In Time

-Thirty Four-

"...I'm so s-sorry......it's all my f-f-fault that you're in this s-state..." I struggled to make out the words that the voice was trying to say.

I could feel myself fading away, going off to sleep. An endless, dreamless sleep forever. It felt like such a comforting idea. I felt warm and loved. I was being held in the arms of my protector, and I wasn't afraid of anything that was to come. I was ready.

"...X-Xavier, please you can't d-d-die on me......I've l-lost you so many times..."

Who did that voice belong to? Did I know that girl? Why was my heart wrenching as I thought of her? No, I wasn't ready to fall asleep yet. I had to open my eyes, I had to see this person speaking to me for myself.

As I rebelled against my drowsy brain to regain consciousness, my hearing began to clear up and I could hear the wailing of an ambulance siren in the background. I filtered that out as white noise immediately and struggled to open my eyes. My whole body ached with every single movement that I tried to make; it felt as though there was a twig threatening to puncture my lungs with every breath that I drew.

I was hit by a blurry of vision as I forced my eyelids apart. I was hooked up on an oxygen mask; I could see it obscuring the bottom periphery of my vision. Someone was standing over me. As I tried to focus on the person's face to make out her identity, I could see that she'd been crying. Her face was puffy and blotched and tears were streaked all over her cheeks. Who was she? She definitely had to be someone important to me, to cry over me like that.

"X! X! OH MY GOD! You're awake! Thank the heavens! I was so worried you're gonna die...no touch wood, of course you're gonna survive! What am I saying!" the girl looked as if she wanted to envelope me in a bear hug, but seemed to have decided against it last minute. There were two other people in the vehicle, one focusing on the myriad of machines and tubes hooked up to me and the other attending to my injuries. I was a mess; the body didn't look like my own.

I winced in response to the pain and clenched my jaws tight together with all my might to restrain from screaming out. I was determined to search the recesses of my memory for the identity of this girl.

"Xavier, I just knew that you were going to pull through! After all I did to keep your butterfly alive," she unrolled her sleeve, revealing a tattoo of a blue papillon butterfly on the underside of her wrist. "I-I named him after you, and I-I'd stopped cutting..." she tried to stifle a sob.

"Young lady, please calm down. Rest assured that your friend is going to be alright. After we fix him up at the hospital that is," the paramedic helped me articulate the comforting words that I was unable to.

"Yeah, of course, he's going to be fine. He's the bravest person that I know. And also the stupidest person."

I tried to force a smile under the oxygen mask. My whole body throbbed in retaliation, but something within me told me that I'd to reassure this girl that I was going to be alright.

Sleep took over. It was a comforting feeling, to finally be free of the excruciating pain.

------

As I roused from my heavy slumber, I first heard the shouts of playing children. The air was cool and there was a tinge of flowery fragrance. It must be spring again. I forced open my heavy eyelids, massaging my stiff neck instinctively. I'd fallen asleep on the stone bench again.

"Xavier, you're awake," I heard a voice from behind me. It sounded so familiar, yet foreign at the same time. I knew that I had some record of the voice somewhere in the deep recesses of my mind but I simply couldn't put my finger on it at that moment. I turned.