Borrowed Time (completed)

16. confinement

"Yes?" Sam said as he and Gordon approached Rj's room and saw two guys standing outside the door.

"Sir Sam?" Boboy spoke.

"Yes?" Sam replied, a little surprised that one of them knew him.

"Si Boboy po ako. Si Ariel." Boboy pointed to himself then to Ariel beside him. "Sinama po kami ni Senyora"

"Boboy! Ariel! Kamusta kayo?" Sam's face brightened upon recognizing the two.

"Okay naman po."

"Si Ate?" Sam said as he turned to look at the door.

"Opo. Nasa loob na po sila ni Senyor" Ariel nodded.

Suddenly, they heard a loud beeping sound. Before they could open the door, nurses from the nurses station ran toward Rj's door. The four men moved away as they nurses barged into Rj's room.

Meng was holding on to Rj's hand and stroking his shoulder and head as he cried and breathed heavily. Papa held on to Mama who was also hysterically crying on one side.

"Rose, kumalma ka pwede ba!" Papa admonished Mama as he pulled her away from the bed.

"Ikki!" Mama wailed.

Rj was still thrashing slightly as Meng bent down and quietly and calmly spoke with him."Shhh....wag kang gagalaw masyado. It's okay..."'

"...di...di ako ready...di ako ready makita sila...." Rj pleaded his tears flowing freely. Meng quietly wiped his tears with her hands.

"...naiintindihan kita pero Mama at Papa mo pa rin sila..."

"...not now...not now...please...please..." Rj begged.

At this point, the Resident doctor who rushed into the room with the nurses asked for Dr. Migs to be called. An oxygen mask was also placed over Rj's nose and mouth. The heart rate monitor that was set off earlier had been reset and the beeping sound returned to 'normal'.

"Sam?" Dr. Migs said as he rushed to Rj's room.

"Migs. Tumunog bigla yung monitor..."

Dr. Migs rushed in as some nurses filed out of the room. Meng straightened up while still stroking Rj's head and hair. He was still sobbing but more calmly now. His eyes were closed as tears trickled down from his eyes. Meng gently wiped it off with tissues. Migs listend to Rj's chest and checked on his wound. After a few minutes, Rj's breathing normalized as evidenced by the steady rise and fall of his chest. His facial expression softened, too, signalling that he had relaxed and fallen asleep.