My Phobia Man

24. The Cruel Revelation

"Talay, wake up!" I patted him, kissed him, shook him, but there was no response. He kept squirming while crying out pitifully. I tried the usual tactics over and over again, but when he started to gasp for air, I had to use some force. With my heart in my mouth, I shook him pretty hard and yelled his name.

Finally, it worked.

"NOOO! DONTT DIEEE!" he cried out and opened his bloodshot eyes, shining with fear.

"It is okay, darling, you are safe," I hugged him tight as he trembled in my arms.

We couldn't afford to delay anymore, Talay had to know about that pernicious accident before it was too damaging...

.

.

There was a foreboding silence in Talay's flat and his mother's restless fidgeting only contributed to it.

After Talay's last nightmare, I got convinced that he really needed to learn about that particular accident; otherwise, he could even experience an attack in his sleep. With that, I made Talay call his mother and asked her for a meeting. As she expected the call, she agreed immediately and came the very next day. However, now she was sitting like a statue, not saying anything.

"I will leave you alone," I said, thinking his mother was still silent because of me, but Talay grabbed my hand under the table.

"Mae, is it that confidential? Veera is my boyfriend, you know."

"Veera dear, you can stay, it is not confidential. I just don't know how to start," she said softly and took a sip from her now-cold tea, "my son, Veera told me about your nightmares and asked me to tell you about that ominous incident. He believes it will stop your nightmares. What do you think? Do you want to know about it?"

Talay nodded with a forced smile, "I agree with Veera, I have to know about it."

"Okay, then," she sighed and pushed her cup a bit farther, "your accident didn't happen in Japan, Talay, it happened here four years ago."

"What?!" Talay exclaimed with shock while I shivered.

"Don't interrupt me, just listen," she shushed him and continued, "on that terrible day, I was talking to you over the phone while you were walking home from university after your final exam. You said you were about to take the elevator, so we hung up."

"Then?" Talay pressed softly as his mother seemed to be lost in her thoughts. She took another sip from the cold tea and continued.

"Ten minutes or so later, we arrived at the parking lot and got the shock of our lives, seeing our apartment on fire, the police and firefighters everywhere. They said on the fifth floor, a gas explosion happened and the fire spread fast. I tried to call you again and again while your father was searching for you among the rescued tenants. I was losing hope fast, then people started to shout and looking up, I saw you in the arms of a firefighter on the fourth floor. Under my shocked gaze, he dropped you to the huge plastic cushion under the building and I thought you were dead..."

She had to pause to swallow her sobs. Talay grabbed her hands on the table, giving her some reassurance that he was alive and well. Meanwhile, I felt my soul leaving my body with each word she spoke. I hoped it wasn't what I feared, but the incident was too similar...

After recollecting herself, she continued with a hoarse voice.

"They put you into an ambulance with us and we went to the closest hospital. You had many injuries and even a concussion. After the surgery, they moved to a room and we didn't even blink the entire night..."

"Then how come we ended up in Japan?" Talay asked softly.

She dried her tears with her hands, "a day after that horrible incident, two men came to visit you. One of them was a police officer and the other was the firefighter who saved you. The latter said his co-worker heard your voice crying for help. Apparently, you were in the elevator when the explosion happened and it stuck between the third and fourth floors. That kind firefighter opened the metal doors to pull you up, but you were hurt by the broken pieces of the glass ceiling..."

I started to shake, so I grabbed my knees not to alert Talay. Although I felt an attack coming, I had to hear the rest.

"... As you couldn't climb, he went down to get you. However, after you were pulled up, the elevator... crushed down..."

"No!" Talay cried out with horror and covered his face with his palms, "because of me..."

"No dear," she leaned forward and grabbed his hands, prying them off his sad face, "nobody is at fault, it was just an accident."

"Still-" Talay wanted to object, but I cut him off.

"Then? Then what happened?" The words spilled from my mouth painfully.

"As nothing could be done for the poor firefighter, the one who pulled Talay up carried him to the emergency exit and dropped him down to the cushion."

"Why didn't you tell me this? I caused someone's death and I just learnt about it!" Talay said in between his sobs and his mother shook her head in denial.

"We didn't intend to hide it from you. After telling us what happened, the officers wanted to speak to you as the media and the headquarters tried to put the blame for the dead on the firefighters. But, you were unconscious... I promised to call them immediately once you woke up, but you didn't... While you were sleeping, the reporters started to pester us. Day and night, they kept coming and asking questions. We told them we were only grateful to those kind men who saved our son's life, but they didn't believe us. They said we got money to lie to them, but it was them who wrote lies. When they came to your room, dressing like nurses, I lost it. I talked with the hospital and police, and we arranged your transfer to Japan..."

She got silent for a minute and I used that time to anchor myself down to earth. I knew Talay needed my support, but I was in a worse condition. My breathing was already out of order and a tinnitus-like voice was ringing in my ears.

When she was okay, she continued, "don't get us wrong, we really wanted to help to clean that poor firefighter's name, but when you woke up from coma, you didn't remember anything. No matter how much therapy you recieved, you didn't remember... thinking those officers wouldn't believe us, I even sent your medical reports to them. As you didn't remember, there was no need to expose you to those bastards. Therefore, we lied to you and stayed in Japan until you were fine... until everyone forgot about the incident... I am so sorry, but we did it for you..."

So, the hidden survivor was Talay... how cruel the fate was! My brother died, saving my boyfriend...

I felt terrible... Suddenly, the bad memories of four years ago filled my mind... the hatred, the accusation, the lies...

"Veera?"

I heard my name called, but the voice was too far away. I didn't realise I was on my feet until I fell down.