𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡

15

THIRD PERSON POV

╚══ஓ๑♡๑ஓ══╝

Anthea lay still in the hospital bed, a machine beeping rhythmically beside her. Her once strong and commanding presence was now reduced to a motionless figure, her whole body covered in bandages. Her loyal henchmen stood guard outside her room, their weapons at the ready.

Anthea, the youngest mafia boss in history, lay in a coma after a botched assassination attempt.

2 WEEKS AFTER

She's still in the hospital, and the doctors say it might take about four months for her to wake up. Everyone is waiting for her, bringing flowers with little notes. They hope that when she wakes up, reading those messages will make her feel less alone.

.·:*¨ ✘♚✘ ¨*:·

4 WEEKS PASSED

Dong and Joss sat in the hospital room, their dear friend Anthea lying in the bed beside them. Anthea had been in a coma for the past month and her two friends had been visiting her every day, holding onto hope that she would wake up soon.

As they sat by her side, they began to reminisce about all the fun times they had shared together. Joss started off by telling Anthea about the time they all went on a road trip to the beach. Anthea had been hesitant at first, but Dong had convinced her to come along and they had the time of their lives.

"Do you remember how scared you were to go parasailing, Anthea?" Joss laughed, "But then you ended up loving it and we couldn't get you to come down!"

Dong joined in, "And what about that time we went to the amusement park and you insisted on going on the biggest roller coaster? You were screaming the whole way, but when it was over, you wanted to go again!"

They continued to share funny stories, hoping to bring a spark of life back into their friend.

Their laughter was interrupted by a nurse coming in to check on Anthea. She smiled at the three friends, "I'm glad to see you all having a good time. It's good for her to hear your voices and feel your presence."

.·:*¨ ✘♚✘ ¨*:·.

7 WEEKS PASSED

They all look at her. Each of them wears a black suit with flowers in their left pocket.

"We're done with school, Anthea," Joss says, smiling. "If only you could see us now, how handsome we are."

"I wish you were with us," adds Eros.

"Yes, we wish you were here with us. We won't enjoy the prom without you," Joss emphasizes.

"There were only four of us, and it will stay like that," Dong says.

"We're going to be late. We have to go now," Joss insists.

"See you, Anthea," they all say in unison. At least, they are having fun. They don't have to watch how their friend's life depends on devices.

.·:*¨ ✘♚✘ ¨*:·.

11 WEEKS PASSED

It's her 18th birthday. Her parents would be proud of how grown she is now. All my friends are there - Aiden, Tyson, Eros, Joss, Dong, and everyone who works for her. All of them bought presents; she has at least 40 now. When she wakes up, she is going to see how many things she got. "Happy birthday, Anthea," they all say.

"Joss, are you crying?" asks Dong.

"No," he says, kneading his hands. Joss also notices that Dong is crying. "Dude, you are crying too." Joss laughs.

In fact, everyone is crying. They can't watch her lying in bed on her birthday. She has to get up, blow out the candles, and make her wish.

.·:*¨ ✘♚✘ ¨*:·.

15 WEEKS PASSED

"Doctor, Anthea woke up," said the nurse. Everyone ran to her, looking at her in shock. The doctor examined her pupils, which seemed normal.

"CAN YOU HEAR US?" the doctor asked loudly. She heard him, trying to turn her head to the volume. "Do you feel any pain?" he inquired.

What a stupid question.

She wanted to answer but couldn't. "Blink once if it's 'NO', if it's 'YES' then twice," the doctor explained.

She blinked once, twice. She was in pain.

'Of course, I was in pain, you... you... shit, I can't remember any good comeback,' she thought.

"Bring her painkillers," said the doctor.

"Do you remember who you are?" He asked her.

She stops. She blinked once, and there wasn't another blink for a second. They thought she doesn't remember, then the second blink came. The doctor let out a big sigh.

The doctor gave her a painkiller. After the examination, he called Aiden. "Did something happen?" asked Aiden.

"Yes," said the doctor.

"I'll be there right away," he hung up the phone and arrived in 5 minutes.

"What is it, doctor? What happened?"

The doctor smiled and said, "She woke up," and everyone started jumping for joy.

"That's perfect. When can we visit her?" Joss asked.

"You can visit her now, but don't force her too much," the doctor explained. They all nodded and entered inside.

Her eyes quickly turned to who was inside, and when she saw them, she felt embarrassed by how she looked. She couldn't help but shed some tears. Dong noticed it and quickly wiped his thumb over her tears. They couldn't do much since she was heavily sedated, and the pills were making her sleepy.

Everyone would come to her just to talk. She was like a therapist there since she was unable to move her eyes and would just show her emotions.

So when Joss was having one of his days to crack jokes, she would just roll her eyes, and everyone would know she was getting annoyed by him.

Today was like the same as others.

"Yes, we had our man sent to jail just to kill one of us who betrayed us," Tyson said casually.

"That's why you are too young to go too deep, boys," Aiden said, tapping Dong's shoulder.

"Yeah, being in jail is not fun at all," Joss said as he looked out of the window.

All of them looked at him confused until Dong broke the silence, asking, "Have you been in jail, Joss?"

Joss looked at him, "Yes, and it's not fun at all."

"Boy, what are you talking about?" Tyson said, looking at him confused. Because if he had been, then all of them would know already.

"Oh yeah, I was in Monopoly. It's not fun at all." Joss.