Capítulo 6: ACT V: THE UNEXPECTED TRUTH
November 4th, 2005
St. Lorenzo General Hospital
6:30am,
Light welcomes a new morning. I slowly opened my eyes, still blurry, and unused for a long time...
I started to observe and wander. I saw all four corners of a small room. My arms and legs wore casts, and constricting tapes ran to my chest. I can also see a lot of tubes connected to a machine, but I still feel weak to stand. It's so quiet and lonely, my active inner self suppressed a heavy sigh, a very dull and sad sigh. I am intubated down to my trachea and NGT's ran through my nostril. It appears that I have been here for a long time. I had no visitors, no recollection of the past. I was left wondering why I am here, while being badly injured on this bed. I believe I wasn't feeling any sickness, and being just twelve years old, I know no bad habits.
I rest my mind and a memory flashes. I was suddenly thinking about a name, Kate. Colourful lights dances in my sight of vision, as I feel perfectly relaxed when I'm thinking about her.
---
Suddenly I can hear light footfalls passed into my audible range. I could hear it louder and louder as it approaches.The door opened on the opposite end of the room, and a person came closer to me. I heard the chair next to me scrape against the linoleum floors and a pen clack against a clipboard. A lady in white scrub suit holding a medicine while checking upmy status. I stared at her with my half-opened eyes, and when she finally looked at me she was startled, 'Oh Good Lord! At last you're awake! Just stay there, alright? I'll call the doctor.' The young nurse ran cheerfully as she almost slipped trying to leave the room.
My lips nearly twitched in a smile, yet I didn't. All of my injuries will soon be healed in no time as the doctors came rushing in, and I'll be fine in no time, but the truth behind these injuries I own is what I am afraid of. I had these dreams too... memories that bring pain, yet I've not known them but only in my head.
---
January 9th, 2006
11:25 am,
Joseph Brown prepared for therapy,
The cast on my arms and legs had been removed, and the tapes were taken off as well.My private nurse, Lilian Hildebrandt, who is the only Christian in her family, prays for me every day until I opened my eyes. After she feed me a bowl of soup, she helped me sit down, and took an envelope in her bag.Inside were letters, eighty-eight all in all, from someone dear to me. Lavie took a seat beside me and opened one letter. In her note, I saw only these words:
'This is the last letter I will send my friend... once you've received it, please write back. I want to see you again.'
The words struck my heart, bringing me to shame and pallid. A friend was going away of her own accord without knowing I am alive. For the past eight weeks, I have learned that I was comatose for ten years. I believe I was the only one left hoping because no one came to visit me. Day by day, the door remained closed for visitors, and it still is. The sound of my heartbeat through the monitor was my music, and sunlight became my time for I would only know that morning starts a new day, and only Hildebrandt as my companion.
I have not known family or friends ever since...
'This letter was the last letter she wrote for you... if only Kate would know you are already awake, she would faint.' I kept still and distracted myself by glancing through the window. I held back my tears because I've come to realize that I am all alone. I was hurt, for the girl she spoke of was the person in my thoughts.
Lilian read the letter from Kate, It said:
Dear Joseph,
It's been a long time, huh? I have been writing to you ever since the day you entered sleep. It's the 27th of November 2003. Eight years have passed and I'm still worried about you. I visited our hometown last week with my parents. It looked different nowadays. Remember our usual spot? I still remember all the memories we spent, and our promise... I never forget.
You're always calm, sensible, and even though I can see you tired, you're always there for me. I was proud to be your friend. I was deceived by your quiet demeanour. Ever since then, I was always interested in you.
Do you still remember the day of our parting? It was also the final run of flight 965, and saw the death of 150 passengers, along with you. If you woke up without a clue why you are alive in a hospital, you were the sole survivor of inside the ill-fated airplane, and one of the few survivors in what supposed to be called as 'the great demise'. Our town, Riverside, was left to ruins that day.
I was lucky enough, along with my folks, to leave town before it happened. Who would expect that picking up the groceries in the nearby city became a ticket to escape death? When it was televised, the news spoke of survivors, yet I do not know if you're one of them. I was weeping for you. I can't accept the fact that you were dead. I prayed, and prayed until God has answered me.
I came twice when I was a kid where you were admitted. God truly is a miracle-worker. You seem untouched, only asleep. My dad talked to the doctors and I only heard the words, "He might never wake up due to the damage taken by his head." I hated the hospital for not giving you a chance. My dad saw me weeping and asked the doctors to hold faith. He embraced me, telling me everything is alright. I couldn't say anything but faint.
But while the years pass by, I prayed only because I couldn't let you go. I was selfish, I never thought until now if you're tired. Joseph, if you wish to sleep permanently, it's okay now. I can get by on my own! I will continue and move on... I will never forget you. I love you.
---
It was an unexpected truth. A revelation of something I could never imagine. I was in a hospital room with no idea, whatsoever, why I am here. I lost knowing of truth. I do not know how to take all this, but I was thrust into reality. I stand up even though I couldn't really do it. My feet are wobbly and weak, uncertain like what I feel right now. As I took my first step, I immediately fall-but the doctor held me by the arm.
My breathing increased heavily, and my eyes began welling up. "What should I do? From the moment I was thrown back into this world, I felt nothing but pain and misery. How could I survive when everything around me is unknown to me? If I walked away from everything that happened and start anew, would it make me feel better? Learning that I was comatose wasn't enough...ten years... just kill me right now!"
'Don't say that-all I see is a young boy who is lost, yet has the power in his hands to change his fate. No one knows what will happen in the future. There is no sense in worrying something you cannot control, so be strong enough to witness it happen. When you get out of here, find Kate. Be brave enough to face her and tell her you love her!'
Lilian held my hands, kissed them, and smiled. I remember how Kate used to look when she smiles. I was thankful to her for showing me support. I weep for the friendship she gave me even though I am someone she hasn't even met. I carried myself up yet I was brittle. Lilian helped me and I said to her, "Thank you... I am truly grateful for your kindness. I will take my time doing therapy, and I'll find her. After that, I'll come back and we'll be real friends. I promise." She never experienced anything like this from her patients, cries in joy, and assisted me to the doctor for my regular check-up.
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