In the cold white and sterile halls of the hospital, a young girl could be seen lightly running, her footsteps tapping on the white floors, occasionally glancing back behind her with a nervous eye.

  Stopping to collect her thoughts, she leaned one hand against a door and found that her hands pushed the door slightly inward. The room was unlocked.

  An impulsive thought passed through her mind, and looking around her to make certain that nobody was around, she took the impulse, opened the door and ducked inside as silently as she could.

  Once inside, she found the room to be a single room with a single patient- a boy, sleeping on a neat white bed. The room was completely silent save for the occasional sound of beeping monitors and medical equipment. The room was bright with the natural light that shone through the open window, contrasting with the cold unnatural environment of the hospital, giving it badly needed warmth. The girl thought that the place felt peaceful.

  "What are you doing here?"

  She jumped at the voice. Turning around she saw a nurse holding a clipboard who had just entered the room.

  She forced herself to calm down and stabilize her voice. "I-I'm just v-visiting." She lied hastily.

  The nurses gave her a quizzical look. "Yes, and who are you?"

  The girl's mind raced and she quickly thought up another explanation. "I-I'm his girlfriend." The girl could have slapped herself the moment the words came out of . Why did she say she was his girlfriend?! She could have just said friend instead!

  The nurse didn't notice her jittery demeanour; instead she gave her a sympathetic look and walked over to the sleeping boy. "Oh, that's great. He doesn't get many visitors. I'm sure he'd be happy to be getting a visit from his girlfriend."

  The nurse held up a clipboard and began writing something down as she checked the boys status on the numerous medical equipment he was hooked up to. She looked over at the girl. "It must be hard for you to see him like this; nobody wants to see someone they love in a coma."

  Coma?! She thought he was just asleep. "U-uh, yeah." She answered. She felt guilty for intruding on a person in such a condition, worse than guilty, she felt like a piece of crap. "Um, how is his condition?"

  The nurse gave her a sympathetic look but she saw pity behind her eyes. "He's stable at the moment…but…we don't know when he'll wake up." She switched her tone to one of forced optimism. "But, it's only been a little over a month! There's still plenty of hope that he'll be just fine!"

  The girl felt even worse. The nurse seemed to pick up on her sullen mood, except she interpreted it as just a girlfriend feeling sad for her boyfriend. The nurse took away her clipboard and headed to the door. "I'll leave you two alone. Don't worry, I'm sure he'll be fine." The nurse gave her one last smile before shutting the door.

  The girl and the boy were alone again. She walked over closer to him until she was at the edge of his bedside and she looked at his face.

  He was rather good looking. He seemed like he was in plenty good health. She would have never have guessed that he was in an indefinite coma if the nurse hadn't told her. He had clear healthy looking skin with smooth olive skin. His hair was honey brown and messy. She detected a slight wave to its texture but that may have just been a months' worth of bed hair. His eyes were shut so she didn't know his eye colour, but she noticed that he had rather long lashes for a boy. Overall, he was rather good looking. She guesses that he must have been pretty popular.

  "Sorry for intruding in your room." She apologised. "I must sound like such a weirdo talking to you!" she laughed in a self-depreciating way. "I don't think you can even hear me…but sorry. I really do feel like I need to apologise to you, even if you can't hear me. Sorry." She looked around the room. "I'm sorry I lied about being your girlfriend. If you have a girlfriend, I apologise to her as well."

  The girl grabbed a chair that was sitting against the wall and dragged it to his bedside and sat down. "I know I'm intruding, but I hope you'll let me stay here for a while. I hope you don't mind a stranger occupying your room for a while. I promise I won't touch anything!"

  The girl sat back in her chair with a melancholy smile on her face. "Sorry again, but I need somewhere to hide right now. I'm hiding from my grandpa. I know that sounds strange, I'm hiding from a frail old man but, it's not just him…I'm hiding from his servants."

  The girl made a sheepish face. "…I know that sounds strange, doesn't it? I guess I should start from the beginning. Well, my dad died a few months ago…sorry for telling you this, you probably don't even care, but…I haven't been able to tell anyone, not even my friends and…I guess I really need to let it out." The girls face grew sad. "My dad died from cancer a few months ago. I really miss him. He was a good guy…After he died it was just my mum and I left, that is, until my grandpa showed up. I didn't even know I had a grandpa, my parents never talked about him. But tada, as soon as my dad was gone, he appeared."

  "It turns out my dad came from a wealthy family. My grandpa is rich. After he died, my grandpa suddenly showed up and demanded to be a part in our lives. He says I am his grandchild after all. I mean, I wouldn't mind having a good relationship with my grandfather, but I have never even heard of the man until just a short while ago. He's a stranger to me, and if I'm honest, I have to say I don't like him that much…I know it sounds terrible, a grandchild not liking their grandparent, but it's true. He doesn't treat my mum very well. He called her a harlot that stole his son away…"

  The girl made another embarrassed laugh. "I know, my life sounds like a cheesy TV drama. If you can hear me you probably are sick of it already…But! Use it as motivation to wake up! You can wake up to strangle me to shut me up!" she laughed. "Well, about my grandpa…He says he wants me to re-join his family. Apparently my dad ran away…"

  The girl glanced over at the door. "And, well, the reason why I'm hiding is…well, my grandpa is here in this hospital. He's staying here for a while, old age and all that…but the thing is that now I have to keep visiting him, and every time he's got his friends, servant, business buddies or whatever they are, with him. He keeps trying to pressure me into joining his family, like changing my last name to his. It turns out my dad took my mom's last name when they married."

  She sighed. "I really don't want to though…my last name is part of my family, I've had it all my life and it's a reminder of my dad…" The girl looked up and sighed again. "And that's why I'm here. I didn't want to deal with my grandpa and his buddies so I ran off and hid in here. I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to intrude on you or lie to the nurse, it just kind of happened…"

  The girl, finished with her story, breathed in and stood up from her seat. "Well, thank you for listening, even if I don't know you can even hear or not. I probably sound like a whiny idiot, but thanks. I really needed to unload. Things in my life have been happening so fast, and I can't even bring myself to tell my friends… I should probably leave now. I've bothered you more than enough, and I think my grandpa would have calmed down by now…"

  The girl glanced over at the half filled glass vase sitting on the window sill. In it contained yellow roses that were beginning to wilt, petals dropped from the stem and a few littered around the base of the vase. "Oh, your flowers are dying…"

  The girl broke into a light smile as she realised something. "You know, my parents- well, my mom now… run a small floristry business! Well, for now…maybe not for long with my grandpa around…But next time I come here, I'll bring you some fresh flowers! Consider it a thank you for listening to me and not waking up to kick me out!"

  The girl walked over to the door, much more cheerful than when she had come in. Before she left, she e last time to the boy. "Hey, I really hope you wake up soon and you'll be healthy again. I'll be praying for you…and again, thank you for listening."

  And with her last words, she softly closed the door and left.