“Don’t cry, baby...” George said.

“Wh-what happened to her?” Kim said in between chokes. “I was just across the room...”

“It’s not your fault sweetie,” George replied. “The doctors said she had another . When I came in, her heart rate and BP were already to the roof...”

“So-sorry dad, I wasn’t gone for a long time...” Kim explained.

“It’s alright sweetie,” George calmed her. “She’s in good hands now, the doctors are looking after her...”

“ But it’s all my fault,” Kim blamed herself. “I should have been with her!”

“It was bound to happen, anak,” George assured her. “ Your mom would not like it if she sees you crying over her...”

“If I didn’t leave her, we would have noticed that something was wrong earlier..." Kim insisted. "It’s all my fault!!!”

George hugged her daughter. He felt her spirits dissipate from all the pain and guilt. He held her hand as she completely broke down.

A few instances later, Kim got her bearings back. She finally came to terms with what happened to her mom. She and her dad were just talking about the day’s events.

“Who was that guy you were with earlier?” George asked.

“Oh him? His name is Gerald,” Kim explained. “He came in almost two weeks ago, he had an accident, and from that he lost his vision...”

“So that’s why he wasn’t looking directly at me when I came in...”

“He’s a great guy, dad, I met him one afternoon and he became a good friend...”

“You like him?” George asked candidly.

“Dad!” Kim exclaimed.

“Why not?” said George. “it’s just a harmless question. You know you can talk to me about stuff like that too.”

“It’s just that...” Kim admitted. “I’m just not used to...telling you stuff...”

“I know, I know,” said George.”Ever since your mom died, sweetie, I know I wasn’t there for you all the time... And for that I’m truly sorry for...”

Kim held his hand. It was his turn to break down. Somehow, she felt his pain too...all his frustrations. Looking at his dad now, he did seem look older for his age. Gray hairs were more prominent on the sides of his head. He’s got more crow’s feet on the corners of his eyes. Her mom’s accident was the most trying thing their young family life had to endure. The ten years that her mom was bed-ridden, the emotional toll upon them strained them to the limit of their relationships with one another. It was for sure the greatest test of strength for their family. And their father was their strength in all of it. He took it upon his shoulders to provide Kim and her siblings the love and care of two parents.

Seeing her father break down like down was almost similar to seeing the very foundation of their home give way to gravity --- slowly their world was caving in. Yet, Kim remained hopeful as she remembered the boy across their room. He had lost his vision, yet he loved his life. Here she was, she has all her faculties intact, she had to be strong. In the past they had pulled through as a family, what more so now when her dad needed her the most.

Kim chided her dad, “We can do this, dad...for mom’s sake we can do this!”

George looked up to her daughter, she was smiling poignantly at him. He felt ashamed of how weak he had become. He readily wiped his tears and hugged her. Together they reminisced the last time they saw her alive.

“You know what Kimmy...” George said after thinking for a while.

“What is it, dad?”

“The last words your mom said to me just before she slipped into a coma was, ‘take care of Kimmy...some day she will meet a man that will make her happy, when that day comes I hope she will have my eyes to seek and find, a man exactly like you.”

“What did she mean by that, dad?” said Kimmy, holding his hand.

“I wish I knew, but somehow what she said got stuck in my head all these years. It always felt that it meant something, but I couldn’t figure it out. You’re mom was like that, she loved leaving me these little cryptic clues all the time. Anyway, Kimmy, your mom really loved you, you know. I know she is always out there looking out for you...”

Kim rested her head on her dad’s chest. She began to think of how her mom would react if she was completely “alive”...

“Dad, do you think mom would be angry if I fall in love with a guy who I barely knew?”

“Knowing your mom, she will find it very romantic...”

“Really? Mom, a helpless romantic? I can’t believe it...”

“Yup, the worst kind!” George said, laughing while jokingly pinching her daughter’s side.

George turned serious after a few minutes...so did Kim.

“Wait, so you mean to say, you really are falling in love with this guy?” George asked.

“I think I am, dad. I don’t really know...I never had been in love before. But, it feels like I knew him all my life. And I would get this funny feeling at the pit of my stomach, especially when I’m near him.“

“Yup, that’s love!” George lovingly confirmed. “Tell me more about him...”

“Well, we share the same interests. He likes art, so do I. We like the same music. We even share similar political views, which was so odd. We are so alike in most ways that the things we disagree on were almost too trivial. The last few days that I’ve spoken to him, we began finishing each other’s sentences....”

“Did you ever mind that he was...blind?”

“Nope, not at all” Kim answered in a matter-of-factly manner. “He needs somebody to take care of him, right? And, I’m a nurse, how could it be more perfect than that?”

“As if taking of your mom was not enough for you...”

“Mom, is mom. He in the meanwhile needs a friend more than anything, and I’m going to be there for him.”

“That’s my daughter, taking care of the world, one person at a time...” beamed George.

“That’s why you love me, because I’m like mom, a hopeless romantic...”Kim retorted.

“I need to meet this Gerald guy...”

“I’ll introduce you to him tomorrow. Dad, come to think of it, he seems to be a little bit more like you. He is so determined, so stubborn sometimes. He has this wry sense of humour just like you. Sometimes, he doesn’t even realize that he was actually being funny. “

“Sounds like a great guy...” George said.

Kim gently poked him on the side. She hugged him once more. For the first time, the barrier between a long lost daughter and her father has been broken. That very moment, Kim felt her father’s love for her envelope her, keeping her safe.

She closed her eyes. Kim instantly fell asleep on her father’s strong arms, knowing that her world was going to be just fine.
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Oxoxoxoxox0
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George was dreaming.

He was on his wife death bed. Her lovely face was now sallow and thin. Her eyes too were sad. She was trying to say something... and every word she said, seemed to echo in his mind.

“Take care of Kimmy...someday she will meet a man that will make her happy...when that day comes I hope she will have my eyes to seek and find, a man exactly like you...”said his wife.

Suddenly, he turned around and there was a vision of his daughter, in a wedding dress... It was the wierdest thing. He was instantly confused. He didn't know if it was a premonition or a hallucination.

“Dad, I found him...I’ll let you meet him someday...I’m marrying a guy just like you....

His world suddenly span into a hazy montage of his life, he began to wonder if this was what they say is a near death experience. He began to feel cold.

His wife suddenly appeared once more.

Then, every word of hers echoed and echoed until he understood the meaning of it...

“man that will make her happy....she will have my eyes...my eyes to seek and find...a man exactly like you...like you...” his wife said over and over again.

Then George felt he was drowning, the vision of his wife fading away, floating into the vast white space his mind created. He was being pulled farther apart from her by an unknown force pulling him by the navel. He slowly and slowly, faded into the darkness....

Then, he woke up.

George was so surprised to see Dr. Arroyo standing in front of him. She slowly let go of Kim’s head, whom he was cradling as she slept. She unconsciously, moved over the other side of the lounge chair. He looked up to the elderly doctor, the latter a bit forlorn.

“Mr. Lim, I’m afraid I have bad news for you...”

“What is it, doc?” George said still trying to gain some sense of sanity back.

“Your wife passed away several minutes ago, at exactly five minutes past three o’clock this morning. An aneurysm on her nape burst from her high blood pressure, it was too late...we tried reviving her but it was too late...” the doctor said.

George was speechless. He just dreamt of her. He didn’t realize that it was the last time his wife will ever speak to him, in his dreams or otherwise. He didn’t comprehend till later that she was actually saying goodbye to him. Tears started to fall from his eyes.

The doctor gave him an emphatic squeeze on the shoulder and started to walk away...

George looked at her daughter in pity. The day that they have been dreading has finally come. Her mom finally said goodbye to them. Kim’s face though was a picture of peace. George could not bring it upon himself to wake her. He decided to let her sleep.

George stood up and decided to go to the nursing station to arrange for his wife’s body to be taken to the morgue.
Then, he realized something. He pulled out his wallet, in it is a organ donor card his wife had signed from several years ago.

At that moment, a massive wave of emotions came crashing down upon him. He knew instantly what her wife was trying to tell her all along!
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0x0x0x0x0
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Kim woke up the next morning, feeling a bit energized. She looked around, and saw the time on the clock by the hallway. It was 12 o’ clock noon, December 18. She stood up, groggy, and began looking for her dad. When she could not find him, she decided to head straight to their hospital room.

She momentarily stopped in front of Gerald’s room. She wanted to apologize for her hasty exit from the evening before. When she opened the door, to her dismay, he was no longer there. The sheets on the bed were already folded neatly for the next patient to occupy. She cursed herself why she had overslept. She could have made a proper goodbye.

When she entered their own room, she saw her dad fixing her mom’s things, slowly folding her clothes into a duffel bag. At that moment, Kim knew what had happened...

“Dad...” she muttered.

George simply nodded and tears started to fall from Kim’s eyes. She rushed over to him and embraced him for comfort. George squeezed her back, his eyes swollen from all the tears he shed. He slowly caressed his daughter’s hair, easing her pain and guilt away. He had to be strong for her --- for their family.

“She’s in a better place now...” George said.

Kim broke down completely.
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IT was the morning of December 25, 2008. Christmas Day. It was seven days after the surgery. Gerald was so excited that he was finally going to see again.

The surgeon slowly took the bandages of his eyes. As layers were pulled away one by one, light started to trickle in. It was still blurry though. Then he started to see figures standing by the foot of his bed. As the last layer was pulled out, his blurred vision started to clear. Then he saw them.

Gerald saw his mom, a hand to , tears in her eyes. Then to the left of her were two individuals he did not recognize from before. An asian girl in a bright sunny dress, somewhat looking vaguely familiar to him and a similarly asian-looking man, which he deduced was her father.

“Are you...Kim?” Gerald asked.

“Yes...” she shyly answered.

“Don’t you recognize her son?” Gloria answered. She was half expecting that he would distinguish her as the girl from his dreams.

“No mom, I don’t...” Gerald said frankly.

“Was she not the Kim that came to you in your dream?” Gloria asked.

Kim meanwhile felt Gerald’s every denial pierce her heart.

“I wished she was mom, but she isn’t. It was another Kim that came to me,” Gerald explained.

He then turned to look at Kim, “ Sorry Kim, she did look somewhat like you though. But I remember her face completely, it was so distinctly imprinted in my mind. I’m sorry, but she wasn’t you! I’m sorry...”

Kim upon hearing this rushed out of the hospital room really hurt and confused. She tried to outrun the tears from her eyes, but they fell too fast. She found herself just running...running away from the truth...she was not the girl he expected her to be. She was the body and the voice, but not the face. But to him, somehow, it was the face that mattered. And that’s what hurt Kim the most.

Meanwhile, back at the hospital room...

“Son...” Gloria said. “It was Kim’s mom that gave you your eyes back...”

Gerald looked at George with so much guilt.

“Sir, thank you for all your help these last few days. I am very grateful for what you have done to me. But, I was just being honest. It doesn’t mean that I don’t like your daughter at all. I was just surprised that she didn’t look exactly like the girl in my dream. But, a dream is just a dream...”

“Believe me, I do understand what you’re saying, Gerald.” George said. “Don’t worry, I’ll talk to Kim.”

George was set to leave the room to look for Kim. Then, he thought of something. He pulled out his wallet. He took out an old photograph he had been keeping for many years. IT was already faded.

It was a picture of his wife... Kim’s mom.

“Was this the Kim you saw in your dreams?”

Gerald took the photograph. Blood rushed to his face. There she was, smiling back at him, the girl from his dream. The beautiful lady that nursed him to recovery, the very image that brought her the inspiration to live, smiled back at him in the form of an old photograph. IT was the Kim he was longing to see. The varying emotions running in him was so incredibly complex, that he was left looking shocked and dazed.

“Yes...” was all Gerald could muster to say.

“That is Kim, my wife. Her name is Kimiko, she’s half-Japanese. We named our daughter Kimberly, after her.” George confirmed.

“Kim...” Gerald muttered. He was still confused as ever.

“She cared for you in your dreams, didn’t she son?” said Gloria, moving closer to Gerald.

“Yes, she did.” Gerald said, nodding. “She roused me back to life when I was in a coma. Now she has given me her eyes to see...and how do I repay her?”

“You’re just confused, son...” said George.

“And how did I repay her...by hurting her daughter...” Gerald said, very disgusted with himself. He had been very insensitive of Kim’s emotions.

This was the very thing his mom was warning him about from before, Gerald thought. What if Kim did not turn out to be who he thought she would be. He had been so naive to think that it would not matter. Looking back, he was almost too sure in his heart that she and the Kim from his dream are one and the same. How wrong he was. He instantly realized that her face didn’t matter. The Kim he fell in love with was the Kim he discovered upon waking up from the coma, not the one when he was in it.

“You didn’t mean to hurt her, son...” said George.

“I’d like to talk to her...”said Gerald, tears falling from his eyes.

George nodded.

George understood what the situation called for. It was his turn to play matchmaker --- the very thing his wife needed to do in the first place. His wife had been carefully orchestrating this union of their daughter to this beautiful boy from the deep recesses of her sleeping mind. George found it just right to set everything into its proper place. Call it his wife’s last request. And he would certainly not turn her down.
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0x0x0x0x0
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That night, George escorted her daughter to a restaurant. Kim readily followed him, without question her hand by his arm. She was so devoid of feeling. The emotional upheaval she underwent in the last few days, from the death of her mom to the somewhat denial by a first love was just too much for her young heart to handle. She was like a walking zombie, completely jaded and apathetic.

However, her heart of ice instantly melted at the sight of him.

Gerald stood there by the table, all glorious in a black suit. His new eyes were sparkling. In his hand was a bouquet of red roses.

Kim looked at her dad, he was smiling. George motioned to leave, Kim held on to his hand.

“Please don’t leave me here, dad.”

“Sweetie, it’s about time you deal with him yourself...”

“Dad, I can’t face him right now...” Kim protested.

“You have to...it’s called growing up.” George smiled
warmly at her. He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and walked away.

Now, she was left with him...awkward situation. She tried to put up a disgruntled face, but deep down her heart was fluttering a thousand beats per minute.

“Why are you laughing?” Kim said, her hands on her hips.

“You’re blushing...”

“Am I?” Kim placed her hands on her face, her face was burning. “I keep forgetting that you can see me now...”

“Yes, I can see you now,” Gerald said with meaning.

Gerald handed her the roses. She smelled them, they were her favourite kind. He slowly pulled out a chair for her to sit. Kim slowly slid into her seat. He sat across her, still smiling.

“What is all this?” Kim asked, supposedly annoyed but she was fooling no one, not even herself. “Is this your plan to make up for everything?”

“No, this is our official second date...” He said frankly.

“My mom just died, you’ve just recovered from a surgery, yet the first thing that came to your mind was a date? This doesn’t sound right...it’s a bad idea...” Kim rattled on and motioned to stand up.

Gerald immediately held her hand. Kim felt a tingle in every nerve of her body. She was so amazed how his mere touch could elicit that kind of a reaction from her. She decided to remain seated, facing his piercing brown eyes.

“Can you blame me for doing all that?” Gerald rationalized.

“No...I guess not...”

“Okay, now listen. I need to explain myself, ” Gerald started.

Kim loosely listened, but deep inside, her heart wanted to hear his every explanation. Her heart throbbed in excitement.

“I admit I did not expect you to look like you. I was expecting somebody else. I realized that the Kim I knew in my dream was not the Kim I fell in love with...get it? I was confused, because in my heart, I thought you and her were one and the same. The romantic person inside me hoped that you were her. But it did not turn out like that. However, the Kim I met when I lost my sight was even more amazingly beautiful than the one I met in my dream...”

Gerald stopped to catch his breath. He was looking at her face for some validation. However, he could not read the expression on her face. Kim meanwhile was determined not to show any emotions even though her hands were trembling.

“Yes...go on...” Kim said, an eyebrow raised.

“Uhhm... yes, okay, it turned out to be that the girl in my dreams was the woman that gave me the eyes to see. Kimmy, the girl I dreamt about was no other than your mom. She helped me rise out of a coma. But more importantly, she led me straight to you! I met you through her! Don’t you see, she was orchestrating this all along...”

“You mean to say... my mom was the one you dreamt about?”

“However incredible that may sound, but yes, she was the one who helped me wake up from that dreadful coma. Perhaps, so I can meet you. And these eyes of hers, are the very reason I could see you now! She really meant for us to be together, I just somehow misread the signs.”

Kim didn’t know how to react to his revelations. She was still so bewildered trying to process the recent turn of events. She was fighting to hold back her tears too.

Gerald, seeing her troubled by her thoughts, held her hand.

“Yes Kimmy, your mom planned this all along. She was a wonderfully, scheming woman...”

“And a hopeless romantic...” Kim sprightly added.

She finally looked up to him. She slowly clasped his hand too. Kim closed her eyes, muttering a simple thank you for her mom.

As if on cue, a quartet of string players came into the room. Kim’s eyes instantly brightened. They slowly, upon cue from Gerald, started to play a violin version of...Kyla’s Beautiful Days.

“What is this?” Kim exclaimed animatedly.

“This is where the date properly starts. Now, after all those clearing ups and explanations...it’s time we danced...shall we?”

Kim nodded.

Gerald took her hand and they both stood up. They wrapped themselves in a warm, tight embrace. They held on each other dearly, moving slowly to the beautiful and soulful violin. Kim felt everything every loose end in her life aligned completely. Everything felt right. Gerald meanwhile felt very happy. He somehow knew that this was the life he was missing. A life full of love and care. They looked into each other’s happy eyes.

“I’m in love with you Kim...” Gerald said. “Mind, body and soul...”

“ And I’m in love with you too, Gerald.” Kim responded, happily mimicking him. "Mind, body and soul..."

Gerald felt that the moment was right this time. He slowly moved closer to her, raised her chin slightly and gave Kim the thing she had not experienced ever in her young life --- her first kiss.

It was warm and tender. Their lips touched lightly and gently. It was soft, gentle and fleeting...

“How was it?” Gerald asked after.

“It was...nice,” Kim answered.

“Nice...just nice?” Gerald said incredulously.

“What were you expecting?”

“Something along the lines of ‘earth-shattering’...”Gerald said shyly, shrugging his shoulders.

“You might not be that good of a kisser yet...” Kim joked.

“Can I redeem myself then?” Gerald said, his eyes as wide as saucers.

“Yes... you may,” Kim replied with a hint of excitement.

Gerald slowly moved in and lowered his head to meet hers. Kim closed her eyes to anticipate the sweetness of his kiss. Their lips touched once more. This time, it was perfect. Like their love...it was sweeter the second time around.
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Epilogue -----> coming up!