Sungmin was sitting quietly holding April’s uninjured hand in both his hands.  Donghae came in gently and sat down next to Sungmin.  The two didn’t need to speak to speak to know how the other was feeling.  Donghae put his hand on Sungmin’s back and sighed deeply.  “You should go close your eyes for a while, I’ll take over.”

            “I don’t think I can sleep.”

            “Just rest for a bit, I had time to rest at home, you haven’t even stopped for a moment today.”

            “I’m afraid of what I might dream about if I fall asleep.”

            “You can’t give up sleeping just for that.  Whatever it is, I’ll be here when you wake up and you can tell me about it.”   

            Sungmin moved to the cushioned chair in the corner of the room.  Donghae pointed out the pillow he had brought for him.  “Thank you bro,” Sungmin said.  Sungmin went out like a light, of course he was exhausted.  Donghae sat vigil with the girl while machines beeped rhythmically.  Sungmin had left out her license and phone and Donghae looked them over.  Like Sungmin, he found the note on April’s phone to be strange.  Why would someone specifically not want their parents to know if they were hurt?  He pondered it; she could have a poor relationship with her parents.  Did they not know she was here?  Clearly a parent would want to be with their child in a situation like this, should he call them anyway or should he respect April’s wishes?  Also, she was from the U.S. her parents probably only spoke English, she clearly wasn’t Korean.  Donghae had no way to communicate this to them.  Donghae decided that since she went to such a length to make her desire known she must have a good reason; he put the phone back down. 

 

            April felt like she was trapped inside her own skin, unable to move, speak or open her eyes.  Her world was silent and dark she wanted to scream; she wanted someone to find her and guide her out of the darkness.  She felt suffocated, isolated and scared.  She couldn’t tell if she was dreaming, if this was real or not.  She hoped it was some terrible nightmare that she would soon wake up from.  She used all of her energy to try to move, to yell but it was no use.  By all means she should have been thrashing violently but nothing happened.  She wanted to cry but she couldn’t even do that.  She was losing faith rapidly; she feared being stuck in this endless oblivion, this infinite limbo forever. 

 

            It had been a long time since Donghae had had the time to sit down and read a newspaper.  He busied himself this way while Sungmin slept, carefully reading his way through each article.  When his eyes got tired he got up to stretch and pace a little.  He was really tired himself, although he had rested at home he had not slept.  He did the math, if it was 4AM now he’d been awake for 21 hours.  He was due on set at 9AM he knew it was going to be a rough day.  Just then Sungmin started stirring in his sleep.  It was clear he was dreaming, sometimes he even talked in his sleep.  He looked distressed; Donghae figured it was a nightmare.  He calmly called his name a few times, it didn’t take much to wake him up.  “You were having a nightmare?”

            “Yeah, thanks.  You look awful.”

            “I’m sure not any worse than you.”

            “I’m done sleeping for now, you should take a turn.”

            “Are you sure, you only slept for three hours.” 

            “Yeah I’m good, you have a schedule in the morning.”

 

            Donghae didn’t need to be told twice.  Sungmin passed the rest of the night with April uneventfully.  In his dream he had seen the accident from her perspective, it was only now that he realized how frightened she must have been, how much pain she must be in.  He didn’t want to relive that again, he couldn’t imagine having that as a memory for the rest of his life, she would always remember this day. 

            At around 8AM Siwon came along with a manager.  Sungmin woke up Donghae so he could go to work, but Sungmin didn’t want to leave.  Siwon assured Sungmin that he would take good care of her and the manager firmly told him it was time to leave.  It took some convincing but Sungmin was so tired that he didn’t put up as much of a fight as he normally could. 

            Siwon took up the vigil seat and did the one thing he felt he could do, he held her hand and prayed with her.  For him this had always been his way and he found peace and answers through prayer.  Though he did not expect instantaneous miracles he prayed that she would come out of this state soon and start to heal.  Doctors and nurses came and went throughout the day checking vital signs, IVs and the machines; their faces never told if things were better or worse, it seemed that things simply remained the same.  Siwon remembered something Kyuhyun had said sometime after his accident, he’d remembered hearing people talk to him even when he wasn’t conscious.  He hadn’t really known what they were saying rather it was more like feeling a presence.  None the less it had been a reassuring feeling for him during that time.  Siwon thought it was worth a shot.

            “I guess I should start by saying that it’s going to be okay.  I’m not sure if you know where you are or what happened but I can assure you that you’re being well taken care of.  If you can hear me you’re probably wondering who I am, I don’t really know how to explain that.  I’m not a friend of yours, at least not yet, though one day I hope I can be.  Something happened yesterday and my brothers and I feel at fault, because of this we are going to be here with you to help you along this journey.  Perhaps you are not ready to open your eyes yet, take your time, when you’re ready to squeeze a hand or open your eyes; we’ll be here for you.  We’re a strong family, we’ve been through a lot and we take care of those around us, we’ll take care of you too.  Soon someone else is going to come sit with you, his name is Shindong.  He’s very funny, he’ll probably tell you some jokes and stories to help you feel better.  I’ve been told that humor is more powerful that medicine, rest well.”       

              Shindong did just that, and after him came Leeteuk. 

            Leeteuk read April the emails the listeners had sent in about courage, he hadn’t gotten to read all of them on air but he did have the chance to do it now.  He also brought with him a book of his favorite childhood stories.  He wasn’t sure if she would like them and he thought that perhaps they had different stories where she had grown up.  He read all of them to her giving voices and life to the characters, it may have been corny and he knew she was too old for it but he thought that if it were him, he would like it. 

            Yesung came to sit overnight.  He hadn’t really prepared anything for April and he felt a little out of place talking to an immobile body.  He just held her hand and sat quietly.  The hospital was eerily quiet overnight and he wished someone else had come with him.  “I’m not scared,” he said aloud and then to April, “you shouldn’t be either.” 

A little later on he thought he felt one of her fingers twitch but then he realized it was just his imagination.  

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I had wanted to write/upload 2 chapters today, sorry I couldn't do that.  A storm came through and knocked out the power.  I'm up and running now but another wave is coming through, hopefully I'll be able to add more tomorrow.  Hope everyone's enjoying it.