Don't Forget | ✔

Thirty

White.

White was all she could see.

Was this heaven? Had she really died?

"Arya?" She heard a voice and found her father merely a few feet away from her.

"Dad?" She whispered, her eyes wide. Her mother joined beside him.

"Come here, baby." She stretched her arms, lovingly. Arya dashed into her embrace.

"I missed you, mom! I missed you guys so much!"

"We missed you, too, sweetie." Her father responded, peering at her fondly.

"Where are we, dad? Am I dead?"

"No, sweetheart. You are not dead. This is a realm where souls make a choice. You are challenging death right now. It completely up to you, if you want to go back to that world or leave it for good."

Arya frowned.

"As much as we want you with us, it would be too cruel of me to hold you back. You haven't lived your life yet. Go back, sweetie."

"No! I want to be with you guys!"

"You will be with us when your time comes. A lot of people need you, right now." Her mother kissed her forehead. Her father pulled her into a final hug and kissed her forehead.

"You have been a such brave girl. I'm so proud of you."

__________

"Taehyung! She's waking up!"

"Somebody call the doctor!"

"Arya, can you hear me?"

Arya felt someone squeeze her hand. It felt hard to open her eyes and when she did, bright light caused her to squint.

"Oh god!" She heard someone whisper in relief. Her eyes adjusted to the light and the first person she saw was Taehyung. He stared down at her with eyes full of worry and joy.

"You finally woke up." He whispered, grasping her palm. "You have no idea what you put me through."

"W-water."

Jungkook grabbed a glass of water from the table. Taehyung supported her as she perched against the headboard. Sipping the water, she noticed her shoulders covered in bandages. Everything flashed back all at once.

"A-Amara! Where is she?!" The machine next to her began to beep, rapidly.

"She's fine. Amara's fine. Calm down." She let out an exhale and soon tears pricked her eyes at the overwhelming feeling of being safe. The door opened, revealing the doctor. He checked her vitals before declaring that she was fine.

"Did you know how long you have been out for? Two weeks! Don't ever scare me like that." Taehyung's father scolded, making Arya smile.

"I'm sorry." She apologized sheepishly before her smile twisted into a grimace.

"How did you find us?"

"Some fishermen found you and Amara unconscious and called an ambulance. The hospital informed us." Jungkook replied.

"What the hell were you thinking, huh?! How could you just not tell anybody?! What if the fisher didn't find you?! What could have happened then?!" Taehyung yelled in distress.

"You think I wasn't scared?! I was terrified out of my wits, but I didn't have a choice! If I didn't go, he would have hurt Amara!" Tears gushed down her cheeks and Taehyung's eyes softened. He sat beside her and clutched her to his chest as she cried her eyes out.

"It's all over, now. Don't be scared." He ran his fingers through her hair as she calmed down. "You showed tremendous courage, Arya, but you were also stupid. Didn't you think how we all would feel? Didn't you think of what would happen to me?"

Arya pulled away and scowled at him.

"What would have happened to you?! You would have returned to your life with Mia, happily." She folded her hands and looked away as a smile played on Taehyung's lips.

"Well, you are wrong."

Jungkook cleared his throat, indicating that he was still in the room.

"I'll go get something to eat." 

"Wait! Let me come with you!" Taehyung's dad joined him and soon they were out of the room.

"I'll let you rest." Taehyung attempted to pull the sheet over her, but Arya snatched it from him.

"I can do it myself." She mumbled, draping it over, and turned away from him.

"Now, get out and leave me alone. I prefer some peace."

Taehyung held in a chuckle. It felt good to see her get angry. Even if it was childlike, it made his heart feel light. At least, she wasn't being indifferent to him.

The next day, Arya felt better. Her wound was healing properly. Jaden was charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping. He would serve in prison for the rest of his life.

Arya was going through the comic books that Taehyung left for her to keep her occupied when the door to her room opened. Mia walked inside. Arya sat up straight and placed the book aside as Mia sat on the stool, their gaze never meeting.

Nobody talked for a few minutes, and Arya wanted the uncomfortable silence to end.

"I'm sorry." Mia finally spoke, looking up. Her eyes were red as if she had been crying. "Amara is alive today because of you. I will be in debt to you forever."

Arya shook her head.

"Amara may not be my daughter, but she is not anything less than a daughter to me. I did what any mother would have done." Mia smiled, but there was a hint of bitterness to it.

"Now I get why Amara is so attached to you. No wonder Taehyung fell in love with you."

Arya's eyes widened.

"He told me everything. He tried to hide it from me. He did it for my sake. He sacrificed his own happiness to keep me happy."

"I-I don't understand- "

"After I woke up, my condition was critical. The doctors said that the slightest shock would kill me. Their only advice was to keep me happy till I'm stable. After defeating death, I reevaluated my life choices. I didn't want to be in a miserable marriage anymore. I divorced my then-husband and went back to Taehyung." A tear slipped down her cheek.

"It was my mistake. I assumed he still loved me. He didn't deny it because he cares for me and everybody just went along with it. The last few months were nothing but a lie. He was suffering inside this whole time. It wasn't until you returned, I started doubting it." She wiped her tears away.

"His eyes lit up every time you came into the room or his gaze would shift towards you whenever you are around and the look in his eyes..." She wavered, "...it was how he used to look at me. I realized he still loves me, just not the same way he loves you. Whatever we had has evaporated. I was envious and confused. When Amara went missing, all of my pent emotions came out. I was losing myself."

Arya gawked at her, bewildered. Was it what Taehyung wanted to tell her that day?

"Fairly, I can't blame anybody. I can't even blame myself. I'm sorry for all the hurt you went through because of me." Mia handed her a wrapped box.

"You missed Christmas. It's my present for you." She stood up from the stool. "I'm leaving tomorrow. I need to get myself together. I'll come back, eventually. Until then, I trust you to take care of Amara." She smiled a little before making her way to the door, but she suddenly stopped.

"Consider it as advice or whatever you want. Taehyung and you may not have had a wonderful past but when he loves someone he does it with everything he has."