Persecuted

Chapter 10

I was that way for a long time.

When I finally woke up, I felt unbalanced and, off, somehow. How long had I been out?

I sat up and, oddly, felt no pain. I took out the IV's in my arms and stood up. I was in the same room that I had been in before my coma. The carts of books were still there.

I walked to the door, and then walked back, minding my promise to Jacob. I was not to leave the room, so I wouldn't. I also was not to get out of bed, and so laid back down, waiting for him to come, as I thought I knew he would.

Soon enough, Jacob walked in and when he saw that I was conscious, he rushed over. "You're awake!"

"Yeah. How long was I out?" I asked, my voice rough from disuse.

"About twenty-nine days. I was so worried." He wrapped his arms around me. "This medic girl, Isara, was taking care of you this whole time, kept you—"

I interrupted him. "Stable." I had started at the name, but now recovered. "I heard you. The whole time. But I couldn't respond, and couldn't tell how much time had passed."

"Really?"

I nodded. "Yeah. You kept reading the Bible to me. Thank you for that."

"Of course. I had hoped maybe you could hear me. I prayed every day with you," he said.

I smiled. "I heard. I prayed with you, too, though you couldn't know that."

He smiled back, then set my Bible on the table next to the bed. "How long ago did you wake up?" he asked.

"About thirty minutes," I answered.

"You could have come find me. You didn't have to stay here all alone," he said.

"I was keeping my promise to stay here."

Surprise dawned on his face. "I forgot about it. It doesn't matter anymore."

"It matters to me. I don't break promises. No matter if the other person doesn't remember."

"Right. Promises mean a lot to you," he said, remembering. I nodded. "Well, you can come out. During your coma, all of your injuries healed. We knew it was just a matter of time before you finally awoke."

So he walked me to my Resident Room, bringing the carts of books with us. "It must be afternoon, isn't it?" I asked, noting the empty hallways.

"Yeah. I always came to visit in the afternoons, after all the work had been finished."

I nodded. "Well, you should go on to bed. You need to rest. I'll be fine here."

"Are you sure you'll be okay alone?" he inquired, concerned.

"Yes, I'll be fine. I won't leave until morning. I promise," I said quietly, reassuringly.

"Okay..." he hesitated, came over, and kissed me. The he left. I laid down, suddenly extremely tired.

So I went to sleep, not dreaming.

When I woke up, I was still alone, to my surprise. I sat up and looked around. My Resident Room was the same as it always had been.

As I looked around, I began my morning yoga. As I hadn't been stretching in a while, I was stiff, but I was still able to get it done right. Finished with that, I looked up and saw Jacob in the doorway.

"Morning," I said cheerfully.

"Morning. Yoga?" he asked, puzzled.

"Yeah... I do yoga every morning and night when I can. Didn't you know that?"