02

SUNKISS MEETING

Even before opening her eyes, she knew that something was off. She did not feel anything and she could not remember any coherent thing.

She dreaded what was waiting for her just beyond her closed eyes.

She knew it was cowardly not facing whatever it was beyond the darkness but she could not help it. She didn't know what she was gonna see with her eyes open and that scared her.

As time ticked by, she was growing more anxious as a vague memory of darkness and heat seem to nag at her brain, '... it can't be?'

She took a calming breath and then she finally opened her eyes as a faint memory of excruciating pain and thoughts of dread and death semi-paralyzed her.

The light that attacked her eyes was blinding, she immediately closed her eyes again to stop the pain that shoot to her eyes. She then blinked her eyes a couple of times and slightly opened them again. As she tried to focus she heard rustle and a couple of inaudible voices surrounding her.

As her eyes finally fully open to take in her surrounding, her sense of dread was coming in two-fold. She tried to speak but, no sound would come out.

Looking around, she then saw the looming figures sorrounding her. She scanned the room, it was occupied by a couple of people that she was not familiar with. 

'GOD...'

She was terrified, 'what is this? Where am I?'

As she looked around her again, a man in white came closer and said something. It was incomprehensive.

'Am I dead?'

She did not understand. Still terrified, she stared at him directly and noticed that he was smiling.

'An Angel.... Is he?'

She tried to speak again, to ask a question but as she blinked back tears a memory of a truck moving towards her became clearer.

'I'm dead?', realization hit her,

Her heart was being ripped, 'NO....', 

She wanted to scream, 'God.. NO!'

She brought her hands  to her body feeling cold, colder all of a sudden as her raging emotions and thoughts converged, 'I'm... dead.... It can't be.. '

She hugged herself tights ad pinched her left arm with her right fingers. She still felt the pain yet she knew that even with pain the finaliity of her death cannot be erased, 'No... I'm too young to be dead.'

She slapped her arms with her hand wanting to wake up from the nightmare, 'Daddy.... Mom....'

The room was suddenly full of people trying to hold her.

She knew it was pointless, dead was dead. She may be too your to be dead, may be too alone to be dead and may be too terrified to be dead but nonetheless she was dead.

Flashes of her family come in -- her dad, mom and brothers -- it was making her dazed. 'This is too cruel.'

Multiple hands grabbed her trying to subdued her. Their grabby hands and their touched felt real. It made her feel alive. The pressure, the restrain and the pain mixing. It made her hope.

'God... Please... God, please....', She pleaded.

God didn't answer.

She still heard people screaming what seemed like instrutions but she still could not understand, it felt familiar but still incomprehensible.

Then she noticed that the man who had walked near her earlier had something in his hands. She blinked back her tears and tried to understand what was happening. She tried to reason that heaven was not supposed to be this way, heaven was suppose to be painless, happy and smiling people.

She screamed for help and tried to scream for them to stop. As the guy in while came near, her focus became sharp and she then saw a syringe. She then went to focus on his face, she noticed the look of worry as he looked at her distress. He made a sign that to the people holding him still.

She became focused, eyes and understading she looked a a man in white with s syringe coming close.

'Syringe? angel? Doctor? What? Why?' she was trying to come to terms with what was happening

'I am not dead?', she asked as the man suddenly made touchdown on the syringe to her arm.

She was weak, limp and held down but as her hope begin to rise she called out in a weakened voice, "No... Please..."

She felt the syringe tear her skin and she pleaded again, "Please stop..."

She looked around wanting to make them stop, wanting to plead her case to other people around her. She saw more people by the sidelines  -- a man and a woman. They were in casual clothes. She begged again, "Please..."

They then looked at her and turned to the man and said something. They were words that felt familiar but she still could not understand. 

The people holding her slowly released her arms and body. She felt lightheaded but more focused. She looked at the man and woman in casual clothes, they looked worried and apprehensive.

seared with pain after her few workds. She looked at her side and saw a  glass of water. She tried to reach for it but she felt too weak from her current ordeal.  A woman in white moved forward and gave it to her.

Holding the glass of water to her lips she took a gulp. The water burned like it was tequila.

She cleared and coughed a few times. She then looked at the people around who were silen and seemed to watch her like a hawk.

She wanted to hope but she knew she had to face the facts. She turned to the woman who gave her water and asked, "Nasa langit na ba ako?"  (Am I in heaven?)

They exchanged look with each other.  She asked another, “Sino kayo?" (Who are you?)

They stared at her. They didn't answer.  

She felt that her head, at the right temporal area. It felt tender even in her lightheadedness state. It started to overwhelm her and she looked at the man in casual clother and pleaded, “anong nangyari?" (What happened?)

No one answered and she asked again,  “Sino kayo?" (Who are you?)

Their silence was making her dread the answer and she asked another question, "What am I doing here?"

The man at the sideline moved closer, he had  a friendly smile and I directed my question at him. pleading with him to clear out my panic, "What happened to me?”

"Miss, it's okay. You are safe." The man's voice was gentle.

The woman in white continued the explanation, “Miss, you are in a hospital. You were in an accident but you are safe now.”

She looked at them and tried to come to terms with what they were saying. 'In an accident?'

She closed her eyes and recounted her hazy last memories and flashes of a truck colliding towards her.

Panic was rising again as she tried to feel her body. She could not feel her feet. She tried to reach for her legs but she was too weak and lightheaded.

She turned to them and asked, "Accident? Anong nangyari? Anong aksidente? Paano ako napunta dito? Bakit wala ako maramdaman sa mga paa ko?" (Accident? What happened? What Accident? How did I get here? Why don't I feel anything in my legs?)

 They looked at each other with blanked looks and the guy in casual clothes then answered in gentle voice, “Miss slow down with the questions you might hurt yourself. And please speak in English."

She looked at them, 'English? Speak English..' and she spoke "I was speaking in.."

She realized she was speaking in Filipino.

She took a break and she asked again, "My feet? I can't feel them."

The guy in casual clothes looked at the woman in white. She turned her gaze to her sensing that she might have the answer.

"I don't know how much to tell you right now, but in general I can say you are safe. We have done our prileminary tests and saw that there was no broken bone. You were in an accident and it's pretty normal to feel this way with the anesthesia shot we gave you. We are still running some tests but I do assure you that the initial prognosis is good." She explained. 

She was relieved, somewhat. She still didn't know to believe but she still hoped.

She had so many questions but with her lighheadedness she was having a hard time forming a proper questionl. She took a deep breath and focused on the main question nagging at her. She then assked, "Who are you?"

The woman in white answered her, "I am Dr. Oh SangMi, and I am the internist. He is Dr. Yang HyunBin is your neurologist", the guy in white nodded.

"We are your doctors.”, Dr Yang HyunBin stated.

Looking at their lab coats and scrubs it was starting to make sense, but her lightheaded state was making it hard to digest all in one go.

She then stared at the man in casual clothe. Sensing that she also wanted to know who he is, he answered, "My name is Kim Young Joong and I am the one who has full responsibility of you from now on."

'Responsibility?

'I am his responsibility?' she didn't understand why. She stared at him. She was not familiar with him. 

She turned to the doctors and looked back again to the man named Kim Young Joong who just stated thet she was his responsibility. She stared at him, trying to remember and scan her memory on his face or name.

Nothing.

She really had no clue who he was.

"Wae?", She asked him.

They stared at her, confounded at her question. she did not realized with what language she asked her question and Kim Young Joong asked, "What do mean why?"

She took a drink in the glass of water that was still in her hands, and asked again now fully directing her question at him, "Who are you?". Her voice was strained.

He smiled and held her gaze, he had gentle eyes that went with his gentle voice when he answered, "I'm the father of the child you saved. I am forever in your debt. Whatever you need, whatever you want just tell me and I'll try my best to fultil it. Whatever it is, just whaever it is" 

He sat at the chair beside her bed and continued, "Thank you so.... so so.... much. Really.... I cant say thank you enough. Thank you so much..." By the time he ended his pledge there was a crack in his voice and his eyes was glazed.

She sat still with disbelief at what she heard, she knew about the truck but everything else was hazy. She stared at the doctors for confirmation but they stood in silence giving her time to take it all in. It was an overwhelming story.

She felt her eyes closing immediately, they were fading away into blackness, numbness  and silence.

'What?', She was fading to blackness but she still fought it.

She stiffened and forced herself to open her eyes. She truned her gaze to where Dr.Yang HyunBin was. In her foggy state, the memory of the shot from the syringe became focused in her thoughts and she sked in shaky voice, "You? What did you..." while holding her arm where she was shot.

Dr. Oh SangMin answered, "we gave you Diazepham, a sedative to calm you down earlier. We only have a couple of minutes before you will be completely asleep because of the drug we injected."

She looked at her in irritation, she could not believe that she was gonna be knocked out. She was going to protest in indignation but she was still too unfocused. Without missing a beat, Dr.Oh SangMin continued to ask, "We know this is a lot to take in and we also know you have a  lot of questions but please try to answer a few questions for us first. This is important."

She looked around and she saw the worried face of Kim Young Joong. She then heard the question, "What is your name? We need your medical history."

It was becoming more hazy by the second,  looking at the doctors face she knew it was important and she can only answer weakly, "I am Seraphyme Alena.." unable to continue inone breathe.

Closing her eyes and she continued, "Please call Aleksandra La Diosa. Her number is saved in my tablet."

She opened her eyes, tried to reach for Kim Young Joong's hand, she asked pleadingly, "Where am I?"

Kim Young Joong reached her hand and answered, "You are are in St. Lukes International Hospital. You are in Seoul, South Korea."

At hearing that she was in Seoul, a hazy memory of her talk with Kisa (Aleksandra La Diosa) was becoming prominent in her slowly detriorating ocntrol against the sedative.

Kim Young Joong was explaining further, "You have been in the hospital since..." when the door opened.

Everyone's attention turned to the newly arrived person. Darkness was starting to take over her again. Yett she fought and somehow won by an inch. She was in a  very bad lethargic state now.  

There was dead silence, she thought it was the drug taking over but when she shook her head and was focused for a bit. She looked around and she noticed that everyone was staring at the newly arrived person.

He stood by the door awkwardly, she was a couple of meters away. With the door still open, the noise from the hallway was carried into the room. It was weird but she heard some squeling.

"Hyung Mianhe-yo..." He spoke in deep, reserved and manly voice. He then closed the door.

Kim Young Joong then broke the silence as he cleared his throat. She could not feel anything now from her neck to her feet. The only bdy part she could control now was her eyes was was slowly dropping close the gravity.

But she persevered, she looked at Kim Young Joong in question. Without any words he answered her, "That's my younger brother." as the man from the door walked closer.

The man stopped when he was at foot of the bed. Then his face came in clear view as Kim Yoong Joong continued to introduce his brother, "He is Kim Hyun Joong..."

A jolt ran through her body and she alert for that moment when recognition come, 'Kim Hyun Joong...'

As she looked and digested all the things they explained, she realized then with great overwhelming feeling the fact that, 'I saved Kim Hyun joong's niece'

As the darkness, numbness and silence finally took over her sanity; she repeated over and over like a mantra, 'I saved Kim Hyun Joong’s niece...'

Seraphym Summer Alena-Ackles