Between sun and storm

chapter 20

Dante ran as fast as he could, Lila's life at stake. He felt suffocated, as if his own life was slipping away through his hands. Upon reaching the hospital, a stretcher was in front of him, and a doctor asked him to lay her down, but he didn’t listen. Instead, he walked towards the operating theater and placed her on the bed.

"You have to go outside. We need to start the operation," a man in a white coat with a surgical mask said to him.

"I'M NOT GOING ANYWHERE! AND LET ME MAKE ONE THING CLEAR: IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO HER, YOUR HEAD WILL BE ROLLING ON THIS FLOOR!" Dante shouted, making a scene.

Ben entered the room and dragged Dante away. "If you don’t let them do their work, she’ll die," he tried reasoning with him.

"DO NOT... DO NOT DARE SAY HER NAME AND DEATH IN THE SAME SENTENCE!" Dante was losing his grip on reality. He couldn’t think straight.

He waited, and waited, his patience hanging by a thread. After hours of tension, stress, and pain, he finally lost it. He got up, walked towards the operating theater, and pulled a gun from behind his waist. As he loaded it with a clicking sound, the door suddenly opened, and a man walked out. Dante pointed the gun at his forehead.

"She… she’s out of danger now… nothing to worry about. It’s good that she was shot in the right shoulder, so there’s no major damage. But she did lose a lot of blood, so she’ll be unconscious for some time. Once she wakes up, there’s nothing more to worry about," the doctor said in one breath, sweating nervously. He knew that if he took even a second longer, his next destination might be heaven or hell.

Dante lowered his gun, and the frown between his eyebrows gradually disappeared. "She’s fine," he reassured himself.

A while later, Ben convinced Dante to wash up and change out of his bloodstained, muddy clothes. Initially, Dante was reluctant to leave Lila’s side, but after receiving assurances about her safety, he finally went upstairs.

Meanwhile, Lila began regaining consciousness. The first thing she felt was intense pain in her shoulder—right or left didn’t matter at that moment. After all, right and left were always confusing, weren’t they? She growled in pain, unable to move. Through her blurry vision, she saw a white ceiling, then turned her head to see white walls. Maybe she had died, and the Grim Reaper was coming to take her away.

She turned her head to the left and saw a man standing there, dressed in black. "So, it’s my time," she said to herself. Ben, with his sharp hearing, overheard her but decided not to respond.

"Hey, Mr. Handsome Grim Reaper, why aren’t you doing your job? Just take my soul away and give me some relief from this pain. I’ve always believed in God and helped people," she said weakly, her voice shaking from the pain and confusion.

"Maybe it’s the anesthesia talking," Ben said aloud. When Lila heard him using a medical term, she realized something was wrong.

"Oh! So, you’re not an angel here to take my soul. Then who are you?" she asked, now gaining more clarity. Ben ignored her.

"Hey! I’m sick; you have to answer me. That’s not fair!" she tried to grab his attention. "Even though you’re handsome and muscular, that doesn’t mean you can ignore a pretty lady!" she exclaimed.

Ben looked around and asked, "Where is this pretty lady?"

His question made Lila gasp. "You... you... you octopus! How can you be so mean? You despicable dragonfly!" Her cursing was interrupted by a loud voice.

"Lila!" Dante called out as he entered the room. He had changed his clothes, looking dashing. For the first time, Lila found him handsome.