Karina's POV

4:00 am

I suddenly woke up from a dream that someone was shaking me up and calling my name, I was fully expecting it to be Winter but I was incredibly disappointed. When I checked on her she was still in a deep sleep and she wasn't even moving.

I didn't realize that I fell asleep on the chair beside her. I checked the time, it's only four in the morning so I decided to go back to bed. 

7:00 am

"Ma'am?"

"Ma'am, excuse me."

I found the nurse tapping my arm and waking me up from my sleep. I got startled when I saw a group of doctors standing around Winter's hospital bed. "Nurse what is going on?!" I asked them worriedly.

I was so clueless with what they're doing and I didn't get to have a view of Winter. I was so baffled with what's happening inside the room and I was so terrified dahil baka kung ano na yung nangyari sakanya while I was sleeping.

I just calmed myself down nung nagsalita na yung nurse and she informed me of what's really happening."Gising na po yung patient and her doctors are currently checking her up. Nakita po namin siyang gising kanina nung kukunin ko yung vital signs niya, about twenty minutes ago. Nakita ko din po na sinusubukan niya kayong tawagin."

"Oh god I'm sorry I wasn't able to hear it, nakatulog ako. How is she doing, pwede ko po ba siya makita?"

"Pagkatapos po nila. Chncheck po kasi nila siya mabuti and they are doing some tests, kanina pa po nandito sila doc."

"Hindi ko kasi narinig, I'm so sorry. But please I want to know kung okay ba siya, is she responding like is she not vegetative?"

"Yung doctor nalang po niya yung mageexplain sainyo."

"Please kahit yun lang, I want to know if she is far from being brain dead."

"Doc excuse lang po, gising na po yung nagbabantay sakanya."

Nakita ko na lumingon sakin yung ibang doctors na nakatayo paikot sa hospital bed ni Winter. This is so ing awkward and embarrassing. I am so stupid, hindi ko manlang siya narinig and hindi ako nagising when she was calling me.

"Hi good morning ma'am" One of the doctors acknowledged me so I greeted back."Good morning po."

"We have good news. Gising na siya and she is fully conscious. We've started checking her, she is doing okay although we will be requiring a lot of tests. You may see her now, nakakaintindi din siya." They made way for me at dahan dahan ako naglakad papunta sa hospital bed ni Winter. Sinusubukan ko na silipin siya but there were so many of them na nakaharang sakanya. I was so nervous and I was trying my best to stop myself from crying because I couldn't believe what he just told me.

I was going through so many waves of emotions and anxiety when I slowly walked towards the bed. It felt like my heart was beating hard enough to jump out of my body. I got closer to the bed and then I saw her. She was sitting up and looking so overwhelmed by the group doctors in front of her. "Winter?" I cried out. She carefully turned her head towards my direction. "Pup" I went closer to her before I slowly put my arms around her. "Oh my god Winter" I gently touched her face at tinignan ko siya mabuti, her eyes are now open and she's staring back at me.

*sobbing*

"You're really awake."

"I miss you so much." I kissed her on the forehead and I just kept caressing and hugging her."I love you."

*sobbing* "Winter you made it, you woke up."

*sobbing*

I had to compose myself when I remembered that the group of doctors are still there standing in front of us. " She was calling you, mukang matagal na siyang gising. She can recall her name and her birthday, hindi lang muna namin tinuloy baka kasi mabigla. Hinahanap din niya kanina pa kung may kasama siya. Tinatawag niya yung name mo so probably nakikilala ka niya, kasi ikaw yung nakita niya na nandito."

*sobbing*

"Oh my gosh Pup, thank God you made it." I gave her a soft kiss on the cheek and I was carefully hugging her while she was staring at me.

*sobbing* "Pup I am so happy that you are awake." Nakatingin lang sakin si Winter and she looked so confused. Sobrang natuwa ako when she leaned her head against me and she held my arm while I was hugging her."I think she is hugging me back, nakikila niya po ba ako?"

"Yes I think so. She is doing very well with her responses and okay yung movements niya."

"Hindi pa po alam ng parents niya that she's already awake, iinform ko na po sila."

"Yes please do tell them because this is a good news."

"Pup your mom and ate will be very happy, sobrang miss na miss ka na nilang lahat, lalo yung mga best friends mo."

"I want to inform you, we will be requiring a lot of tests in the following days and it is going to be tedious. The important thing is she is doing well, she is responding and she is able to follow simple commands. I can say that she is out of being unconscious. Although you will probably notice that there is something different with her speech. Hindi ganun kalinaw yung salita niya."

"What do you mean?"

"I will explain it to you later. For now we will have to continuously observe her. Na-check na namin siya but madami pa kailangan gawin."

The doctor who is leading the test. He is Winter's neurologist, yung ibang kasama niya I think they are resident doctors that are training under him.

"Does she really recognize me? Why does she seem so very puzzled and bakit po parang wala siya naririnig?"

"She can. She is doing great with the GCS and it is totally normal for patients who just woke up from a coma na naguguluhan at hindi nila alam yung nangyayari sa paligid. Here let's have a look. Winter can you hear me?"

Lumingon si Winter when the doctor called her attention but she did not react with the question.

"You do not have to talk, you can nod or give a thumbs up if you agree. Okay?"

She slightly nodded and she turned to face me. She looked clueless and it was as if she was waiting for me to tell her something with the way she was looking at me. "It will be okay Pup, they will ask you questions and you will try to answer them." I told her, before I kissed her forehead.

Sobrang saya ko na gising na si Winter but there's a part of me na sobrang kabado at natatakot because I could tell that there is something wrong, or this is normal because she just woke up from a seven month long coma. She has no expressions and she seems dazed and lost. With the way she stares at me hindi ko alam kung kilala niya ba ako or she was trying to recognize me.

"Winter? We will be asking you some questions about yourself."

She looked back up at the ceiling and she's not responding for a while. I watched her eyes as they moved back and forth, halata na parang nagtataka siya sa kung ano yung ginagawa nila sakanya. "Pup I will stay here, the doctor is going to do some tests on you. Don't be scared okay?" I kissed her temple and I removed my arms around her before I sat on the chair. She did not react at all and I didn't expect what happened next. I was caught by surprise when she grabbed my hand and she was stopping me from transferring to the chair. "Don't be scared I'm here, hindi ako aalis." I whispered to her. "Can I sit beside her?"I requested the doctor because it's too obvious that she is so tensed and she didn't want me to go.

"Yes of course."

 I did not leave her side at umupo nalang ako sa tabi niya. She settled in my arms while they asked her questions. She was just scanning the entire room looking so oblivious. Tumitingin din siya sakin and I could tell that she was trying to recognize my face.

"Winter I want to see kung kaya mo mag thumbs up." The doctor started. "Can you do it? Can you raise your hand?"

Winter was watching the doctor. I felt at ease when she moved her left hand slowly and she gave a thumbs up. "That's it. I will be asking you some questions now."

"Ma'am what's your name?" The doctor turned to me. He intentionally lowered the sound of his voice because he's avoiding Winter to hear it. "I'm Karina." I answered.

"Is she your cousin?"

"What? Uhm sorry no, I'm not her cousin. She is my e-"

"Winter is my girlfriend, I am her girlfriend po." Nakita ko kung pano tumingin sakin si Winter dahil dun sa nasabi ko sa doctor niya. She was so lost and baffled pero nung narinig niya yung sinabi ko, nakita ko na naintindihan niya at halata na medyo nagulat siya. Hindi ko naman sinasadya but I didn't know what to say because I was so nervous and I felt so scared. To be honest I am not ready to let her go, especially now that she is back into consciousness. I would like to stay with her and I want to be the one to take care of her.

"Okay, let's start."

I was observing Winter, she's just leaning against me while she's gripping my arm. She's becoming more still and relaxed.

"Do you know your name?"

She tried to sit up before she answered the question. The doctor warned her because she was too aggressive. "Don't move yet, you don't need to change your position, you can answer while you are lying down."

"Do you know your full name?" He needed to ask one more time because Winter was looking so perplexed with the question.

"Winter Kim" She whispered to me. "Pup they cannot hear you, can you say it again?" She looked at me before she said her name."Winter Kim"

I noticed that there is something wrong with her speech. Naiintindihan naman yung salita niya but the words coming out of her sounded so slurred kaya kailangan pakinggan mabuti.

"That's right, how old are you?"

"Twenty four" She choked a bit. Winter cannot control her drooling. She was salivating excessively so I went to reach for the tissue from the bedside table. "Pup, pupunasan ko lang." I gently pressed the tissue right below her chin. I was starting to get worried because I know that this is probably a result of her brain injury.

"When is your birthday?"

"January 1"

"and can you tell me what year?"

"200- I don't"

"It's okay you if you can't give a complete answer yet"

Every time she answers the question sobrang kinakabahan ako. She can remember some of her personal details although we have to understand her words since we can't hear what she is saying.

"How are you feeling Winter?" She gave a thumbs up as a response. "Do you know where you are?" The doctor asked once again. She turned her face to me before she whispered "yes" We didn't quite get it so I leaned closer and I asked her. "Do you know where you are Pup?"

"Yes" 

"She said yes doctor."

"Winter, I am here to help you and we are not gonna harm you. You are here with us in the hospital." Nung narinig niya yung sinabi ng doctor, she grabbed my arm at hinila niya pa ako palapit sakanya. "Is it okay if I hug her while you ask her questions? She seems so tensed."

"Yes of course, having someone familiar would help her feel at ease. Being disoriented or scared after waking up from a coma is completely normal."

"Calm down Pup, he is your doctor. He is here to help you with your recovery."

"Winter, do you know what happened to you?"

"No."

"Do you still remember your job?"

"Yes"

"Can you tell me what you do?"

"Design"

"Do you recognize the girl beside you?"

Sobrang kinakabahan ako, we're all waiting for her to respond but she was not moving and she's just staring at me blankly. It's taking time for her to answer so the doctor had to repeat the question. "Winter, namumukaan mo ba siya?"

I felt relieved when she responded. "Yes" The doctor followed up with another question. "Do you remember who she is?" She looked at me again as she held my arm a little tighter."Ex-girlfriend" She kind of mumbled her words kaya pinaulit ng doctor yung sinabi niya. "I didn't hear it, can you say it louder?"

"The girl beside you, do you remember who she is?"

"Ex-girlfriend"

"Ex-girlfriend, okay you are doing great Winter because you remember a lot of details."

I'm really happy that Winter was able to answer although I am not going to deny that I got hurt when she recognized me as her ex-girlfriend. I also felt so small and embarrassed kasi sobrang proud pa ako kanina when I introduced myself to the doctors as her girlfriend.

"Do you know her name?" I was becoming so tensed at nagsstart na akong mairita dahil masyado na madaming questions na tinatanong yung doctor niya, the more he is giving out questions, the more I was getting so anxious. I could even hear my heart beating faster and louder.

I was so nervous, she was just looking at my face and she didn't answer right away. "Winter, do you remember her name?" She kinda wrinkled her forehead before she nodded. "Can you tell me?"

"Karina"

"Well done Winter. Obviously she remembers you and she is orientated, hindi niya nakakalimutan even if she is slightly confused. She is also capable of obeying commands and directions."

"Pup you are doing great and you're able to answer a lot." I gently fixed her hair with my fingers and I was her back. Nag frown lang siya sakin and it looked like she's wondering why I'm the one who's with her.

The doctor continued. "We already did the motor skills test a while ago and she did okay, we will let her rest for a while but in the following days we will see if she will be able to walk."

"How about the other parts of her body is she doing okay, nagagalaw po ba niya?"

"She is able to move her legs, toes, same with her arms and hands. Although I am telling you now that this is a very long process. It is good that she is safe but let us not be complacent. Winter you are doing great but you have to be careful, hindi ka pa pwedeng tumayo. Your recovery will take time."

I was touching Winter's hair habang nakayakap ako sakanya at naka hawak siya sakin. She was just scanning the room and she's looking at me every time na may sasabihin yung doctor niya.

"Ma'am I will just have to discuss some things with you."

"Okay po doctor." When I tried to get out of bed mas humigpit pa yung hawak sakin ni Winter and she started crying. "Hey pup, don't worry I won't leave you, kakausapin ko lang naman yung doctor mo and he's gonna tell me something important."

"I can see that she is still scared and kind of disoriented. I think it's better if I just come back later."

"Her parents are also coming, they are on their way."

"Alright since I will do another rounds in the afternoon. I will have to discuss some things about her. For now, she has to rest. The nurses will monitor her as well because honestly, she can still go back to being minimally unconscious. We cannot be too complacent."

"What? So you mean she is not totally safe and she can go back to being comatose?"

"She is conscious now but she is not 100% out of the woods yet, that's why I am requiring a strict monitoring."

"Oh god. Is there anything I can do, should I talk to her to keep her awake or something?"

"You can have a normal conversation with her, but she is not allowed to walk and stand up yet, it will be dangerous. The nurses will be checking on her from time to time. She might also get off-track and agitated, so please inform them immediately if she shows some signs of distress."

"Okay doctor. I have another question because I noticed that she is drooling so much and she cannot control it. Bakit po naging ganito?"

"Her drooling is actually moderate, she is suffering from dysphagia, swallowing difficulties plus the slurred speech. We will observe her and we can assess once we are done with all the tests if she can undergo therapy."

"Is it possible na maayos po through therapy?"

"Yes of course, but I can't assure you because hindi pa naman nagagawa yung mga tests."

"Is she allowed to drink water?"

"No not yet, we will not be removing the feeding tube anytime soon. Just make sure to continue with her oral care, by using the mouth sponge. Although in the next few days she can start brushing her teeth.  You may ask for the nurse's assistance kung pano." 

"Okay po I got it. I'll let her mom know na babalik nalang po kayo later this afternoon."

"Yes i'll be checking up on her again. We'll go ahead."

"Okay doctor, thank you po."

All of them left the room at kami nalang ni Winter yung nandito. I kinda feel anxious and paranoid when he said na pwede pa pala bumalik sa minimally conscious state si Winter. I don't know if I will be able to sleep, parang gusto ko siya bantayan at ayaw ko hayaan na makatulog siya. 

"Pup wait for me, I'm just gonna get my phone because I need to inform your ate Taeyeon." I went to the visitor's bed to get my phone. I sent a message to ate Taeyeon and tita pati na din sila Yeji. I also informed them that Winter managed to talk and respond to all the questions given to her.

"Karina" I heard her mutter softly."Winter?"

"Pup did you call me?"

"Karina"

Even though her words were slurring and she's sounding like her tongue was stuck, I could still perceive what she was trying to tell me.

"Pup? Why? How are you feeling, may masakit ba sayo?" After I replied to ate Taeyeon bumalik na kagad ako sa tabi ni Winter. I took her in my arms again and I let her lean on me. "No" she said before she shook her head. "Pup you just don't know how happy I am now that you are awake." I told her while she was looking at me.

I cannot believe that Winter is lying beside me and she is fully awake habang nakahawak siya sakin. I am so relieved that she did not forget about me and she knows my name.

"You don't have to say anything, I am just feeling so grateful that you are back and you didn't lose your memory."

I heard her whisper something and it wasn't loud enough for me to hear so I leaned in closer. "What are you saying?" I could feel her breathing into my ear "Where am I?"

"You are admitted here at the hospital in BGC."

"What happened?"

"You want to know what happened to you?" She nodded her head. I pressed the tissue on the side of because she is drooling. I can notice that she is becoming more sensible and she can understand what we are alking about. "You got into an accident, but now you are okay. You are recovering."

"How?"

"How did you get into an accident?"

"Yes"

"Windsurfing, you hit your head."

"I don't-"

"Don't worry about that Pup, tapos na. You are doing well now, you are safe and conscious."

"How long have I been gone?" I didn't hear her voice so I slightly leaned forward again because I wanted her to repeat what she said. "What is that Pup, can you say it again?"

"How long have I been gone?" She whispered.

"How long? You were unconscious for seven months."

"Oh no, why" She's obviously becoming upset, so I held closer to me."I'm sorry Winter"

"It's due to the accident. I'm really sorry about what happened Pup."

"I want mom"

"Mom? You want to see your mom? Tita knows that you are awake, papunta na sila ni ate Taeyeon, I just talked to her and they are coming here to see you. I can tell that they are so happy that you are awake. Tuwang tuwa daw yung mommy mo."

"Ate, I want to see."

"Yeah nakausap ko na, they are on their way. They are coming to see you, pati sila Ning and Yeji they know that you are awake. They might visit you."

I noticed na unti unti na niyang naaalala lahat so I didn't stop talking to her. "Do you still remember Ning, Ryujin and Yeji? Also your friends sila Lia and Heejin, do you remember them?"

"I know"

"How about me, do you still remember me?"

"Yes"

"What do you remember about us?"

"Jail"