Meeting with his rival

The news soon spread in the hospital that someone called for the girl. The staff was finally relieved that they would all know who the girl was, that she no longer would be a mystery.

Ethan was impatiently pacing to and fro in his cabin. He was satisfied after the call but was not happy. Something was bothering him as if trouble was approaching. He did not know what was wrong, but his inner sense said, something was going to be, soon. He tried to distract himself while going through the files of his patients but failed. No matter how much he tried to distract himself to no avail.

After some 30 minutes, the gates of the hospital flung open, and in came a dishevelled-looking young guy with black hair, all over his face. He was looking as if he just had a long run and was trying to catch for breath. He ran up to the reception and asked hoarsely, ''Amelia. I am looking for Amelia. I just called Dr. Ethan. He said she was here."

'Yes sir. Are you Oliver?' enquired the receptionist with a smile on her face. She found the guy good-looking and wanted to talk to her for more time, but looking at the situation, she decided otherwise.

'Yes, I am. How did you know my name? Oliver asked, puzzled.

'Sir, everyone in the hospital staff knows that you are coming for Amelia. Please wait in the lobby, I will call Dr. Ethan. He will be here in a few minutes.'

'Thank you' He smiled, his famous crooked smile, which made girls think of him for a long time. The receptionist, too, smiled back, wondering how handsome he was.

Meanwhile, she also called Dr. Ethan and informed him that Oliver was there. Ethan left his cabin, with a frown on his face. He should've been happy, but somehow his inner sense wasn't ready for this. He felt strange and uneasy. His palms were sweating, as he approached the lobby. But he put his best smile on his face, and entered the lobby, to find a handsome-looking guy sitting nervously on the couch waiting for him.

Dr. Ethan's steps slowed a bit as he looked at the guy; he was a decent-looking boy. He had a gym body, evident in his hard work. He seemed as taller as him, and the same age as the girl. 'College friends' he thought. Any girl would have fallen for him instantly. He thought if he was connected to Shreshtha, his sleeping beauty.

A sharp pang of jealousy swept over him, and he wanted nothing more than to turn and run to his sleeping beauty, to ensure that the guy sitting in front of him wouldn't take her away. But his work ethic stopped him from doing so. Besides, he also wanted to know more about his sleeping beauty.

Deciding otherwise, he slid open the glass doors and approached Oliver. Oliver stood up and shook hands with Dr. Ethan They both smiled for a brief moment as if gau-ging each other. Then Oliver broke the silence and asked, 'Dr. Ethan. I am Oliver. I called you. Where is she? Is she fine?'

'Yeah, urn... I mean hi Oliver. She is... Amelia is fine.'. Dr. Enthan stammered and was taken aback by the series of Oliver questions, but after composing himself, he added 'Her injuries are healing quickly, and she is improving. Sadly, she is still in a coma. I don't know when she will wake up. We all are waiting for that. Come, I will take you to her room, you can meet her there.'

They both walked through the long corridors, passing dozens of glass doors. Oliver was a bit uneasy about the environment, as he wasn't used to being at hospitals, but he wanted to see the girl. The girl who was in this state because of him. He felt guilty, but there was nothing much he could do about that.

Finally, they stopped at one such glass door, and Dr. Ethan opened the door. Oliver froze in his tracks when he saw Amelia lying on the hospital bed, with needles poking in her hand, wires, and monitors displaying her heartbeats. He could not move, the figure lying in front of him was not the girl he used to love. She looked broken. Beyond repair. He had never seen her so pale, she did fall ill many times, but never such that she looked white. Her cheeks had lost color, and her lips looked dry and blue. She had lost the charm she had, the bubbly, cute-looking girl; now lay motionless in front of him.

Dr. Ethan noticed that Oliver didn't come inside with him, and turned to face him. He saw Oliver, a shocking expression on his face as if he had seen a ghost. He looked again at his sleeping beauty, to check if anything was wrong, in panic. She looked just fine, more angelic, only if she could have opened her eyes.

He turned once again and walked towards Oliver, patted lightly on his shoulder, and motioned to come inside. 'Come in, she is fine. Not long before she is out of bed. Meet her, talk to her, she can listen, if not speak. Then come to my cabin, I would want to talk to you.'

'I... I don't know Dr. what happened to her. How, who did this to her? I have never seen her so quiet in my life. I can't face her, all this, happened because of me. I can't see her like this Oliver almost choked unaware that even though Amelia was in a Coma, she could clearly hear them perfectly.

She was so happy she wanted to jump and hug him right there, but she could not move.

'I can understand. It must be a shocking site for you. Come on, let's go to my cabin, we don't want to disturb her. Let's talk more about it there. I will also share the reports of her progress with you Ethan said and led Oliver to his cabin.

Amelia realized that the sound faded away in the distance. 'What!! He left me here... Alone?' she thought in despair.

That is when she remembered, the main reason she was here. It was because Aarav broke up with her. She hated him instantly and two silent tears rolled down from her eyes.