chapter two

As the sun rose through the horizon, Aline stirred in her sleep. Harsh sun rays broke her dreamland. She groggily opened her eyes, and her neck suddenly hurt with intense pain—maybe because she had slept in a bad posture. Well, she didn't sleep; she fell asleep while sitting in front of Amy's bed.

She looked in front of her, and her sister's lifeless body, covered with all the hospital equipment just to keep her alive, didn't bring any good feeling to her.

"Amy... sweetheart, please wake up. Don't scare me. You know how much I love you."

She wiped her eyes, which were clouded with tears.

"If... if you wake up, I promise I will bring you to Disney. You always want to go, don't you? So let's go, you and me, we will ride all those rides you love. The black tote bag you saw the last time we were at the mall, I promise to get it for you, anything you want, sweetheart..." her voice sounded cracked at the end, overwhelmed with all emotions. "Please wake up, I am scared."

Aline's mind suddenly flashed with fragments of the past.

A burned car, with police and hospital staff around it. On the white stretchers, nearly unrecognisable bodies were carried away. Little Amy didn't know what had happened and started making a fuss. She wanted to go to Mama—but how would a fourteen-year-old Aline tell her nine-year-old sister that their mama and dad were no more? Her brain wasn't developed enough to digest this fact: that the person who had promised her he would bring her favourite chocolate lava cake, and that she would take care of her younger sister at home in the evening—that promise would never be fulfilled ever again.

"Sister, I want to go to Mama. I'm scared," little Amy said.

Her innocent voice made dear Aunt Lucy burst into another cry.

"My baby." Lucy came and took Amy in her arms and put her other hand on Aline's head. "How cruel is this world, to take the parents of these poor children, and those murderers get away like it is nothing. My baby, don't cry. Aunty will take care of you," Lucy coaxed Amy and left with them to the hospital to do a DNA test.

The image of that burnt car has never left Aline's eyes. It has left a deep shadow on her heart. And she also wanted to say that she was scared too—but she couldn't.

Aline suddenly came out of her trance as the door opened. She looked towards the door and saw a nurse in pink scrubs with some documents and a notepad in her hand.

"Good morning, Ms. Wilson," she greeted Aline and did a thorough check-up on Amy, then scribbled something on her notepad.

"How is she?" Aline eagerly asked. She wanted to ask as soon as the nurse was checking, but fearing to disturb her work, she held herself back till now.

"Ms. Wilson, your sister is stable, which is quite good news. But for other things, please visit the doctor, as he can give you more information about her condition," the nurse said and left, putting a few things on Amy's side table before walking out.

Aline sat down, feeling a little distressed. This didn't bring any good feeling to her. If Amy is really stable, then why didn't the nurse tell her when she will wake up?

She suddenly stood up and decided to visit the doctor and get her baby sister's reports so she could get fine as soon as possible. She pressed the button on the side, and the duty nurse came inside.

"I am going to visit the doctor. Please keep an eye on my sister," Aline politely said to the nurse, and the nurse assured her before she left.

With a gentle knock on the doctor's cabin, Aline walked inside.

"Good morning, Dr. Patrick," she greeted the doctor who had done Amy's surgery and under whose care her case was placed.

"Good morning, Ms. Wilson—if I am right?" he said as he gestured towards the seat in front of him.

"Yes, I am Aline Wilson, sister of the patient you operated on last night for accident trauma."

"Yeah, I remember now. How are you, Ms. Wilson? You don't look fine," he said as he saw her messy appearance and the dark circles under her eyes. As a doctor, it was clear to him that the person in front of him was not in her best state.

Aline didn't mind his comment. She knew she was not looking her best self, but nothing mattered at this moment except the information about her sister.

"I'm fine, doctor." She gave a weak smile. "The nurse told me Amy's report has come and to consult with you about her health."

She didn't beat around the bush and came straight to the point.

Dr. Patrick took a blue file from the stack of files and opened it.

"I have seen her reports, Ms. Wilson," Patrick said as his face became serious. "Ms. Amy has formed a blood clot in her head during her internal injury."

Aline's heart dropped.

"Doctor, is she all right?"

"Relax, Ms. Wilson. Let me complete my words," he said. "Well, if you are asking if she can survive, then she is all right. But because of the blood clot and such a huge trauma, her chances of waking up are quite slim."

His words made her already pale face even paler.

"I know this is quite a tough situation for you, Ms. Wilson. But all we can do is just pray. It is like a gamble—if her willpower wins, she might just wake up the next day."

But he didn't continue his words, though his tone implied what was obvious.

"Please, doctor, can't you just remove that blood clot from her head with surgery? If that is the problem, it will be solved, isn't it? She is just a child."

Aline's desperation was obvious in her tone. She looked at him with pleading eyes.

"Her 18th birthday was just 2 months ago," her voice cracked as she said. "My sister hasn't seen anything yet," Aline mumbled.

Dr. Patrick just looked at her with sympathy. He had seen many cases like this, and he sometimes felt a little guilty saying such things to loved ones. He knew he was breaking the hearts of people, but as a doctor, he always tried to do the best for the patient.

"Ms. Aline, please don't lose hope. She will be alright. Your hope will make her."

He tried to give her encouragement.

After getting a grip on her emotions, she asked about Amy's prescriptions and tests that needed to be done, then walked back to the ward.

As she opened the door, her eyes fell on the person inside.

"Who are you?" she asked.

The man, in all black attire with a crisp black shirt complimenting his black tuxedo, stood tall.

"Hello, Ms. Wilson. I have been waiting for you," he said in his cold, monotone voice.

Aline was confused by this stranger in the room and walked inside, full of questions in her mind. The man, in all black attire with a crisp black shirt complimenting his black tuxedo, stood.

"Hello, Ms. Wilson. I have been waiting for you," he said in his cold, monotone voice. She still in dase walked inside with all confusion on her face