"You have nothing now. Commit yourself to me."
A pristine, crisp white surrounded me, blinding me.
Where was I?
Was I dead?
Was I in the spirit world?
Was that even possible?
I half-expected a light to shine down on my face, and for Avatar Aang to show up or something.
But nothing happened.
I sighed heavily. Wherever I was, at least I had gotten away from Seiji.
I wondered what Momma and Akash and Mr. Fa were doing. If I was okay, they must have been okay as well. Surely someone called the police, and they had to have saved us. Gratitude pulsed through my body.
We had done it. We had escaped from Seiji. I smiled with relief. Momma, Mr. Fa, Akash, and I. We could finally be a family.
The door to my room opened; I expected it to be any one of my family members.
Instead, it was a pretty girl, with dark, mahogany skin and pale green eyes. She smiled warmly at me.
"Hello! My name is Ai, and I am your nurse today. How are you feeling?" she inquired, pressing her hand against my head.
"Hello, Ai! I'm Akira. I'm fine. Where's my family?" I asked, eagerly awaiting her answer. For the slightest moment, I saw a look of terror on her face, before it instantaneously melted back into a calm demeanor.
"Your brother, Akash I believe, is in the other room right now," she responded, while rubbing a paste on the back of my head.
"How is he?" I pursued. She bit her lip nervously.
"He's fine," she said before turning around swiftly to leave the room.
"Excuse me Ai, what about Momma and Mr. Fa?" I questioned. But the door had just shut before my question reached her. Frustrated, I pulled the covers over my head and decided to take a little nap, taking care not to smear the medicine she had slathered over my wound on the clean sheets.
Maybe when I woke up, Momma, Mr. Fa, or Akash would be there.
"You mustn't sleep, my dear!" urged a voice. I looked up to see an old woman stride towards me and sit at the edge of my bed. "If you sleep, death may be waiting. Severe head injuries like yours don't allow for sleep, child," the woman calmly explained, her hand gently pushing the hair back from my face.
"Yes ma'am," I stated.
"My name is Madame Qi. Please, anything you need, let me know and I will see to it that your wish is carried out," she assured.
"I do have one thing," I started. "I want to see my Momma, Akash, and Mr. Fa."
Madame Qi suddenly looked troubled.
"You didn't tell her?" I heard her whisper towards Ai. But Ai merely looked down.
"I didn't have the heart to," Ai admitted. What was going on?
Madame Qi turned back to me, her blue eyes mournful.
"Dearest child, life is very beautiful, very sacred. It is filled with happiness, love, peace, and prosperity. Unfortunately, life also has its shortcomings. There is sorrow, grief, hatred, and war. And everyone at some point in their lives experiences all of these emotions; it wouldn't be natural if any one of these feelings were left unfelt. But you must understand that, no matter, how many of the bad emotions you feel, everything happens for a reason; every day is a gift. Do you understand, my child?" Madame Qi said, each word hitting me harder than a rock. Tears formed in my eyes.
"What happened to Momma?" I asked through clenched teeth, dreading the answer.
"We tried everything, everything! Every healing technique, every medicine, every treatment in the book. But your mother, she…she didn't survive. I'm so sorry, child," Madame Qi said, wiping the tears from her eyes.
I couldn't believe what I had heard.
Momma was…gone? I tried my best to hold back tears. "What about Mr. Fa?" I managed, my fists clenched.
"He…well, he didn't make it either. I'm so sorry, dear."
At that moment, I broke inside. It couldn't be true. Why me?
But for reasons I didn't even understand, I didn't cry. I couldn't cry. I remained speechless, in shock, for what seemed like forever. Madame Qi and Ai exchanged nervous glances.
Finally, a single tear escaped my eye.
"Where's Akash? I need to see him."
"He is in critical condition at the moment, but I assure you, once he is feeling better, you will-"
"I need to see him NOW! For spirits' sake, he's all I have left," I whispered. "Please."
The old lady nodded and led me to Akash's room. He looked so battered, lying on that bed, with bruises and cuts littered all across his face. I shut my eyes tight and took hold of his calloused hand. Everything inside me broke at that moment; I felt lost, alone, absolutely hopeless. I whimpered ever so softly, trying to hold in my sobs as best as I could. But it didn't work. The room drowned in my cries as I lamented the loss of my Momma, my one and only.
Suddenly, Akash opened his eyes.
" Kira? Why are you sad?" he rasped, before closing his eyes once more.
And that immediately silenced me. I realized that I could not just give up, no matter how much I wanted to. I needed to be there for Akash…I was all he had left, and if I gave up on myself, I would be giving up on him as well. No matter how much pain I felt, I had to come through for him. Momma would have wanted that.
I wiped away my tears and stroked his cheek as he slept ever so peacefully.
"Don't you worry, Akash. We have to be strong. We can get through this together," I breathed faintly, stray tears still spilling quietly down my cheeks. But I smiled as I stroked his hair. That's when Ai walked in.
"You are so very strong in dealing with your mother's passing. I could never be as courageous as you…" she smiled, her eyes wet with tears.
Despite my sadness, I managed to smile back. "Momma always told me that whatever happens, happens for a reason, and that fate will always come through for you, things will always be resolved in the end. To honor her memory, I must follow her wisdom," I explained.
Despite the heart-wrenching pain in my gut, my mind understood that Momma would always be with me. Or I had to tell myself that so I could stay strong for Akash. And I hoped that Mr. Fa had found Jia again.
Yet I couldn't shake the feeling, that somehow, I was the one responsible for their deaths.
That continued to haunt me for the rest of my stay at the hospital.