"Aira..."
Her footsteps stopped.
The voice was weak. Fragile.
But she would recognize it even in death.
"Sweetheart..."
Aira slowly turned around.
Her mother was awake.
For a second, she couldn't breathe.
Time itself seemed slow.
The bottle slipped from her trembling fingers and rolled across the floor, the sound strangely loud inside the silent room.
No.
This couldn't be real.
After days of prayers, fear, sleepless nights and unbearable silence...
Her mother was finally looking at her again.
Tears blurred Aira's vision before she even realized she was crying.
Then she ran to her.
The moment her mother's arms wrapped weakly around her, something inside Aira shattered completely.
Not from pain.
Relief.
Pure, overwhelming relief.
She buried her face against her mother's shoulder, holding her as though letting go for even a second would steal her away again.
Neither of them spoke.
They didn't need to.
The quiet sound of Aira's sobs filled the room softly enough for heaven itself to hear.
After a long moment, Aira pulled away reluctantly and wiped her tears with trembling hands.
She quickly grabbed her phone and called her father.
The call rang.
Once.
Twice.
No answer.
Anxiety crept back into her chest.
She typed quickly:
"Dad, Mom woke up."
"I tried calling you."
"Please come soon."
She rushed towards the door, then suddenly stopped midway.
As if remembering something important.
Slowly, she turned back.
Her mother was still looking at her.
Smiling through weak, exhausted eyes.
And somehow...
that scared Aira more than the coma did.
Aira tightened her fingers around her mother's hand carefully, almost as if she feared this moment would vanish if she let go.
"Mom, let me get the doctor. I'll be right back."
Her mother gave a faint nod.
Aira hurried out of the room and returned moments later with the doctor.
As the doctor checked her mother, Aira stood quietly behind them, tense and restless like a child waiting outside an examination hall.
But her mind remained stuck on one thing.
Her father.
She checked her phone again.
Delivered.
Still unread.
Her thumb hovered over his contact once more.
She almost called.
Then stopped herself.
Maybe he had finally fallen asleep after days of exhaustion.
But the news inside her chest felt far too big to keep waiting.
So she called again.
No answer.
A strange uneasiness settled quietly inside her.
Before she could think further, the doctors finished their examination.
"She seems stable for now," the doctor said calmly.
"We'll run a full evaluation tomorrow morning and continue the medication accordingly."
Then the doctor left the room.
The door clicked shut behind him.
Silence settled softly between them.
Their eyes met.
And somehow, Aira's eyes said everything she couldn't put into words.
I missed you.
She sat beside her mother again, holding onto her hand as though she still feared letting go.
They spoke quietly for a while.
Nothing important.
Yet somehow, every small word mattered.
Then suddenly, the door burst open with a loud thud.
Aira flinched and turned around.
Her father rushed inside, nearly slipping as he stopped himself against the door.
His breathing was heavy.
His eyes immediately found his wife.
Aira stared at him in confusion.
"Dad...? How did you get here so fast?"
Almost instinctively, she glanced down at her phone.
Still unseen.
"I saw your message in the notification and came straight here," he replied absentmindedly, unable to take his eyes off his wife.
Then slowly...
carefully...
he walked toward her.
As though moving too fast would disturb the moment.
"I called you so many times," Aira said softly. "I thought you were asleep."
A small smile almost appeared on her lips.
She could already feel herself becoming invisible between the two of them, like an accidental third wheel in her own family.
"I saw your message, grabbed the keys, and ran out," her father replied quietly. "I left my phone behind."
His eyes never left his wife even for a second.
Then suddenly... her mother looked at Aira.
Confused.
"Who is he?"
The room went silent. Completely.
Her father stopped mid-step.
The color drained from his face so quickly it frightened Aira.
Even she froze for a moment.
Just moment ago, her mother had spoken normally.
So why...
why was she looking at him like a stranger?
Then Aira noticed it.
The tiny smirk hidden at the corner of her mother's lips.
And instantly, she understood.
Her mother was teasing him.
Relief hit her so fast she almost laughed.
"Mom..." Aira muttered under her breath.
Her father, however, looked seconds away from completely falling apart.
"Dear..." he said weakly as he hurried to her side, holding her hand tightly. "It's me. Your husband. Aira's father."
He held onto her hand like letting it go would collapse his entire world.
Then finally...
his composure broke.
Tears slipped down his face before he could stop them.
Her mother's teasing smile softened immediately.
She had wanted to tease him longer.
But seeing him like this made her heart ache.
"It's alright," he said quietly before she could speak.
"As long as you're awake... nothing else matters. Even if you forgot me."
Sometimes love was terrifyingly simple.
As long as the person stayed...
nothing else mattered.
A helpless smile appeared on both their faces.
"I was just teasing you," her mother whispered softly.
For a second, he simply stared at her.
Completely speechless.
Then his expression shifted somewhere between relief, disbelief, and betrayal.
That look alone was enough to make her burst into laughter.
Aira started laughing too.
Even he let out a breathless laugh as he wiped his eyes.
"What?" her mother asked, trying to hold back her laughter.
"Are you mad at me?"
He looked at Aira before answering his wife.
"You two played along surprisingly well," he muttered.
But a quiet promise of revenge in his tone was impossible to miss.
Their laughter slowly filled the hospital room.
And for the first time in what felt like forever...
the room no longer felt heavy.
Aira sat quietly letting herself absorb the moment.
It had been so long since things last felt this warm.
That night, her father never went back to rest.
Somehow, staying awake beside them felt far more peaceful than sleep itself.
And strangely...
the night no longer felt endless.
By the next morning, they had informed every close friend and relative.
Her aunt and Shasha arrived almost immediately after hearing the news.
Before long, the hospital room was filled with relieved smiles, quiet laughter, and overlapping conversations.
For the first time in days, the atmosphere felt light.
Aira picked up a tray of fruits and headed toward the lobby.
Then suddenly...
her footsteps halted midway.
More visitors had arrived.
His family among them.
And him.
Some people walk in quietly... yet manage to disturb every thought inside you.
It had already been a few days since she last saw him.
Yet the moment he stepped inside, every word he had said that day came rushing back into her mind.
He noticed her almost immediately.
Then gave a small nod.
Somehow, his gaze seemed softer this time.
Warmer than the cold finality of his words that day.
Aira greeted his parents politely, nodded back at him, then quietly walked away before her thoughts could betray her expression.
Her hands continued working absentmindedly, but her mind wandered somewhere else entirely.
Why did he confess if he never wanted a relationship?
And why did his words still affect me this much?
What did he mean when he said he "couldn't choose this"?
So it wasn't one-sided after all.
Then why did it still hurt?
Her thoughts shattered the moment the knife suddenly nicked her finger.
"Ah—"
A sharp sting pulled her back to reality.
A tiny drop of blood surfaced against her fingertip.
It almost felt like her mind was warning her heart:
Don't go down that road again.
But hearts were stubborn things.
The more they were told not to feel something...
the deeper they fell anyway.
Should I ask him?
He was the one who confessed first.
Maybe she should stop pretending she didn't care anymore.
Maybe talking honestly would change something.
Or maybe it wouldn't.
But at least then...
she wouldn't regret staying silent.
Still, her mind remembered this feeling all too well.
It remembered unanswered emotions.
Waiting.
Hoping.
Hurting.
Her mind was terrified her heart would break itself all over again.
But her heart refused to listen.
Lost in her thoughts, Aira didn't even realize she had already stopped near the doorway.
"Aira..."
The voice snapped her back instantly.
She blinked and looked down at the fruit in her hands.
Some pieces were unevenly cut.
Others hadn't even been peeled properly.
And somehow...
that mess looked exactly like the state of her heart.