The long wait

Chase’s gaze fell on the newspaper headline, which dripped with sarcasm. “The Malvins Brothers Conspire to Abandon The CEO Ship: Coincidence or a Heart Warming Attempt to Resolve Their Differences?”.

Chase found the headline absolutely ridiculous. He felt perplexed by how the media found his unresolved issues with his brother amusing. His reasons for his temporary break from work was simply to commit his time to rest, and watch over the woman who was in what seemed to be an infinite comma, lying in his mansion. He wasn’t even aware that his twin brother, Chris had taken an interim from his company just about the same time as he took his. Shaking his head in disbelief, he stood up, tossed the paper in the trashcan and sat, slowly sipping his green tea. Chase couldn’t help but notice how much his skin texture improved since he started his herbal tea therapy. As he sat at the table in utter silence, he kept reminiscing about five months before, to the night he rescued the young woman who had been brutally injured.

Five months had passed since he’d rescued her, but she was still in a comma. He’d spoken words of desperation countless times before, but now they carried a deeper significance. He’d grown attached to this woman, whose name he still didn’t know, and the thought of losing her was unbearable. The doctors had done everything in their power to revive her, but she remained trapped in a comma, her eyes stubbornly refusing to open. Chase’s heart ached with a mix of sadness, frustration, and longing as he begged her to come back to him. He was desperate for answers, he just had to figure out a way to get out of the maze he and the young lady in a comma were in.

“Please don’t die on me,” he whispered, his voice cracking with raw emotion. “I need you to wake up, I desperately do”. He meant every single word he said. Finally, they had told him she was never going to recover and that he had to unplug the life machine and let her go. He had stonily refused, keeping the faith that she would wake up, eventually. With determination, he made an extraordinary decision. He arranged for her to be transferred to his own home, where he could care for her privately. A nurse would visit daily to attend to her needs, and Chase would be her constant guardian, holding onto the faith that she would eventually emerge from her long slumber. After this, he insisted that they move her into his house and have a nurse check on her daily.

“Well, isn’t this just the perfect time for you to play hero, Chase?”, the doctor said sarcastically.

“Is this really the time for sarcasm, Doc? She’s lying in that bed , fighting for her life!”, he replied not hiding his frustration. “I’m only trying to help”.

The doctor shrugged. Finally, they agreed to let him take full responsibility of the stranger and move her into his house until she recovered. Or at least woke up from the comma. Since then a month had passed, and he still waited patiently

Meanwhile, it had been a very cold day with the wind blowing all day. Chase had spent most of the day indoors. Chase stood at the window, gazing out at the winter unfolding before his eyes. Chase's eyes lingered on the snow-covered car, his mind drifting to the woman he had rescued, still lying in the room across his bedroom, her fate uncertain. He looked at the time. Six thirty! He went to the bathroom and took a warm shower. After that he went to the kitchen and made a sandwich and coffee. He ate in silence, feeling depressed by the silence that filled the mansion. He walked across the hallway to his bedroom, pulling his feet. As he wanted to loosen his robe so he could get into bed, he frowned at the screechy sound of his open window. He closed the window, feeling glad that he was off work and did not have to be outside in that drafty weather. Then suddenly , he heard a low, yet persistent clearing of the throat.

He was alone in the house, but he was sure he had heard a faint cough. After listening carefully it was clear the voice was coming from the room across his bedroom, where the unconscious woman had been lying hopelessly. Were his ears deceiving him? He stood up, his tall legs trembling and dropped the remote control he was holding in his hand. With the speed of a tortoise, he slowly walked to the door and opened it hesitantly. He turned on the light. There she was, sitting on the bed. Chase pinched himself. He wanted to be sure his eyes were not deceiving him, he wanted to be sure he was not in a dream. For a moment, Chase froze in this emotional crescendo. Finally, he had seen light at the end of the tunnel. Five whole months of patience and resilient hope, the long wait had finally came to an end. She had finally opened her eyes and marked an end to a comma she had been for months trapped in.