Krystal didn’t open her eyes again for quite some time. Although she laid unconscious, the doctors have informed her parent’s that her health was gradually progressing. Their words were indeed confirmed after a couple of weeks or so as she was finally transferred into a room of her own. That had facilitated her parents into visiting her more frequently, and they’d grasped that opportunity tightly as they were always by her side.

They’d taken shifts into staying on the chair besides her bed. The mother would spend the mornings holding her daughter’s hand firmly as she silently cried continuously while the father would spend the nights with his head raised to the ceiling as he silently prayed the heavens for any miracle. The tears never seemed to dry up neither did the prayers quieten down. It’d been hectic, for both of them, as they were yet unsure of what the future might bring to them.

The future had always been unknown. No one gets to know what happens in few years, months, days or even in few seconds. This cluelessness wasn’t a novelty for anyone, but right then, nothing seemed more frightening for Krystal’s parents than the unknown, and this cluelessness frustrated them so. In a matter of seconds, the machines could start beating loudly and their daughter’s life could be taken away in a blink of an eye. And also in a matter of seconds, their daughter might make any minor move that’d be enough to give them hope.

Uncertainty was filled between these white walls of the hospital since everything was possible. After all, stories about both relapses and miracles existed.

Krystal could hear voice coming from far away, but she failed to know whether they were real or if she was just imagining it. She couldn’t decipher the words that were spoken for the voice was barely audible. The voice though filled her mind with its noisiness, and it’d only seemed like it was slowly getting louder.

She didn’t know where it came from for she couldn’t manage to open her eyes to finds its source. There wasn’t any inch of her body that seemed to move, she couldn’t even blink. It was like she’d lost control in her whole body; like it wasn’t hers anymore but she was just imprisoned inside of another one and refrained from using it.

She felt like she was floating on nothingness and swallowed by darkness.

She tried to open her eyes, but it was to no avail. She was terrified because of her powerlessness, and her seemingly futile attempts to regain consciousness were escalating.

She was distraught by her inner battle and the voice that filled her head. She didn’t know what the hell was going on… why the hell she’d struggled to move… or where the hell did this voice come from…

Questions were piling up after another, and she was getting more frustrated with her cluelessness and incapability. Her inner struggle was getting more unbearable while the voice was getting louder to the extent where she just wanted to scream. She tried to, but there wasn’t any sound emitting out of her. She tried again, but it was like she’d become mute.

When she was on the brink of giving up, her eyes suddenly fluttered open. She was greeted with a sea of whiteness the instant she opened her eyes. She calmed down a bit for she believed that she was inside of her room, but her calmness was suddenly interrupted because she heard the voice again.

“, let me in.” The voice was disturbingly loud to her, and she panicked slightly because she managed to hear the words clearly this time. She glanced at her surroundings only to find nothing but whiteness. Everything inside of the room seemed to have been colored in white, and she began to freak out when she realized that she wasn’t in her room.

“Let me in.” Krystal instinctively looked at the door when she heard the raging voice. She saw two figures pushing something or rather someone roughly out of the room. She was pretty scared as she watched the scene in front of her. She knew no one and was left alone inside of a strange room. Her fear was doubled when she saw how determined he looked to barge in the room, and she tried to move but if it only felt like her whole body was tied down into the mattress.

“Please… Let me in…. Just… please.” This time, the voice was gradually lowering until the last words was almost spoken in a whisper. Krystal detected sadness in his voice as he continued pleading. She didn’t know whether to be afraid or pity him. He sounded desperate; too desperate as he begged to be let inside.

She wanted to get a better look at his face, so she could know who he was. Maybe he was someone she’d known but to some unknown reason was restrained from seeing her… but she doubted this thought though because his voice didn’t sound familiar for her.

She kept trying to move her head, but it was useless. She wouldn’t even budge; like she’d been glued in that position. She looked again at the two figures that had their backs turned to her. They were still standing at the door step and struggling with keeping the stranger from getting inside. They now looked exasperated as they were pushing him harder and banning him from even stepping a foot inside.

Krystal tried hard to fight her drowsiness for she wanted to know what the hell was going on, but her eyes were getting heavier. Few minutes passed, yet the stranger continued shouting and shoving the two who hindered him from entering.

It wasn’t until a couple of weeks later that Krystal finally managed to open her eyes. She’d thought it was just another day where she’d woken up inside of her. Therefore, she was pretty much panicked when she saw her mother’s stricken face when she suddenly appeared in front of her.

Tears kept rolling down the mother’s face, and she gazed at her daughter with utter happiness and relief. “God, you’re awake. You’re finally awake.” She brought her hands towards Krystal’s hair and brushed it ever so slightly while she gazed at her with complete glee.

Krystal, on the other hand, cringed a bit when she felt her mother’s touch, but her mother didn’t seem fazed by her as she kept brushing her hair nevertheless. Krystal was simply lost and kind of scared by her mother’s state. She didn’t know why the hell her mother was acting like that; like she hadn’t seen her for so long when she’d just seen her yesterday.

“Come… She’d finally woken up… She had finally…” Her mother was unable to finish her sentence for she was already overwhelmed by her joy. She was looking straight ahead calling someone, and Krystal tried to move her head a bit to the right so she can know who he was.

“God… you really are…” His voice cracked a bit as he looked at her with a face mirroring his wife’s. He raised his head towards the ceiling as he silently thanked the heavens for letting his daughter live. Krystal’s fear was escalated when she saw few tears escaping from her father’s eyes because she’d never seen him crying before. Not even after his father’s death. So to say that she was scared was simply an underestimation because she couldn’t fathom the reason for her parent’s messed up state.

She then tear her eyes away from her parents and looked at what was supposed to be her room. Her eyes widened a bit when she took in all her surroundings; all the walls were painted white, and nearly all the furniture was in white. She was quietly confused and terrified by it all.

It wasn’t until she felt something itch her right hand slightly that she finally noticed a needle attached to her hand. She freaked out the moment she realized that it was a cannula glued to her hand for God knows what, and her first instinct was to get rid of this damned thing. Her hand was trembling, her whole body was, while she frantically tried to remove it, but it was useless for her hands wouldn’t stop shaking badly.

 Her parents finally seemed to notice her panic because they approached her closely and tried to calm her down a bit. Krystal didn’t acknowledge their attempts though and didn’t bring herself to hear what they were trying to say because she was in sheer shock.

Her thoughts and questions were endless, but she pushed them all aside and only focused on the cannula. Her quivering hands made it so hard for her to remove it, and she was on the verge on crying out of frustration. Her mother rested her hands above hers, and the instant Krystal felt her mother’s warm touch, she broke down into tears.

She wanted to ask a lot of questions, but she failed to say anything because she was at loss of words. She couldn’t bring herself to form even a single word because she was too scared, confused and clueless.

The door suddenly flew open, and she found herself unconsciously burying her head more into her mother’s chest as she cried. Dread washed over her when she felt a hand patting her back lightly, and she silently wished for it to be her father’s.

“Hey, Krystal?” Her hopes were soon crushed when she heard a stranger’s voice. She furtively glanced at the figure only to find a doctor who looked like he was in his late thirties. A genuine smile was formed on his face, and his sympathy was pretty much shown in his eyes.

She tried to rack her brain about the last night’s events, but it was pointless. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t remember why the hell she was in the hospital right now. Her eyes were fixed on the doctor while he stood patiently waiting for her. He didn’t say anything, and only waited for her until she felt comfortable enough to leave her mother’s embrace.

Few minutes later, Krystal moved her head slightly away and turned it wholly towards the doctor. “How are you feeling?” He spoke the instant he noticed he had her full attention.

What the hell was she feeling? She couldn’t possibly explain that into words. It felt like she’d been hit with a storm of endless emotions that left her into this ed up state. It still wasn’t perceivable how she’d woken up unaware with all her surroundings and the events that led her to this place.

She didn’t know how to answer, so she kept staring at him with passiveness and silently hoped that her eyes would speak the words she failed to utter. The doctor seemed to understand her state for he moved on to another question when few minutes have passed in complete silence. He was patient with her and gave her all the time she needed. He tried to persuade her into talking with him, but she kept shut. It was unintentional; really because she could hardly grasp anything.

He eventually gave up and instead made a quick check up to make sure that she was indeed okay. He held a small light torch in front of her eyes to check her pupillary light reflexes, and then he placed two fingers on her wrist while he looked at his watch in order to check her pulses.

Few minutes passed before he stood up and directed his stare towards her parents as he spoke. “She’s obviously in shock… Don’t worry about her though… it’s totally normal because she’d just woken up after so long…” The doctor continued talking to her parent’s, but Krystal stopped listening.

“After so long…” The words echoed repeatedly inside of her head.  But it felt like she’d slept for only one day. Many questions arose and accumulated her mind; had it been longer? How much longer? Had it been days? Weeks? Months?

Most importantly… What the hell happened? Why was she even here?