[Aaron’s POV]

The doctor walked out of the emergency room. His face was full of stress and concern. Gui stood up instantly as she quickly walks up to him, flooding him with questions about Danson. The doctor remained silent for a long moment and shook his head.

Gui: What? How is he? Say something!

Doctor: He’s still alive; at least that’s still something good. But he’s not in a good shape either. He injured the back of his head during the accident. Unfortunately, the injury caused a blood clot to form in his head, so right now he’s still unconscious, or in a coma. There is no certain way to know when or if he’ll wake up. I wouldn’t put in too much hope. He was already in such a bad condition when he arrived here. We’ve seen a case like this before, it’s amazing that he still alive.

The doctor said the whole analysis without stopping, shooting everything at once to us. Gui lost balance and took a light step backwards. Even I had to freeze my brain for a second to register what the doctor had just said. The guy in there is so young, he has such a good life waiting ahead for him, but now no one will know when he’ll wake up to continue his life journey. This moment, life seemed so fragile, so breakable, slipping away with every heart beat.

Gui and I had our senses to focused on the doctor that we didn’t realize Hebe had already waken up beside me. It was the sound of her cry that snapped us back from deep thought, reminding us that here stands a girl that will be hurt a hundred times, a thousand times, a million times, more than us because of what the doctor had just said.

Gui walks back to Hebe as the doctor disappears back into the emergency room again. Gui hugged Hebe tightly as they both cried together silently.

Gui: Hebe, are you okay?

Hebe: Did you hear what the doctor said? That stupid doctor said he won’t wake up! *tears* He’s in a coma. *sob* He’ll never see my face again.

Aaron: It’s okay, the doctor didn’t say he won’t wake up forever. We just have to wait.

Hebe: How long? A year? 5 years? 10 years?

Gui: Or it may be just a few days. I’m sure Danson will be fine.

Hebe: No matter how long, I won’t go anywhere. I’ll wait here until he wakes up. Gui, my phone is out of batteries, so can you help me make a call for my manager to explain this? And I’ll have to hold back the drama I was shooting with Mike.

Gui: Sure. I’ll call Mike too. So you just plan on staying here? You’re not going to get some stuff first?

Hebe: I’ll wait here. I don’t want to miss anything while I’m gone. Can you get some of my stuff for me from my house?

Gui: No problem.

Aaron: Don’t worry; I’m sure you don’t have to wait long. I don’t have any plans for the nest few days; I can stay here will you.

Hebe: Thank you guys.

Gui stayed with Hebe and I for the next two days. Gui and I had gone to Hebe’s house then my house to get fresh clothes and daily utensils to prepare for our stay at the hospital. The VIP room Danson’s in has a large bathroom to shower and sofa-bed so we stayed there without much trouble.

I was pretty much free because Gui had never finished shooting her scene with Alien so my scenes are being held back. After two days, Gui had finally returned to the crew to finish up her scene because everyone else was waiting for her.

Hebe didn’t have any problems holding back work either because they needed Mike to film their drama anyways, and Mike was still in Japan so there’s nothing for Hebe to do either. I stayed with Hebe in the hospital while Gui was gone.

Danson still haven’t shown any signs of waking up. But Hebe is very stubborn, sitting by his side day and night, afraid of missing any small movement that Danson may have. It’s been 4 days like this already, and you could tell how pale and stressed out Hebe was. She was getting thinner everyday, forgetting to keep herself eating and healthy. That was my job now.

***
Aaron: I went out and bought some lunch. Please eat something. Don’t make yourself sick too. I’m sure Danson won’t want to see that.

Hebe: I just don’t want him out of my sight. Alright….

Hebe walked to the dining table and sat with her back to Danson. Hebe ate lunch slowly, turning her head around to watch Danson every bite that’s he takes. Worry was everywhere in her eyes. There was nothing else I could do but to remind her to keep eating. Hebe turned and stared at Danson for a long time in silence. She seemed really focused, not hearing me calling her name. I stood up and walked across the table to the other side to face her.

There were tears streaming down her face again. This is about the fourth time today. I suddenly had an urge to just walk up and hug her in my arms, to hold her tightly. I kneeled down to her eye level as I reached my hands out to cup her face. I gently wiped her tears with my thumbs. She looked up to meet my eyes. Her face was so confused. She looked like such a lost puppy right now.

Aaron: Don’t worry. Just like you worry about Danson, there are people in this world that worry about you like Gui and I. Don’t be like this, have courage and be strong.

Hebe: Thank you.

Aaron: Thank me? For what?

Hebe: For being here. For taking care of me.

Aaron: No need. That’s what friends are for.

Then she reached out and wrapped her tiny arms around my waist and laid her head on my shoulders.

Hebe: And thank you for lending me a shoulder when I can’t stand alone.

I responded and hugged her close to me as I wrapped my long arms around her back. We hugged in silence for a long moment. I leaned my head back a little so I could see her face. I lifted a strand of hair off her face as I looked into her eyes.

Aaron: Just remember, no matter what happens, no matter if your happy or sad, I’ll be here with you. As long as you need me, I’ll be here for you.

Hebe: Thank you.

Hebe laid her head back onto my shoulders as we hugged each other tightly. We just stayed there and hugged silently. The silence was interrupted by the footsteps outside. Our silence made the footsteps sound so clear, so loud. The steps got faster and faster, rushing, closer, and closer to us. It was an unfamiliar and strange, Then the door loudly opened as the person rushed int.

Mike: Hebe! I heard about Danson. How is he? How are you?

Then he suddenly stopped his tracks as he sees us. Hebe looked up as she met his gaze. She quickly pulled away from our hug.

Hebe: Mike! I thought you were in Japan? You’re back already?

Mike: I heard the news about Danson from Gui. So I thought I would come back earlier since there’s no one to take care of you… uh… this is? Sorry I barged in…

I could tell the awkwardness between Hebe and Mike. I’m not friends with him, but I’ve heard a lot about him from people around me. Most people said he was a nice guy, and especially close to Hebe. They said that Mike and Hebe matched perfectly, and the rumors about them on the news last time… I didn’t pay much attention to it before because I didn’t even know Hebe then, but now, all of that seemed to sting my ears a little just hearing that.

Hebe looks at me and then looked back at Mike.

Hebe: This is Aaron Yan, he’s also an actor. I’m sure you know him.

Mike: um.. yea. I’ve heard about him. You guys…?

Hebe: Oh, we’re friends. He was with me when I heard about Danson and he took care of me while I was crazy over Danson…

Mike: oh. Why didn’t you call me? You know I would’ve come back right away…

Hebe: Well my phone was out of batteries and I didn’t want to leave the hospital so I waited until Gui brought back my phone charger. It’s still charging right now. And also, I don’t want you to throw away your work to come back here. You shouldn’t have left early. Now I feel bad…

Mike: How could I not?

*Silence*

It was very awkward indeed. I didn’t know what to say. They seemed to be having their own conversation and there didn’t seem to be anywhere to fit me in. Although Hebe denied the rumors she had with Mike, I could tell that Mike meant much to her. And the way he looked at her, it was way beyond friendship. Gui was right, Hebe must be blind to not see that.

Just as I was thinking about our weird relationships, I suddenly felt a light nudge by my legs. It was very light, almost like a feather, but I was sure that I had felt something just now. I quickly turned around and saw Danson’s hands twitching.

Aaron: Hebe! Hebe! Danson’s hands moved!