Before Nightfall

CHAPTER 11: We'll be Home Soon

So this is how a hospital smells: oddly fragrant and foul at the same time. Aurora's room has this faint scent of disinfectant. She's fast asleep in her bed, like a child taking its afternoon nap. I make room for the things we brought on the end table while Mr. Ocampo and Celine go outside to buy food and snacks. "What did the doctor say?" I ask. Mrs. Ocampo. "They said it's not going to be long until Mom's health will severely deteriorate." She replies. Aurora's always been a cheerful one. It must be a surprise seeing her at this state, even I am surprised. "You know, things like this were bound to happen. Everything eventually ends. The only difference is that it happens sooner or later. I'm sure Mom lived plenty," she continues.

The others had gone back to the city. They agreed to visit every other day since it's only an hour away from the hospital. Aurora is awake and watching a Mexican telenovela, about a girl named Isabel who swore to avenge her father who was accused of murder. Isabela climbs her way to extravagance by marrying an old fella for the sole purpose of his money. Awaiting his death, Isabel had an affair with the gardener, whom she marries at the end of the drama. For Aurora, it's a classic, a novelty, a perfect representation of love and reality. She even sheds a tear at the end of it.

Aurora and I are the only ones in the hospital tonight. The Ocampos went back to the city this morning to take a rest and settle some things with their business. Aurora is watching the same drama from the other day. She must have liked it a lot to watch the same thing over and over again. She's peeling the oranges on her bed while her eyes are glued on the television screen. She hands me a peeled one. I've decided to tell her about Hernan. I get the hatbox from my bag and puts it on the bed. "What's this?" she asks. "It's a gift," I say. Aurora opens the box and finds her letters inside. Astounded, she looks at me and asks, "Luna, where did you get this? These were my letter from a long time ago. My letters to Hernan." I tell her all about my journey: Hugo's grandfather, the farm in Sitio Marilao, and the two caretakers, how Hernan lived his days after coming home from Europe, the horses in the stables, and the then I tell her about his death.

"Thank you, Luna. Thank you so much for this gift." Her eyes are starting to swell. Aurora smiles at me, but I can see the sadness in her face. She lets out a sigh before speaking, "I've always thought him to be dead by now. I have given up all the hopes of ever meeting him again. But you know what, maybe I can, just not in this world. Maybe this time, Hernan is the one waiting for me somewhere else. That I would like to see." She hugs me tight and gives me a peck on the cheek. I turn off the television, slowly putting her to bed and turn the lights off, leaving the nightstand lamp open. "Good night," I say. And before she closes her eyes, she utters, "I'm coming home soon, Dear."