Super Trouper

Wake Me Up.

Benny was sitting in the hospital couch, Frida had been intubated for two weeks by now and despair was growing in him, there was a lot of uncertainty about what would happen, but whatever it was, he couldn't bear it. As he looked at the floor lost in his thoughts, he was interrupted by the sound of the door, he looked away and his eyes fell on the person entering the room. "I brought you tea," said the lady, Olive, Frida's aunt. He shifted his position on the couch and sat down better, later sipping the glass of tea.

"Thank you," he said. Olive sat next to him and looked at him, she knew he wasn't having a good time.

"Why don't you go home to sleep? I'll stay here," she suggested.

"I can't, being in the house makes everything worse," he replied, looking down again. The truth is that feeling the emptiness of the house didn't favor him, on the contrary, it depressed him even more. Lotta and Hans were still in there because they had the obligation to go to school, but they were all aware of them and Ragnar would take care of them once or twice a week, due to the distance they lived and his work, he couldn't do more but at least there was more peace of mind knowing that they were not alone.

Olive didn't comment anything else, she knew it was not being easy for him, for none of them, but Benny was devastated, he hadn't left Frida alone for a moment since they took her to a private room from the UCI. She was hooked up to artificial machines that helped her breathe, feed, and monitor her heart rate.

After a while, in which both were immersed in a deep silence, where only the machinery made the noise, Benny decided to get up from the sofa; in principle it was with the excuse of throwing away the glass of tea that he had already drunk, but the reality is that he wanted to be close to his love for a while. He approached the bed and stroked her forehead, she had a bandage covering her skull and some bruises, but it was all due to the trauma caused by the accident she had.

It had been so long since he had last heard her voice, sixteen days without being able to speak to her, kiss her mouth, or have a conversation at night before bed. It seemed like a nightmare but felt so real and it terrified him even more. He held her hand and began to caress it, he had no better way at that moment to show his love.

Three minutes caressing her and moving her hand from time to time, she did something that wasn't expected, Frida began to move her thumb; Benny felt his heart stop for a few milliseconds, he wanted to make sure it was really true and not an illusion. "Aunt Olive, can you see this?" he said in a shaky voice, he was nervous and didn't know how to act. Olive got up and walked over to them but Frida was no longer moving it.

"What did you see?" she asked in dismay.

"She moved her thumb," Benny tried to relax and now he felt his entire body sweating.

"Are you sure? it could be a figment of your imagination," Olive made him see reason.

"I swear to you, I know exactly what I saw," he answered confidently. Not two seconds passed when Frida gasped and opened her eyes, closing them almost immediately. Olive and Benny looked at each other in amazement.

"I'll go get the nurses," Olive quickly managed to say, as Benny had been paralyzed. She left the room and Benny stayed next to Frida analyzing all her expressions and movements but she did nothing but gasp repeatedly as if she was short of air, her heart rate also increased a little. Benny squeezed her hand tightly, he didn't want to let go of her, he was very worried and nervous, feeling the pressure and anguish of not being able to do anything, what he most wanted was for her to react and be fine.

Two nurses entered the room, "Mr. Andersson, you must come out, please," one of them asked kindly but in a hurry.

"I need to know what's happening with my wife," he said without releasing her hand.