CHAPTER 44: GOODBYES

Someone was crying.

Am I dead?

Rebecca’s hand twitched and all of a sudden, she felt a pair of cold hands clamping onto hers.

“She’s awake!” a voice squealed.

I know that voice.

“Rebecca! Honey!” another voice.

Mom?

She finally opened her eyes with great difficulty and to her delight, she was greeted by the faces of her loved ones – her mom, John, Jean and Sam. There was even a bouquet of bougainvillaea on the overbed table.

Oh, so I’m not dead.

On her left, holding tightly onto her free hand was her mother, sobbing uncontrollably. She smiled weakly at her mother, feeling her lips crack in the process. She needed a drink. Her throat hurt. Come to think of it, her whole body and head hurt.

“Where am I?” she managed to croak out. Her mother cried even louder. The