Waking Up

Darkness...

Boundless...

As if it was a darkness that would not come to an end...

She didn't know how long she walked. Days, months, years…maybe even decades, perhaps even centuries.

She only knew that this tunnel did not seem to have an end...

Tired. So tired.

It felt like she was walking through a dark and desolate tunnel for eternity. She wanted to stop, but for some reason, she kept on walking toward the tiny speck of light far away in the distance.

Her throat felt dry and rough, burning with extreme thirst.

Water. She needed water. Maybe she could drink when she reached the end of the tunnel, so she kept walking and walking.

Water. The thought of water relieving her parched throat kept her going.

She didn't know. She just wanted water.

Almost there.

Just like that...

Her consciousness was gradually stripped away, swallowed bit by the darkness...

However, every time she was about to be swallowed by that swamp-like darkness, there would always be a weak beam of light shining ahead, weakly yet persistently. There seemed to be a gentle and beautiful voice in her ears too. It had never stopped injecting her body with energy in a steady flow.

'Love, I am waiting for you, please don't give up. Even if it takes years, just don't give up.' A warm voice kept on telling her this from time to time. She could feel the pain and longing in that voice; even though she really wanted to give up, she kept walking just for the voice she heard.

She continued to walk, continued to walk...

She was too exhausted and did not know what was going on. She could not think about anything, but she still remembered one thing - that at the end of that weak light was something significant waiting for her...

...

The tug-of-war kept repeating like that. She was not sure how long it had persisted, how many times. Finally, that light was becoming brighter and brighter as if it was closer to her now... much closer. She fought hard with her last bit of strength, running in the direction of that light with all her might. Finally, the light grew larger and brighter.

Boom! There was an explosion!

The glaring white light engulfed her entire being, her entire world turning from the extreme darkness to extreme brightness. Her eyes, which had not reacted the slightest for a long time, were now trembling. Some time passed when those pair of eyes finally opened up bit by bit. Her eyelashes were like the wings of a butterfly that started to unfold.

The early morning's first beam of sunlight filled those pair of crystal clear eyes. It was unfathomably beautiful. Her sight was saturated with the glaring white light. After a long while, her vision slowly recovered, and she could see everything before her clearly. Then she was bathed in pure, white light.

Finally.

###

At a big, private hospital.

She opened her eyes and felt almost blinded by a soft, dim light. It took a few moments before her eyes adjusted.

'Where am I?'

Confused, she looked around the elegant, hotel-like room. She didn't recognise the place. Then she noticed the sound of slow, constant beeping beside her. She turned her head towards the sound and was surprised that her head felt heavy. In fact, her entire body felt heavy. She couldn't move. Other than her eyelashes, nothing in her body was ready to move even an inch.

'What's going on? Where the hell am I?'

A low beeping sound was heard, unlike in her dream, which was filled with silence most of the time. With great effort, she tried to turn her head a little and realised that it was a machine making the beeping noise. She then realised that she was hooked to it and a lot of other medical apparatuses as well. Finally, it dawned on her that she was at a hospital, and her condition was rather severe by the looks of it.

"W-was…her…" She tried speaking, but only a dry whisper came out of her cracked lips.

Nobody was around. She already felt exhausted. Her eyes started to droop, but she fought against the unconsciousness threatening to overcome her.

"Love, did you make a voice," An extremely concerned voice asked her. She realised it was the same voice that kept on talking with her all this time, the voice which gave her the strength to move forward. She tried to crane her neck so hard to glimpse the person, but her body didn't react a bit to her efforts. She felt so warm that she thought that man really waiting for her at the place where she saw that light. That man really still waiting for her. That voice still contains the longing and Love she always felt. 

When she was trying hard and praying to God to give her at least a glimpse of that man's face, an extremely handsome face came into her view. His face is filled with shock and excitement because of her opened eyes. His excitement filled face is enough to make someone's heart warm. 

'The pain and effort I took to reach here are worth it'. So she thought in her mind. He almost moved into tears seeing her open eyes.

"Love, oh my God, you open your eyes. I will call the doctor right away" He pressed a button near the bed. A nurse came in within seconds, and that man asked her to call the doctor because the patient had opened her eyes. She nodded and ran to call the doctor.

"Love, I waited for this day for a long time. Thank you for not giving up." The man said with tears.

Love, care, happiness, there are many emotions on his face. It is sure that this man values her and is really happy because she wakes up.

"Love, how are you feeling? Can you hear me? Are you in pain?" He kept on asking.

"W*..el" She wanted to ask for some water, but she couldn't spell it correctly. Not much sound came out of her throat even after applying so much effort whenever she tried to speak. Even though she wanted to give him answers and ask him a bunch of questions, at least before that, she had to make her throat comfortable so that she could talk without pain.

Hearing her talking to him made him happy. He looked so intently at her to understand what she was trying to say. 

"You mean water? Just hold a little more. The doctor will be here soon," He said with a pained expression, clearly showing how much pain it caused him to reject her.

"Look, the doctor is here." He sighed and moved aside so that doctor could check her. Soon the doctor looked through the machines that connected to her body. He explained to the man next to her that she was perfect now. It is a significant change today. He kept on giving the man his examination results. Finally, after hearing everything, he had only one question.

"Can I give her some water?" That man asked the doctor. The doctor nodded, and the nurse brought a spoon and fed her water little by little. It took time, but it really helped her throat to feel at ease. 

According to the doctor, she seems fine. It is a miracle that she woke up.

"Where am I?" She managed to ask. 

"Hospital. You had an accident, and we are taking care of you," The doctor replied while adjusting his glass and looking at her with a kind face. 

"Who am I?" Everyone in the room was shocked by hearing that question.