“Kim!” Aom shrieked in horror.

“Oh, Kim,” she’s rooted to the ground as she watch Kim falls freely towards her until Kim sprawled motionlessly on the floor face down. “Oh god, what happened to you?” her tears begun to ooze down her cheeks. Alice hastily runs kneeling right beside Aom.

The airport scrambles frantically as they heard Aom’s horrified shriek. The nearest airport guards and attendants posted ran as fast as they could in rescue into their direction. Alice too, was in shocked. Nobody from the crowd has seen how it happened – it happened really fast.

“Call an ambulance, quickly!” Shouts K’Tae. She’s been shaking nervously witnessing so much blood gushing from Kim’s lower back and side. Her knees trembles.

“Please! Help us.” Aom shouts. Her eyes were now blood shot red and drenched in her tears. “Anybody,” she’s in utter panic.

Suddenly, crowd of on-lookers and other passengers, slowly building up causing traffic around the airport arrival section. Aom is now kneeling on the cold tiled floor crying helplessly. She laid Kim’s head over her lap. She pressed the knife wound trying to stop the blood to spew. Kim’s crisp white shirt is now drenched in fresh blood. Her pulse is getting weaker. But she tried to cling for her dear life. Her face turned pale, and almost to no blood.

“Baby…” Kim says soft as sputter of blood gush drips from . “…I’m so sorry,”

“Hush, baby…” Aom cried softly as she gently pressed her index over Kim’s lips, hushing her to stop. “Don’t die on me, baby.” She sobs. “I love you… I’m sorry.” Her bloody hands clasped tightly on Kim’s hand.

“I… love… you… Pie,” Kim says weakly and slowly in between her short breathes. Her eyes are beginning to close. Sleep starts to consume her. She’s starting to drift into the blackness.

“Baby…No.” Aom brushed her hands over Kim’s face.

Then, grumbling voices came nearer, making its way through the crowd.

“Out of the way!”

“Coming through!”

A team of paramedics came running with the gurney.

“Miss Aom, let us handle it from here.” A young man in white and red cover-all, a member of the paramedics kneeled before her. He checked Kim’s neck for possible pulse. Aom has been shaking nervously and crying.

“Please, save her.” Aom cries. “Baby, please hold on.”

“He still has pulse, but weak.”

“We’ll do our best, Miss.” He glances up at panic-stricken Aom. He glanced back over his shoulder calling for his companions. “Bring the gurney here and fast.” Three men and a woman with the same clothing came with the gurney. They slowly lift Kim over the gurney, giving her first aid for her stabbed wound. “Who’s coming with the victim?”

“I am,” answers Aom.

“Let’s move it!”

After strapping Kim into the gurney and giving her first aid, they quickly moved Kim out of the crowded airport with Aom in tow.

“Alice call Air, and meet me at the hospital.” She says. Her panic-stricken voice resonates loud. Alice did what she had been told and made her way out of the airport with K’Tae and Picha.

Everything happened in a blink of an eye. It’s been almost three hours, Aom paced to and fro in front of the emergency room of the hospital wing waiting for the doctor. She takes glances at the closed door every now and then dropping her gaze at her fidgeting hands hoping for someone to open the door with good news. Still, nurses and doctors scramble on their feet trying to save a single life, hence, trying to stay calm and focused. She could hear rumbling voices from the inside.

“She needs blood transfusion right away,” A deep male voice roared.

“Check for vital signs.” Aom heard. Her heart has been pumping double time, nervous.

“Doctor, the patient is blood type AB.”

“But we don’t have much stock of this type. Check the blood bank if they have this.”

“Tell them to send it ASAP, we need it right away.”

“She had a weak pulse.”

Then Aom heard another yell from the inside. The flat lined sound.

“Doctor, we’re losing her.”

“Give a 240.”

Aom’s knees grew weaker and about to give up on her. But Alice was on time catching her fall.

“P’ please… calm down. She’ll be fine. I know you’re worried. We all are.”

“I don’t know Alice; I’m scared. I might loss Kim this time.” Her voice trembles and full of anguish.

“Hush, don’t think like that,” says Alice.

“Alice…” Aom cried letting go of her pent-up emotions.

Alice led her crying sister to the nearest bench outside the room doorway. Aom cried hugging her sister.

“Have you called Air?” asks Aom in between her sobs. She remembered to inform Kim’s immediate family.

“Yes, she’s coming over. You need to rest. Here, drink this.” Alice hands her a bottle of water.

“Thank you Alice…”

K’Tae walks briskly on her way with Picha from the admission desk. They have given the hospital a little information about the patient for formal admission.

“Aom, Picha and I should go ahead. We have to drop by the police station for the police report.”

“Thanks K’Tae…”

“No worries, she’ll be fine. I have given the hospital little information about Kim. But I’m not sure about the nationality. It was asked in the paper. They have checked their data for her records but there’s a bit of error. Just have it check.”

“She had an American citizenship…” Aom murmured. She stares at K’Tae blankly.

“Oh, that explains…Just have Air check it.”

“Thanks a lot K’Tae…”

“Um, we still got another problem outside.” K’Tae swallowed hard.

“What is it?” Aom’s brows furrowed. She stopped crying.

“Well, a group of media people have been blocking the hospital entrance. They wanted a few words with you what happened at the airport earlier.”

“Not now, K’Tae, please.” She snarls. Disgusted.

“I know, but they’ve been harassing the guards trying to get inside. They’ve been asking what happened, who’s with you and are you related to the victim.”

Aom sighed heavily. “I don’t want any interviews right now. I don’t want to put Kim in danger again.”

“I understand, Aom.” K’Tae says apologetically. Her eyes never leave Aom. She listens intently trying to cope up with her struggle.

“Please, no interviews even from you or Air …or even Alice. Or even the hospital staff. No.” There was fleeting emotion crosses her face …pain. She stood up quickly, dashing the tears from her face.

“Okay… don’t worry, I’ll handle this.”

“Aom!” yelps Air as soon she caught sight of Aom. They all face Air, staring in her direction. She hastily walks almost to a run along the hospital hallway.

“What happened to Kim?” asks Air. Her face flushed red.

“I… I…” her words choked her.

“Don’t worry too much…” Air draws her into an embrace, rubbing her back, soothing her sobs. When both of them have calmed down, Aom narrated the incident to Air every detail. Air gently squeezed her hand, reassuring.

“She’ll be fine. She’s a fighter.” Air smiles.

“I can’t help but worry, Air. I love her…”

“I know, and she loves you, too.” Air says gently.

“Hmm,” Aom nods.

They all startled looking at the door when suddenly it creaked open. A fine man in green scrub suit but with strands of silvery gray hair emerged from the door. His face is tired and weary.

“Are you with the stabbed patient?” he asks. He wipes his sweaty forehead with his white handkerchief.

“Yes, we are.” They all replied in unison.

The doctor eyed them quizzically.

“I’m her sister.” Air says. She felt the skeptical look from the silvery-haired man.

“I’m her fiancée,” Aom croaked. All pairs of eyes turned to Aom.

“Alright,” the doctor says clearing his throat. He adjusted his frameless eyeglasses. He took off his mask, inhaled heavily.

“I’m Dr. Tao Phiangpor; I could say the patient is stable now but still unconscious. Her left kidney is ruptured due to the deep stabbing.” He drops his gaze to his hand once in a while before continuing. “We have examined the knife wound, its shows that the weapon used is a double blade with staggered edges on one side causing the tissue to be ripped irregularly. She could have died right there if not attended immediately. She’s still unconscious cause by loss of so much blood, so we have her blood transfusion. She’ll be transferred to the ICU in just a few moments.”

“Thank God…” they exhaled.

­­­________________

Aom stared at the body lying on the hospital bed right in front of her. Her heart aches seeing the love of her life lying almost lifeless on the bed. She almost loss her then and now she has to wait for her to wake up. Her eyes are still puffy and obviously lack of sleep. Unfamiliar machines were connected to keep Kim breathing and to monitor her heart rate. The other machine still unfamiliar to her and she doesn’t even know what it does. It was Kim’s third day at the hospital and yet, still in coma cause by so much loss of blood and kidney ruptures. Aom has been with her since day one. It was Alice who brought all the things she needed from her clothes and food. She never left Kim out of her sight. She’s practically living with Kim in a private suite in the hospital. Her parents had been visiting every day. Aom took an indefinite leave of absence from work to take care of Kim. Her calendar for the next three weeks has been cancelled and all her shooting and guesting are all moved and squeezed to her next month’s calendar.

A soft knocked came from the door before it opened snapping her gaze away from Kim. She glance at the doorway seeing Air emerge from the doorway. Zee and Dr. Dew was in tow behind her.

“We took the first flight as soon as P’Air called. But I have made a few arrangements in the office first before we flew down here.” Zee said. She and Dr. Dew stood by the bedside gazing down at Kim. “We drove straightaway here from the airport.”

“I’m so glad you came.” Aom smiles.

“We’re sick worried of Kim, too” Dew smiles.

“Hmm, the perks of being in the limelight, eh” Zee snorted.

“Why?” she sent a confusing look at Zee.

“There are still a bunch of media men outside the main entrance. Man, they are annoying.”

“They’ve been there since the day of the incident. I never had an interview about this, anyway.” Aom says shyly. She never let anyone interview her or anyone related to her about the incident. She thought getting more attention on the media will endanger Kim and her life as well.

“How is she?” asks Air. H