CHAPTER FOUR
They were in that beautiful lush green field again, bathed in sunshine. She always loved to go there and they were never without their picnic basket whenever they went, considering how much this girl loved to eat. She could out eat him any given day. He smiled as he peeled an apple for her, glancing at her beautiful profile. She could never sit still. It was always something or another preoccupying her. The littlest things fascinated her and right now, it was a hapless dragonfly that held her undivided attention. She was certainly unique and, to him, incredibly special. She was so innocent, pure, and child-like. Shielded from the evils of the outside world by the doting man, who raised her as his own.
He looked down at the apple and finished peeling it. He expertly quartered it and looked up, handing her the fruit. She was nowhere in sight. He jumped to his feet, looking around in panic. Abandoning the fruit, he took off running, calling out to her, fear ringing clear in his voice. The sky was growing dark much too fast to be normal. Like her, the sun had vanished without a trace. He ran aimlessly in the growing darkness, frantically scanning the countryside and suddenly a massive stone tower loomed before him. He slowed to a stop and looked up. The sight that greeted him almost brought him to his knees. There she was, tears streaming down her face, on her hands and knees, a jagged knife thrust ever so close against her slender neck. He choked out her name, willing his feet to move but he remained rooted where he stood. And before he knew what hit him, he was sent flying against a distant stone wall. A scream ripped from her throat as she saw him smash against it and slide limply down to the ground. It was his name. Blinded by pain, he struggled to push himself up but was brought crashing back down to the ground by a heavy booted foot against the small of his back. He looked up weakly and through bleary eyes saw a dark looming figure leering at him. He turned his head and gazed at her helplessly. She was still on her knees; her beautiful red-brown swimming in tears as she held his gaze. The other girl, who held the knife to his beloved, threw him a taunting look. Her eyes shining like the sunlit ocean as she wordlessly raised her pale arm high and brought the knife sharply back down. He screamed her name.
"He's having another nightmare. His heart rate is becoming increasingly unstable. We need to calm him down."
The doctor stated urgently, looking up from the computer monitor to the young man thrashing in the watery chamber.
He reached out to her, tears spilling onto his cheeks. But he was alone once more. He closed his eyes trying to catch his breath. Then it slowly dawned on him that his body no longer ached. He opened his eyes in confusion and was met by a pair of dancing brown eyes speckled with red. She was kneeling beside him, smiling softly. She reached out and smoothed his hair from his face. He caught her hand and slowly brought it to his lips, giving it a chaste kiss.
Wake up…
He looked at her frowning slightly. He didn't understand. What did she mean? He was after all awake at the moment. As if reading his thoughts, she quietly shook her head. She stood up and held her hand out to him. Aided by her, he gingerly got to his feet. She cupped his face between her small hands and brought his face down towards hers. Standing on her tiptoes, she kissed him softly on the lips. His breath caught at the touch of her soft lips against his. He circled his arms around her slender waist bringing her closer to him. She slowly broke away from him and looked him in the eye. It was only then that he saw the sadness mirrored in their depths. She gently caressed his cheek. He caught her hand and held it there, confusion washing over him in waves.
Wake up, Haji…
She was slowly disappearing. He frantically hugged her closer to him but just as suddenly as she appeared, she was gone. He was alone once again. But he now understood what she meant. He had not been living at all. All he had been doing this whole time was dream. It was time he woke up. She needed him, as he needed her.
"Wait. He seems to have calmed down."
One the doctors said, noticing the young man settle down. He heaved a sigh of relief and gave his partner a tired grin. There were only two of them left. The others have left for the day but unfortunately they were both stuck there since it was their shift to watch the patient that night.
"I'm gonna go grab a coffee. Do you want any?"
He grumbled and slowly made his way to the door.
"I think I need a smoke more than I need coffee." His companion sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "It should be ok right? I mean, I'm not gonna take longer than a couple minutes."
"Yeah… He's not going anywhere."
He replied nodding towards the immobile man. His partner stood up and joined him by the door. Both men walked out of the laboratory and closed the door quietly behind them, desperately seeking some short respite from their long day.
He heard voices as he swam in and out of his dream. He was waking up. He strained to understand what was being said but they had stopped talking. He slowly opened his eyes and blinked a few times, waiting for his vision to clear. It remained blurry but he could see that the large room was empty. He reached his hand out and immediately flinched as pain shot up his arm. He doubled over and waited for it to subside. He felt as though he had been flattened by something. His whole body complained with pain at even the slightest movement. When all the pain had finally dissipated, he gingerly uncurled himself and started to take stock of where he was. He reached out and touched the glass confines of his chamber. He gave it a little push, careful not to strain himself, else the pain surge back. He was too preoccupied with his environment that he failed to notice a figure materialize just a few feet from the closed doors.
