Pain explodes in his head as Héctor opens his eyes. The light is unusually bright and blurs his vision. He closes them, then opens them again. The pain lessens when he does, satisfying him when his sight clears up.
He looks around and sees that he's back in him and Imelda's room. He's laying down, in the same position he was when... it started.
His gaze drifts over to the side of the bed, and he sees that Imelda is holding his hand. She seems to be sleeping, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Imelda?" he whispers.
She stirs and opens her eyes, wiping away the tears quickly. The two make eye contact before Héctor breaks it and turns away for a moment, cringing. He feels terrible. Imelda shouldn't have to see him this way. He sighs. "How long have you been up here?" he asks her.
"Since you and Victoria came back." she answers. "You got sick again and had to come back here."
Suddenly Héctor sees the images in his mind: Victoria's worried face, his eyesight blurring rapidly, the ground getting closer and closer as he falls.
"Where's Victoria?" Héctor adjusts his position and stares at Imelda.
"Right here," a familiar voice answers. Héctor looks around and sees Victoria standing in the doorway. She smiles at him. "Glad you're awake."
Héctor stiffens, feeling a sudden pang of regret. "I'm sorry I ruined our walk." he mutters, turning away. "We were having so much fun and I ruined it."
"No you didn't." Victoria tells him. "I shouldn't have offered it anyway. You were still sick. You just seemed so upset and bored."
Héctor nodded. "I was. You did the right thing. And I had fun. I really did."
Victoria comes over and sits next to him. "So did I." she replies, "I had a lot of fun talking to you."
They sit in silence for a moment. After a while, Imelda stands up and says, "Let's give him some space. I think he wants to rest right now."
Victoria nods. "Okay." She smiles at him. "Adios," she says before closing the door.
When Héctor wakes up the next day, it hits him again, but in a different way.
He doesn't feel tired.
He doesn't feel cold.
He feels... better.
This is more like it, he thinks to himself, smiling.
He gets out of bed and heads downstairs, excited to move at his own pace again.
When Imelda sees him, she smiles knowingly. Héctor smiles back.
"This is much better than being sick," he tells her.
Imelda smiles again. "I know." she whispers back. "This is the side of you I like to see."