2 Minutes, 23 Seconds

2' 22"

Stacey slowly opened her eyes, an effort that took almost all her strength to do. Her lids were heavy but the frantic voice beside her made her panic. She tried to make out whose voice it was, and the familiar rasp told her it was Van.

Van felt all the blood leave his system, and his sudden jump off the chair made him dizzy. He could not even process yet what message Ivan was sending. There was panic in his cousin's voice and he was afraid to ask exactly what the matter was. All he knew was that he must go to Eury right now.

"V-Van..."

Teary eyes looked at Stacey.

"CC, I-I have to go..." His face was painted with fear, which reflected on Stacey's as well.

"P-Please don't leave me," she said, breaking into tears. "Where's Duncan?"

Van wanted to leave so bad, but his scattered thoughts were not at all helpful to the situation. He did not know what to think of first. Never had a phone call made him panic as this before.

Stacey held on to his hand tightly, and Van pleaded with his eyes. He knew what it meant.

"Stacey, I can't leave her again." Hot tears slid down his cheeks.

Somehow, as afraid as Stacey was, Van's whole appearance made her more terrified. He looked close to a corpse. He looked as if he was begging for his life.

She swallowed the pain away and reminded herself that she must let go. And so she did.

Van heaved a sigh of relief. He almost mentally heard him being set free from his chains.

"Go."

That was all he needed. He dashed towards the door and down the hallway after assuring his friend that he would call the nurses for her, and so he did it first.

Eury's room suddenly seemed the farthest place on earth. He could hear the loud ticking of the clock inside his head, as if counting down to his demise...or hers.

He could feel himself running out of breath, and he was definitely close to blacking out. But he had one goal: get to the love of his life as soon as possible.

He ran even more when he saw Eury's door as if it's the light at the end of a tunnel. It was open, and Ivan and Nina were outside looking in.

His legs were starting to go numb, and so he fell to his knees right when he was by Ivan's side. Wheezing and out of breath, he tried to stand.

He heard Ivan and Nina call his name, but he was focused on looking for Eury. There were a lot of people in white inside the room. Disregarding the throbbing in his head and the slight blurriness of his vision, he walked towards the open door. He couldn't make out what the doctors were saying.

Everything just seemed so hazy except for one thing: Eury.

Although, she was unconscious.

Van felt hands tightly wrapped around his arms. Oh, he didn't even know he was trying to run. Blurry. Everything is a huge blur. The sounds around him, the faces, the voices. "I... I have to..."

Is this it?

"She had a heart attack," he heard someone say through the echoes. Who said that? He wanted to literally punch that person 'cause he felt a punch in his gut. How could words hurt so much? He couldn't concentrate. Everyone is talking. Everything is so loud. Machines, voices, sobs. Everything hurts. His body, his heart. What is happening?

He couldn't see any panic in the doctors' faces. Was it because of his blurred vision? Was it because they were used to seeing people in their last minutes? Which one is it? His heart broke to more pieces by the second.

He could do nothing.

He could do nothing but stand there and watch the love of his life slowly letting go. Don't.

Why does it feel like a dead end?

Things get hazier more and more, and he felt tremendously sick witnessing doctors try to save a life, machines do what they were supposed to do—tell you if you're dying or not, and a patient who can do nothing.

He couldn't stomach the fact that he was only a spectator.

Beep. Did he hear beeping? What was it? It hurt his ears.

His jaw slowly dropped as he fell once more to his knees. All he knew was that he could hear one long beep, and he knew what it meant.

He wanted to scream. He tried but nothing came out at first. When it dawned on him that he lost his life, a cry of pure agony resonated through the corridors as if the white walls were smeared with red paint, only invisible but definitely palpable.

"Time of death,—"

He did not hear the rest, for he ran away like a lost child, driven by his misery and heartbreak. He ran as much as his physique allowed him to. His feet led him to a set of stairs, and more stairs. And some more.

It was a miracle that he reached the top. His face was wet with a mixture of sweat and tears. He couldn't feel it all, though. All that's left was the pain in his heart.

He reached for the door in front of him, his shaking hand held the knob firmly.

Sunlight bathed his exposed skin as soon as he opened the door.

He walked to the middle of the empty rooftop. It was only then that he felt how little energy he has left. Every step proved to be difficult. Just a few more steps. If he could only endure a little more...

As he drew closer to the ledge, his feet finally decided to give up. He fell to his knees yet again, most probably bruising them. It didn't matter, he's always had bruises. The pain was nothing compared to the loss he experienced.

He inhaled a lungful of air, as he was on fours on the ground. Even his arms were extremely shaking. He couldn't take it anymore. One arm gave up, causing his shoulder to hit the ground. And so he chose to yield to the pain and lie down instead. He squinted for the sun was blinding.

He breathed out, hoping to exhale the heartbreak. He whimpered and wept with the little energy left in his frail body.

"I promised I won't leave you again..."

He swallowed even though it hurt to do so.

"But it didn't mean you couldn't leave me." He laughed bitterly at his own joke. It wasn't funny at all.

At least let me fulfill that promise, baby girl.

He stood up with regained strength. He held on to the ledge for as tight as he could for support, ignoring the nausea when he looked down. Thankfully, there were no cars directly below where he stood.

He just had to get to Eury. That was his goal. He had to get to her, even if he was only a few minutes late. He had to.

He lifted a foot up but kept his firm hold on the ledge, hugging it even. He rested for a while, gathering some more strength to sit up. He breathed hardly all throughout.

He accomplished sitting up on the ledge. This is it, he thought.

He closed his eyes and felt a slight breeze, he thought it was pushing him, or pulling him down rather.

He let the winds carry him, and he kept his eyes closed.

Soon after, Van was oblivious to his surroundings. His heart was still beating, but the ability to comprehend what just happened had already left him. As if he drowned in the ocean of red liquid, he was helpless. His completely broken ribs that punctured his damaged lungs meant nothing to him but to his senses.

From above, he was a fallen angel outlined in red.