Star & Twinkle (Completed)

Chapter 32

Within an hour, the doctor came out. Allan immediately stood up and walked straight to him. Patrick and Jackson both woke up and followed Allan. "Doc, yung anak ko ho, kamusta na sya?" Allan asked anxiously. His eyes welled up with tears again. The doctor took a long hard look at Allan and took a deep breath. "Sir, we had successfully removed all the bullet fragments on your daughter's chest and surrounding areas. We were also able to stop the internal bleeding," the doctor said. Allan sighed in relief. The doctor continued, "However, the damage the bullet had caused was too much for your daughter's body. I'm sorry to inform you, but your daughter's heart failed for the third time and we did all that we could to save her. During surgery, we did what we could to stabilize her vitals but her blood pressure and heartrate kept declining. We kept having to get her vitals to climb up, but when it does, it doesn't usually stay that way until before we closed her up. We thought her vitals were finally at a steady rate and that the surgery was a success, but it suddenly crashed in a matter of seconds, and her heartrate has come to a complete stop. I had mentioned earlier that if her heart fails the third time, she might not make it anymore and we might not be able to save her. And that's exactly what happened. I'm sorry po. We did everything that we could," the doctor said as he took another deep breath. "No, no, no, no, no. She's fine. She just needs a little more work on her. I'm sure you can bring her back again. You did it twice. You can do it the third time. Please. Please go back there. I need you to try again. Please, I'm begging you. Ngayon ko lang nahanap ang anak ko, this is not the end for her. Please, don't give up on her. I know she's still here. Please," Allan pleaded. He kept begging and crying until Vicky woke up from inside the room. She gasped for air. Millie did too. Their hearts were beating fast. Vicky looked at Millie before she darted outside. Millie was hesitant to follow. Star was still asleep after getting another dose of pain medication, so Millie felt the need to stay in the room just in case Star wakes up. She moved next to Star's bed as she shut her eyes. Allan's yells from outside tells her something bad has happened to Twinkle and she's deathly afraid to find out.

When Vicky found Allan holding on to the wall and sobbing, she knew the doctor had some bad news. Patrick immediately hugged her. Even he couldn't control all of his emotions. "Wait babe, what's going on?" She asked as she broke free from Patrick and made her way towards the doctor. "I'm sorry. We did everything we can—" the doctor started to say, but Vicky didn't give him the chance to explain. "No. Doc, try one more time. Ano na lang sasabihin ko sa nanay nya? Please. Gigising yun. I know Twinkle. Mantika lang talaga matulog yun, doc. Kilala ko yan, mahilig manakot yan. Pero gigising din yan. Asan sya? Ako gigising sa kanya. Come on, take me to her. We're wasting time," Vicky said, as she tried to stop herself from panicking. Her tears streamed down her face nonstop. The doctor took a deep breath and nodded for them to come. Vicky looked back at Jackson. "Jackson, ikaw na muna bahala kanila Millie at Star," she said and Jackson nodded in return. The doctor led them towards the entrance of the operating room. Allan and Patrick went in with Vicky. Upon entering, they saw Twinkle's lifeless body laying on the operating table. She was attached to a ventilator; a tube was still inserted to her mouth. The heart monitor showed a continues flat line that ran across the screen. No vitals were recorded on the monitor which made all three of them sob especially Allan and Vicky. Vicky rushed towards Twinkle. She quickly wiped her tears and pretended as if everything was alright. "Twinks, ayan ka nanaman," she started to say but failed to continue as she choked up on her words. She sobbed a little before trying to speak again. "Lagi mo na lang kami tinatakot. Gumising ka na, please," she said then she sobbed again as she stroked Twinkle's hair. "Si ate mo, mag-woworry yun sayo pag-gising nya. Kaya gising ka na din. Gising na. Mantika ka talaga matulog oh. Sige na, anak. Sige na. Gumising ka na. Twinkle," Vicky said as she shook Twinkle's lifeless body. "Sige ka, kakargahin ka nanaman ng tito P mo. Or better yet, si sir Allan na lang, dba sir Allan? I bet gigising ka na pag-kinarga ka nila," Vicky said as she wiped her tears. "Twinkle, hindi na nakakatawa oh, nalulungkot na si tita V sayo oh. Sabi mo nun ayaw mo kaming nakikitang malungkot ng ate mo. Malungkot nako. Malungkot na malungkot na oh. Kelangan kita para pasayahin ako ulit, Twinks. Kelangan ka naming lahat. Ikaw yung nag-papalakas samin eh. Ako? Sabi mo I'm one of the strongest people you know? No, Twinkle. I was strong because I had you and your sister. Nakayanan ko lahat all these years dahil sa inyo ni Star. I can't lose you now, Twinks. I can't. Bumangon ka na dyan. Please. Twinkle. Twinkle!!!" Vicky yelled. She wailed this time as she shook Twinkle's body again. She crumpled Twinkle's hospital gown as she sobbed. She gently scooped Twinkle into her arms and pulled her into an embrace. She sobbed as she hugged her tight. Allan and Patrick rushed to her side and was crying hard, too. "This is not happening, Twinks. Bakit umabot sa ganito? Ginawa naman namin lahat para sayo, para laging nasa maayos ka, para lagi kang healthy at safe at masaya. Twinks, kinaya namin ng ate mo lahat noon because you're here and you're worth it. You're worth everything we've been through. Kinaya namin pareho ng ate mo because of you. Don't leave us. Please don't leave us," Vicky begged as she held Twinkle in her arms. "Mahal na mahal kita, Twinkle. Mahal na mahal ka ng tita V," she whispered. She gently placed Twinkle down as she cried even harder. "Rick, Al, I can't. I just can't. We can't let this happen. This is not true. Nananaginip lang ako. Why is she not responding? No, please Lord. Twinkle is not dead. She's not dead," Vicky wept. Patrick took Vicky away as she cried out loud. Allan went close to Twinkle's head. "Sweetheart," he whispered as tears fell down his face. He caressed his daughter's face slowly. "Dad's here. Andito nako. I'm sorry it took this long. I know you. Your fight is not over yet. I know you have a great fighting spirit left in you. Use that, anak. You're one of the strongest people I know. I haven't had enough time with you yet, my love. Gusto ko pa bumawi sayo. Madami pa akong gustong gawin kasama mo. Do this for your dad, anak. For your mom, too. I need you, anak. Your mom needs you. We all need you. Please wake up," he whispered as he too tried to stop himself from sobbing but failed. "We haven't had the chance to get to know each other more, the chance to bond, the chance to make up for lost time. Please ibigay mo naman sakin yung chance na yun oh. I did not get my memories back just for this to happen. Matapos bumalik lahat ng alaala ko, ito naman ang kapalit. I refuse that. Hindi pwede yun, anak. I'm not settling for that," he said as he kept shaking his head. He sobbed and looked up at the ceiling, "My God, you have the power to do all things. Nothing is impossible with you. You have brought my memories back and I have found my daughter, and I ask in the Lord's name for you to bring her back, too. Bring her back now, Lord. Bring her back to life, please," he said as he wept. He kissed his daughter in the forehead for a long time. "You're coming back to me, anak. You're coming back to all of us. We're all here waiting for you lalo na ako at ang mommy mo. I know you're coming back. I know you are. By His power, you're coming back to me, to us. And I can't wait to be with you, love," he kissed his daughter's forehead again. Then he took Twinkle's lifeless hand and placed it in his chest. He let his forehead touch Twinkle's forehead. "I love you, anak," he whispered. He stayed in that position for a few more minutes. Then he started sobbing. He put his arm under Twinkle's neck gently and carefully scooped her into his arms. She still felt warm to the touch. He hugged his lifeless daughter tight and cried by her shoulder. After a while, he was starting to accept that the daughter he had been desperate to meet, the daughter he had been desperately longing for, is now gone.