Wake Me Up

Chapter 12

6th of January 2014, SATURDAY, 5:58 A.M., Hôpital Americain de Paris

"4th floor, alley 3, room 354," the nurse instructed. They were inquiring the room where they put her. After they inquired, they immediately went to the elevators. The receiving hall was big-new designs of furniture, technology-constructed, and the ceiling was perfect, like you've seen the sky nearer. After few minutes of walking, and searching the room, they reached the room they were finding.

The door was painted with soft brown enamel that looks like a real wood, but it was synthetic one. Josh, as the first person in the line, opened the door slowly. As the door began to open widely, the lighting of the room was dim-maybe because they were still sleeping. Josh's mother, together with his aunt, lighted up the room, and woke the people inside. They were all inside except Karl who was still outside. I can't do this, I'm afraid, he thought. He was standing there for almost 10 minutes before he decided to enter the room.

He slowly opened the door. As he walked inside, he felt the nervousness running through his veins, the pain that broke her heart every time he stepped, and the sweat the ran down his face, made him more looked like he was afraid to saw her. It took him 3 minutes before he saw the person who was lying at the bed-it was Nicole.

The long tubes of the dextrose; the sound of the small white box, reading her heart beat; the sound of the oxygen that maintained her breathing; and her face, begging that someone might wake her up. Standing at the corner, while preventing his tears to fall down, Karl stared steadily to Nicole. Looking every part of her, and pleading to God to wake her up, Karl saw and felt the sadness inside the room-like it was the saddest day, not only for him, but also for them. He wasn't moving, nor decided to go there, and sat beside. He just stared, afraid of what he saw. For almost one hour of being there, he was only there, standing at the corner of the room.

Josh, who looked his best friend sadly, decided to go where he was standing, and have some little talk about what he felt. He excused his mom, and told that he was going to Karl. His mom agreed, and rushed near to Karl. "Karl? Is there anything I can help?" Josh asked. But Karl didn't answer him, instead, Karl immediately hugged him, and cried out. "Bro, I can't take this anymore!"

Josh hugged him back, and tried to ease his pain by rubbing his back softly. Josh said, "I know...I may not feel what you felt, but as I looked unto you, I've seen your darkest side, and your saddest. I mean, look at her parents, maybe they are experiencing more than to you-it's a big lost for them if her time will come. Let's just be strong enough, like what my mother always said to them. Now that we are here, we should not fill this room with full of cries and pains, but let us fill this with hope and prayers, so that someday, she will be awake." Karl, who've listened carefully to him, was unable to say or utter a word, but the tears that fell on his face, explained what he was feeling now.

Josh handed out him a handkerchief, moved closer to him, and said, "She's waiting for you to say something...you know, she's listening us."

"Ow, yeah! I should," trying to put that smile he was used to.

Tapping his friends back, Josh whispered, "it's been almost years we haven't seen her. We shouldn't waste this moment to tell her about our experiences there in the Philippines."

He nod to his friend, and headed their way to Nicole's place. There, they began their sharing.

Nicole

I was walking at dark room place, where all I could saw was black. No sound, no things, or even persons-just only me. I decided to walk for a distant. As I walk to a particular direction, I saw a guy, wearing dark blue coat, gray trousers, and was carrying dark red roses in a bouquet-which was my favorite flower. I decided to follow him to where he was going. I didn't made a noise, nor anything that would distract him from walking. Suddenly, we two saw a yellow-lighted lamp post. It was shining brightly that almost made my camouflage caught. He walked near the bench, and decided to sit for a while.

Meanwhile, a girl, whose face for me was familiar, sat beside her. They were talking about some stuff, which I didn't know what it was. After a few minutes, and still I, looking at them curiously, the guy gave the flowers he brought to her. Luckily, the girl immediately accepted the bouquet, and her face was filled with joy.

Suddenly, the boy and the girl, vanished in my sight, which I don't know why. So, I searched them, and saw again the guy-now facing me.

It was a familiar face. The way he stand, the curves in his face, his hair, his clothing, and even his hands, I could identify-it was Karl. I was stunned as I realized that the person I am facing was the person I longed to see. It's been years since last time I saw her. And, it's been years, also, I didn't told him about what was my answer the time he told me his feelings.

I was about to speak, but he gestured me to be silent. He hugged me immediately, but it was rare-I can't feel anything: the tightness of his hugged; the warmth of his body; I couldn't feel it. He continued, and as for me, decided to hug him back. But as I was about to put my arms to him, I suddenly fall from where I was standing.

At this moment, it wasn't black anymore, nor surroundings that were black, but a vivid picture of a door, which I could describe you clearly.

Above the door was the room number, 354. It was like a real wooden door, but as I touched its surface, I felt the synthetic part of it. Later, I decided to go inside of it. But as I hold the knob, a light in the hallway shone brightly, causing my eyes to cry. I stepped back, and took a few steps far away from it, but as I began to do that, there was a voice calling my name. I looked through that light, I saw a man standing. I took another step, but now, going through the light. And as I was close enough to him, the light began to shone more brightly than what I seen before.

E/^7I