Are you kidding?

While Ava was traversing the timeline from Cirro back to the present with Emett, she heard the wailing ambulance and the screeches of the stretcher tires as it wheeled in the background.  Doctors asking for the patient's initial details and giving instructions to the nurses. Mixed voices of people talking, announcements on the intercom, crying relatives and laughing children chime in. As well as the machines beeping all at the same time. It almost made her head hurt hearing those sounds all at once.

"Will we lose her for good this time? I can't take it love. She's still got so much ahead of her." 

When she heard that familiar soothing voice, glaze with worry it's as if those grating noises faded in the background. Her right hand automatically flew to her mouth and found herself staring at Emett. He shone the brightest in his golden aura against the long exposure of rainbow lights all around them. They were moving so fast in that space she could barely keep up.

"Ava can get through this. That girl is hard-headed. I could just imagine her giving the gods an earful to get back here," he said consoling her wife. 

His wife smiles as she leans on her husband's left shoulder, "yeah."

The pair of them were desperate to be with her but they couldn't. Instead, they were content staring at the flailing door of the emergency room, after Ava was brought inside. They held hands relying on each other for strength.

Each moment that passed felt longer. Yet being impatient would get them nowhere. They could only wait and take it from there.

"You gods are really hypocrites. Imposing fairness to humanity but bend it to your advantage otherwise, don't you?" Ava glared at her body being operated on. 

Emett clears his throat, "I beg to disagree, kid. Gods see justice way different from you because we see the bigger picture."

She turns around only to be frozen. Not because of Emett's power but with her own will. They were a few inches away from each other after all. She didn't know he was right behind her.

"You do and that's why you toy with us for your  amusement." She flicks her hair backwards to get her confidence and sass back. "Seeing a million possibilities on how we would act must be fun. Just like now, you knew I would turn around but you never moved back."

A playful smile emerged on his lips as if taunting her even more. "Actually that's a solid argument and I can't deny that." He then cups her chin and leaned closer. "Though you're forgetting something important. Free will exists and that turns the fun and challenge a notch higher."

Emett let's go and then held her on both shoulders to make her turn around. "Look over there," he said while pointing  at her heart rate from the machine. "I'm just confirming your answer to seal the deal," he whispers with an enticing tone.

Ava elbows him-furious because he reads her like a book. "That's why you made them come here? Isn't that underhanded even for a god?"

He hid his hands behind and circled her. "Not if it's part of the original set up. The only thing I changed was the ending."

"Like I told you back then, I accepted your terms, isn't that enough?"

Emett halts and leans closer. "Then show me some enthusiasm. You're still having second thoughts don't you?" He meant her declining heart rate.

Ava palms his face away from her. "I'm  beginning to think that you just made up the personal space cr*p for reputation." She then sighed. "Got that covered, are you happy now?"

Her rate was supposed to get up steadily but instead her body was violently shaking. She didn't know he was childish enough to push her soul back to her body.

"No need to thank me, they're pretty tense out there you know," he said casually, pursing his lips outside the emergency room. "Now calm down."

Who startled me anyway?

Emett looked away and whistled.

Finally Ava settled down that made the shuffling medical team calm down as her condition stabilized.

***

Ava awakened from the operation and saw familiar faces she thought she would never see in the light of day. Dark circles hanging around their eyes was proof enough how much she had put them through. Even the thought of choosing death just moments ago felt like a distant past to her. She thinks it was not that bad that the god of time persuaded her. Though it doesn’t change the fact that she still hates him. She roamed her eyes around looking for his annoying presence too but she found none.

“We’re so glad that you were out of the woods dear.” The woman encloses her hand with Ava and places it on her cheek while looking at her with teary eyes.

“I know you were a tough kid, surely you took after me. That’s what I’ve been telling her.” The man leans closer and kisses his wife’s head then grins. 

He also pushes his wife forward to act as a shield as if anticipating something. After a few moments of silence he straightens himself.

“I can’t stand looking at your pathetic self from hell, Dave,” she muses.

“She’s definitely back. Is that the right way to talk to her beloved father, Claire? I’ve been worried sick you know.”

His wife shrugs him off and now holds both of Ava’s hands with a serious face. “Do I need to call the doctor? Are you hungry?”

Ava chuckles but then scrunches her face when she feels a quick brush of pain from her abdomen. She almost forgot where she was. 

“Last time I checked I still have the same set of parents, Dave. Claire, I’m fine. The wounds that heal the worst are not on the outside.”

“I don’t know what we did for you to turn out like this.” Claire contentedly smiles.

Ava snorts, “a delinquent good for nothing woman?”

Claire’s hands flew to Ava’s  face and squished her cheeks. “An understanding and independent woman, silly.”

“You need to stop the disappearing act as well. If you have troubles, share them with us. I’m more than willing to sell off an organ for your debt.”

“Dave!” Both women glared at him.

“What? I’m just lighting up the mood.”

“You’re making it worse. Here munch on that and stop bothering us for a moment.” Claire picks an apple from the bedside table and throws it to her husband.

Dave catches it and immediately sulks on the couch. “Now they are shutting me out again. Why are you siding with her, Ava?” His expression turned sour as he murmured.

“Act your age Dave, I could still hear you from here. “ Ava said from a distance, “ How the hell did you marry that pathetic soul over there? The bigger question is how is he even my uncle?” She said it louder on purpose.

“Well, I don’t know.” Claire shrugs and chuckles, teasing her husband even more. “For starters,  he is an awesome dad to Caia, an endearing husband to me and a worry-wart uncle for you. He just has his ways of getting his feelings across.”

“In your face, niece!” Dave smiles triumphantly  while lying on the couch. He aims to shoot the apple core on the metal mesh dustbin beside the sliding door as if a three pointer would. The bin clunks, confirming his victory which made him grin manically.

“I’m telling you Claire, you’re giving my uncle too much credit. It’s still not too late to change your mind.”

“Not going to happen, right love?” Before they knew it Dave was already sitting beside Claire reeking with blinding devotion for her.

“See that? Personal space is out of the question, just like someone I know.”

“Who?” Claire and Dave said in unison with disbelief dripping from their tone. Utterly shocked by the fact that their niece has a close friend, they don’t know of.

“Excuse me, did I hear that right? The Ava that we know is ninety percent spite and ten percent reason, managed to have a friend?” Dave slams both hands on the side part of the hospital bed putting his niece in an instant hot seat.

Claire chimes in. “Aside from your cat, I doubt it.”

“Not a friend but an acquaintance. He’s name is-”

“I can’t believe Ava reached a point when she even hallucinates having friends on the brink of death.” Dave slowly moves closer and hugs Ava as he pats her head. “You should have told us you were that lonely.”

She then pushes her uncle, “what are you saying Dave? He’s real. His name is-” it was at the tip of her tongue but she can’t say it. Eventually, the face she tries to remember also begins fading in her memory.

“You don’t have to force yourself Ava, we are always here for you.” Dave held her at arm’s length looking straight at her with reassuring eyes.

“You were interrupting too much, that's why I forgot what I was about to say,” she said, trying to laugh it out of the situation. Yet her gut tells her it’s more than that.

She then shifted back to bed and pulled up the covers isolating herself. It was their cue to leave. When she was alone that’s when it occurred to her.

Was that a dream or did it happen? How come I can’t remember his name and face? I feel like I’m forgetting something important.

No matter how hard she thinks she’s just circling back to her memory of watching her body getting operated on. With a vague idea on who’s beside her and what they are talking about.

“I’m done getting left in the dark. I’ll force myself to remember no matter what it takes.”