headaches and random flashes of flashbacks in my head, there was nothing wrong with me—or so I thought.
"Perhaps once your brother is here he'll help get rid of your boredom a little," my mother suddenly added.
"What? He is coming?"
Hang on, where was he supposed to be back then?
My mother nodded. "Your friend Tae is picking him up at the station. He kind of volunteered to do it since he knows I can't leave you. I'm really thankful to have him helping us here, he's been doing a good job nursing you too, hasn't he?"
"Yeah, he does," I sighed. "He's been helping me catch up with school homework too."
That, and much more.
I fell asleep in the middle of chatting with my mother. At this point, I could no longer care about how my body kept falling in and out of sleep without me being able to control it.
I could not exactly remember what dream I had, but it was not the best of sleep I ever had either.
There was a sound of familiar snickering coming from right next to my bed as I was waking up, followed by a sound of whispering of, "Sshhh—you'll wake her."
