He slowly opened his eyes half-mast, watching the bright rectangular lights of the hospital ceiling pass over his head. Incoherent voices surrounded him, distant and alarmed.
“Male approximately 27 years of age… car accident, head trauma, and internal bleeding.”
He came to an abrupt stop and felt himself being carried away from the gurney and onto another bed. His body remained limp as they punctured several needles and tubes into him. He felt the sudden pressure, but the pain did not register.
What happened again? Oh, right. The truck driver didn’t see him pull out of the driveway. Who brought him here, then? He couldn’t recall any sound of sirens, getting inside an ambulance or anything of the sort.
~*~
She desperately tried to keep up with the pace of the moving gurney. Her legs seemed heavier with each step she took, eyes stinging from the tears that continuously flowed down her flushed cheeks and onto the cold linoleum floor.
“How are you related to him, miss?” asked a nurse who was running on the opposite side of the rolling stretcher.
“He’s my husband,” she replied without hesitation.
~*~Flashback~*~
She jammed the key into the ignition and maneuvered the clutch as she readied herself to back out from the garage.
He was coming home late tonight from his business trip. Her stomach churned excitedly as she envisaged herself finally seizing the opportunity to take his face into her small hands and plant soft kisses all over his features.
And what better way to welcome him with a surprise dinner she lovingly prepared all by herself?
The engine silently rumbled as she sped through the dark empty street. All the shops were closed by then; nothing else illuminated the gloom but the street lights that gave off a blunt yellowish light overhead. The 24-hour grocery store materialized from a distance.
To make dinner, you need ingredients, of course, she thought to herself wryly.
A shabby motel in the opposite side of the road stood out in the darkness. But it wasn’t the motel that caught her attention. No, it was far from the motel. It was the sleek black car that was slowly pulling out of the driveway.
“No,” she breathed. Not again. He can’t be doing this again. Her heart pumped madly as her breathing shortened with every second that passed. She shook her head vigorously left and right, forcing herself to reject what she had just seen.
All that happened next became a numbing blur.
Her eyes widened in horror as a truck emerged from the darkness that came speeding dangerously fast. Its monstrous front end loomed over the car frighteningly, crushing against the side of the small black vehicle and sending it off to skid a few meters away before it halted to a complete stop.
The sound of the impact was bloodcurdling.
She sat in her car, frozen.
~*~
His ears strained to hear for a familiar voice amongst the sea of noise and commotion. Relief washed over him as he heard her small sweet voice, overpowering all pain and suffering.
“Mia?”
“I’m here, honey. Everything’s going to be all right,” she replied, her cold and tremulous hand giving his lifeless one a weak squeeze of assurance.
Her eyes darted from his blood-encrusted face to his hand and saw the silver ring that signified their eternal commitment. A feeble smile crossed her lips as she wiped the blood that tarnished the small piece and looked up once more at the very heart of everything she lived for.
“Mia…”
“Yes?” she replied weakly as she reached out to touch his face. The warmth in his eyes seemed to obscure all the noise that surrounded them, leaving her only to listen to the sound of his frail and hoarse voice.
“Tell Claire…I love her.”
“Male approximately 27 years of age… car accident, head trauma, and internal bleeding.”
He came to an abrupt stop and felt himself being carried away from the gurney and onto another bed. His body remained limp as they punctured several needles and tubes into him. He felt the sudden pressure, but the pain did not register.
What happened again? Oh, right. The truck driver didn’t see him pull out of the driveway. Who brought him here, then? He couldn’t recall any sound of sirens, getting inside an ambulance or anything of the sort.
~*~
She desperately tried to keep up with the pace of the moving gurney. Her legs seemed heavier with each step she took, eyes stinging from the tears that continuously flowed down her flushed cheeks and onto the cold linoleum floor.
“How are you related to him, miss?” asked a nurse who was running on the opposite side of the rolling stretcher.
“He’s my husband,” she replied without hesitation.
~*~Flashback~*~
She jammed the key into the ignition and maneuvered the clutch as she readied herself to back out from the garage.
He was coming home late tonight from his business trip. Her stomach churned excitedly as she envisaged herself finally seizing the opportunity to take his face into her small hands and plant soft kisses all over his features.
And what better way to welcome him with a surprise dinner she lovingly prepared all by herself?
The engine silently rumbled as she sped through the dark empty street. All the shops were closed by then; nothing else illuminated the gloom but the street lights that gave off a blunt yellowish light overhead. The 24-hour grocery store materialized from a distance.
To make dinner, you need ingredients, of course, she thought to herself wryly.
A shabby motel in the opposite side of the road stood out in the darkness. But it wasn’t the motel that caught her attention. No, it was far from the motel. It was the sleek black car that was slowly pulling out of the driveway.
“No,” she breathed. Not again. He can’t be doing this again. Her heart pumped madly as her breathing shortened with every second that passed. She shook her head vigorously left and right, forcing herself to reject what she had just seen.
All that happened next became a numbing blur.
Her eyes widened in horror as a truck emerged from the darkness that came speeding dangerously fast. Its monstrous front end loomed over the car frighteningly, crushing against the side of the small black vehicle and sending it off to skid a few meters away before it halted to a complete stop.
The sound of the impact was bloodcurdling.
She sat in her car, frozen.
~*~
His ears strained to hear for a familiar voice amongst the sea of noise and commotion. Relief washed over him as he heard her small sweet voice, overpowering all pain and suffering.
“Mia?”
“I’m here, honey. Everything’s going to be all right,” she replied, her cold and tremulous hand giving his lifeless one a weak squeeze of assurance.
Her eyes darted from his blood-encrusted face to his hand and saw the silver ring that signified their eternal commitment. A feeble smile crossed her lips as she wiped the blood that tarnished the small piece and looked up once more at the very heart of everything she lived for.
“Mia…”
“Yes?” she replied weakly as she reached out to touch his face. The warmth in his eyes seemed to obscure all the noise that surrounded them, leaving her only to listen to the sound of his frail and hoarse voice.
“Tell Claire…I love her.”
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