58 - Marianne

In a slow and weak voice and with a smile, he uttered, “... Mom… am I dreaming?"

I shook my head and wiped the tears from my cheeks. "No. You're okay, Aki. You're not dreaming. You’re safe now, and alive… You’re alive, baby.."

I grabbed his hand and squeezed it before I promptly turned around and said, "I'll just call the nurse."

Before I could entirely break down and cry myself in front of Jack, I hurriedly went out and called the doctor and nurse.

They both came quickly and did a check-up on Jack. It went faster than I thought, or perhaps I was too focused on Jack, seeing him well, and finally opened his eyes that I could barely put my attention on anyone else. After a few minutes, the doctor gave me a few instructions before they finally told Jack to stay and get well, and finally left.

After discovering what happened to Jack and me, the local high officials gave us a private room. It wasn’t exactly as grand as most of the private hospitals had but it was neat and decent enough fo