The Falling Petals...🌺

She's-beside-me.....

Back in my hometown, my presence helped mom get better. Dad too kept encouraging me. We all were going through the worst phase of our lives. Yet, our being together allowed us to stay positive. I saw them praying, every hour of their life, pleading to God to save Dae's life for me, and for them. Every few hours I would phone Busan. Every time I called up, I was desperate to hear something positive.

And three days later, we finally did hear something positive. The doctors revealed that she has shown a considerable amount of improvement. Her blood pressure had stabilized, the platelet count was normal and she was better than she had ever been in the past two weeks, though she still had not regained consciousness.

It was Friday night, I remember. I thanked God like anything. We all thanked Him. That news brought some happiness to sorrowful faces. After their ambiguous statements, the doctors had started making better remarks now. Even though they still used to end with, "We believe she is doing good. But to be sure we have to wait till she regains consciousness." Therefore, each one of us was waiting for her to open her eyes.

I was going back from my office in a bus. As soon as I got the good news. I wanted to book air tickets to Busan for my entire family. In haste, I skipped my dinner too. Moments later, I was in the third row, occupying the extreme right seat in the bus. Inside, the lights were turned off. The window pane on my right was open and I could see the moon and the stars shining in the sky. I was happy. I kept staring at the sky for hours before I felt tired enough to sleep.

I could feel my eyes getting heavier. I leaned my head against the window and rested for a while. And then, after several minutes, something strange happened. Something which I could not believe. Shuffling in my sleep, I turned to my left. And I was speechless the next second.

She was sitting right beside me. Dae was sitting right beside me. My shocked eyes kept staring at her. I tried to speak but could not. Hundreds of questions ran through my mind in that one instant and I could not decide which one I should ask first. I looked here and there. In the darkness, every other passenger was sleeping.

She smiled.

The accident had left no marks on her face or her body. She appeared so beautiful. Just like she had always been. She was wearing her engagement dress. I was still struggling to understand how this could be. Very innocently, she put her hand to my forehead, sliding it down to my cheek and resting it there.

Then she asked me, "How are you dear?" I tried to speak, but my mouth was dry. I swallowed.

"I don't believe this. You were ... How ...?" Those questions remained incomplete.

"I know what you are wondering. But I am here for you. Only for you."

"But you were far away from me, in St.Mary's ... unconscious ..." I was trying to accept whatever I was seeing.

Gently, she kept answering my queries, "Shillang! I can never be away from you. I was always here, and will always be here. Right beside you, forever."

I could see her love for me in those eyes. Something in me started believing that whatever was happening was true. I was feeling comfortable and delighted.

After a few moments of silence I spoke, "I missed you so much, Dae. For two weeks I couldn't talk to you and you were ..."

"Shhhhh!" She held her finger to my lips, not allowing me to speak further.

"I know how you've been missing me. I am sorry, dear. That's why, despite all obstacles, I have come to you—the one I love." She kissed me.

And then, she had a small box in her hands. I watched her opening it in front of me. It was the engagement ring that she got for me. With her beautiful smile, she brought the ring out and looking up, she took my hand.

"But we will be doing this in front of everyone right?" I asked her.

"Nah. I can't wait that long."

"But why?"

"I don't have much time."

"What do you mean you don't have much time?"

"Shhh ... You ask too many questions," she said, sweetly tweaking my nose. And then, looking straight into my eyes, she continued,

"Because I am dying to be yours ... Hey, handsome! Will you marry me?"

In that moment of happiness, I could not utter anything. I just nodded. She slid that beautiful ring onto my third finger and, to my surprise, I noticed the ring I got for her was already on her third finger. I hugged her and kissed her forehead and lips. We held hands.

After few minutes of romantic silence, she suddenly recalled something.

"Why did you skip your dinner? You are hungry right."

"No, I am not," I said, but she didn't believe me and opened her bag to get another box out.

It was the lunch-box she used to take to her office.

"See what I have made for you."

"Hey! Japchae!" I almost shouted, troubling the sleeping passengers.

With her own hands she fed me my favorite dish. We kept talking. She, more than I. We shared the last bite after which she said to me,

"Don't skip your meals. You have to take care of yourself."

I didn't reply. I was feeling her fingers in my hand.

"Promise me," she said.

"What?" I asked, distracted, making irregular figures on her palm with my fingers, playing with her ring.

"Promise me you will take care of yourself ... Always."

"Why?"

Mysteriously, she replied, "Because I may not be able to bring Japchae for you all the time."

And she laughed. She looked cute. She kissed me again on my forehead and looked deep into my eyes. I felt something different in that kiss, in her eyes. And then, just like a kid, she asked me,

"Listen, I want to rest my head on your shoulder for a while."

And, so, she rested on my left shoulder. We were still holding hands. A few moments of silence passed. I checked to see if she was asleep while trying to release my hand from hers. She wasn't. She didn't allow me to take my hand away. She wanted me to hold her tight.

I took her in my arms when she said, "Shona! Thank you for giving me the love of my life."

I didn't reply, but kissed her hair. We didn't talk much. I wanted her to rest. After so long, we had these moments together. Some more time passed. I don't know how much. And then, all of a sudden, I felt something hitting my forehead. What was that? I could not understand. But I could hear something. Some sound, some kind of vibration, bothering me.

For a few seconds I could not figure out what it was. I was struggling to open my eyes. I found the window pane on my right was still open and my head was resting against the grill. Maybe I hit my head against it in my sleep. I was regaining my senses. In my pocket, my cell phone was ringing.

It was still dark inside the bus. A gust of wind brought me completely out of my sleep. Outside the sky was calm, the moon was losing its sheen, the stars were disappearing. It was early dawn. And all of a sudden, I realized—the ring was missing from my finger. I immediately turned to my left looking for her. But she wasn't there.

I got scared. I stood up and looked here and there in order to find her. But I could not see her. She was gone, I don't know where. The phone in my pocket was still ringing and in my confusion, I quickly pulled it out. "Dae calling ..."it displayed. I checked my wristwatch. It was 4 a.m. It was an odd time to call. 'It must be urgent,' I thought and picked up the phone.

"Hello?" But I didn't get any response from the other side, though I could hear somebody's breath.

"Dad?"

"Son ..." I was right. It was Dae's dad.

"Yes, Dad?" I spoke. He spoke after a long silence.

"Son ... it's a sad news. Our Dae is no more. She left us a few minutes back ..."

"But she was here with me a few minutes back ..." I heard someone inside me screaming but not a sound came out.