Last Hope (Completed)

Chapter 20

Day 21 February 25, 2019 8:30 am

Sarah and Remy grew weaker as another week have gone by. Sarah glanced around the shelter when she woke up. She felt lightheaded and didn't have the energy to get up. Then she looked at Remy who was still sound asleep. Remy has not eaten for two days due to the intense pain she was having and has been drinking very little water. Sarah also noticed that Remy was not able to go to the bathroom for more than a day. For those reasons, Sarah had also lost her appetite. She had been eating less and less as each day passes them by. She and Remy have lost an incredible amount of weight since their first day on the island. Sarah forced herself to get up. She checked whether or not Remy was still breathing. She was relieved to see her chest rising and falling. Then she sat on the bed of leaves, staring at the walls of their little shelter. She felt too weak to even move, but her mouth felt extremely dry. She wanted some water, and she knew she must convince Remy to at least drink some too if she wanted to keep her alive. Sarah grimaced in pain as she stood up. Her world started spinning. She felt like vomiting. She tried to hold herself together. Then she got the mason jars and left the shelter. Sarah fell to the ground right next to the stream. She felt like sleeping on the cold grass. Her body was extremely tired. Then she thought of Remy and immediately pushed herself to keep going. She wanted to keep her alive, even though she felt like the end was drawing near for the two of them. After getting some water, she placed the three jars by the fire to boil the water in them. Then she took the fourth jar, poured a bit of its cold water into a clean cloth and gently used the wet cloth to hydrate Remy's dry and chapped lips. Sarah stared at Remy who stayed asleep as Sarah gently wet her lips. "Remy," she said softly. "Day twenty-one. Morning," she said. Her voice was scratchy. Sarah couldn't wait for the water to boil, she decided to take a sip of the cold water from the stream without boiling it. The water made her cough a little. She grimaced in pain as her whole body throbbed. Her hands were shaking. "Remy," she said. Then she caressed Remy's face all the way to her shoulder. "Gising ka muna, inom tayo ng tubig oh," she said. Then she took a deep breath as she closed her eyes. She was trying so hard not to fall asleep. "Remy," she said as she opened her eyes again. Then she realized Remy has stayed asleep in one position all night. She figured twelve hours have gone by with Remy sleeping on the same position. "Kelangan mo na bumangon, Remy. Lamog lamog na nga yang likod mo tapos magkaka-sore pa. Gising ka na muna," she said. She took a deep breath again. Within minutes, the water from the mason jars that she placed by the fire started boiling. She carefully took them out and put them to the side. Remy was still asleep. Sarah didn't know what to do with her. "Remy," she said to her again. This time, she lifted Remy's head up. Remy tried to open her eyes, but they seemed like they were stuck together. Sarah got another cloth and poured water in it. Then she used the wet cloth to clean Remy's eyes. "Hi," Sarah said with a weak smile. Remy stared at her weakly as well. "Hi," Remy answered, but speaking gave her a coughing fit. Sarah swallowed as she stared at her friend. "Water, inom ka muna ng water," she said to her. Remy obediently took a sip as Sarah held the mason jar by her mouth. "More, Remy," Sarah instructed, but Remy shook her head. "No, Remy. More. Para sakin?" Sarah said again. She had been using herself to motivate Remy, and it seemed to pay off. Remy downed a couple of gulps, but she ended up throwing up the water afterwards. "Remy," Sarah said worriedly. She used a cloth to dry Remy's wet mouth, jaw and neck. "Love you, Remy," she said. She had been telling Remy she loved her over and over just in case she doesn't get another chance to say it again. Remy gave her a faint smile. "Love you," she replied, but Sarah barely heard it. Sarah smiled at her friend. "Ano, tatry natin ngayon?" She asked. Remy nodded. She had been cooperative every time Sarah tries to feed her, but her own body rejected the food. "Thank you," Sarah said. "More Remy," she added. Then she gave Remy some more water. Remy drank a few gulps. This time, she was able to hold it in, but Sarah could tell it took a great effort for her not to vomit again. "Thank you," she said. Remy closed her eyes again. "Remy, pwede 'wag ka na matulog? Try natin kumain today? Okay lang ba yun?" Sarah asked. The sweetness and gentleness of her voice made Remy try her hardest to stay awake as she nodded. "Kukuha lang ako ng fish, tapos ng dandelions, tapos may banana pa naman eh, gawan kita ng soup para madali kainin," Sarah said, and Remy nodded in return. "Tapos tuturn tayo sa side ha, kasi buong gabi ka na naka-flat ng higa. Baka magka-sore ka eh," Sarah said. Remy nodded again. Then Sarah pushed everything out of the way so that Remy could lay on her side. Remy cried as Sarah moved her body. Sarah started crying, too. "Pasensya na, pasensya na, Remy," she said as tears fell from her eyes. "Alam ko, alam ko masakit," she said. Then she started sobbing. "Sorry, sorry," she said as she hugged Remy gently who was sobbing quietly with her eyes closed. Tears still managed to come out from her eyes. Remy struggled to stay on her side. She cried the whole time which let Sarah know she was in too much pain to even lay on her side. Sarah closed her eyes. She didn't know what to do anymore. She had no choice but to use the luggage as a pillow. She put it behind Remy's back to help support Remy as she laid on her side. Remy cried the whole time. Sarah did, too. It was breaking her heart to see her friend in so much pain. It broke her heart even more to feel hopeless and to not know what else she could do to help ease the pain.