'It's just a spark but it's enough to keep me going. And when it's dark out, no one's around, it keeps glowing.'
she was walking through the graveyard when she spotted him leaning over a particular grave. she made her way towards him and as her eyes fell on the gravestone, she froze in place.
the name on the gravestone was her father's.
in the glare of the flashlight, the words under his name could be read.
"a father abandoned by his only daughter," her companion read the sentence aloud in a monotonous voice.
that was when she started screaming.
"miss, wake up!" a voice yelled. "you're disturbing the other patients of the hospital."
she jolted awake to find a nurse bending over her, shaking her shoulders.
"sorry," she apologized, feeling embarrassed when she saw the stares of the other people seated in the waiting room.
the nurse smiled at the audience in what was supposed to be a comforting manner and walked out of the room.
after most of the crowd looked away, a man continued to glare at her. he was holding a baby close to him as he did so, like she would snap at any moment and attack his child.
she didn't entirely blame him, because she looked like a mess. her hair was tangled and knotted, her eyes were red from shedding tears and as a result of the nightmare, her face was twisted into a grotesque expression (which she tried to mould into a smile).
however, she was disappointed by the lack of compassion shown in the room. after all, in this building where the experiences of life, illness and death were shared by strangers, one would expect some kind of bond to be formed by the people waiting for news of their loved ones.
but the strangers around her were all absorbed in their own miracles and misfortunes, not bothering to spare a few moments to inquire about her condition.
"so much for sympathy," she muttered to herself, drawing a few irritated glances.
she couldn't help but think about him. the one who believed in all that was good in the universe. would he find something positive to say about this room? try to cheer her up with optimistic words? or just give her a shoulder to lean on?
no matter how much she claimed otherwise, she needed someone to offer support. she had always been anchored, firm in her beliefs and choices. but she found herself being pushed around by currents of negative thoughts and regrets and she did not know how to stabilize herself.
she looked outside of the window, hoping to see the stars that never let her feel alone, but the only lights she saw were flickering streetlights that were not very successful in dispelling the dark.
sighing, she drew her knees to her chest, as if trying to emulate an island in a raging sea. she could not let herself be destroyed by the battering waves of doubt.
she had decided to move out. she had not meant to lose touch with her parents. she was not a terrible daughter. these words were chanted over and over by her mentally, until all other thoughts were pushed into the dusty broom-closet of her mind.
after a few minutes, her mother stepped into the room.
"he's alright," she told her daughter. "he wants to see you."
the words were enough to give her the strength she required, and maybe they would never fix all the mistakes she had made, but they meant that she could still attempt to make up for them.
she put her feet on the floor and started the journey that could help her re-build the bridges she had burned down once.
-
The protagonists will meet again next chapter! I missed their interactions too. ;-;
