Bedmates Soulmates

No Light At The End Of The Tunnel

"Shoot, I overslept!"

Kira woke up to the bright rays of the morning sun.

She fumbled for her phone.

The battery was dead.

She had meant to stay for an hour or two with her father, but somehow dozed off and spent the night in the ward.

The companion bed was a cot.

The hard mattress gave her neck and shoulder pain.

Kira massaged her neck and started for the door.

She knew there was a pay phone at the cafeteria downstairs.

She should call Elsie.

Over the past year, the matronly housekeeper had taken Kira under her wings.

She must be worried sick when Kira didn't return to the villa last night.

Damn, I can't remember her number. Kira slapped a palm to her forehead.

She should call her boss Paul as well.

She needed to apologise for leaving work early yesterday.

But she couldn't recall his number, either.

Kira stopped.

Her charger was at the office

She would take a cab there as soon as she finished talking to the doctor.

'Should I call him? Kira thought, before shaking her head. 'He probably didn't notice I was gone. Besides, once Elsie knows, he'll know."

Dr Morrison made his rounds at 7.15 am.

Kira followed his every action, heart in mouth.

"Relax, your father's doing great. The neurologist offered a rare smile. "His vitals are looking good."

Kira licked her chapped lips. 'When is he going to wake up?"

"I can't say for sure. It's really up to your father, you know. We've done all we can, and the fMRI results do look promising. But this is his fight." Kira's shoulders sank.

'Don't give up. Miracles can happen."

"Okay, Kira said with a weak smile. Thank you, Doctor

Miracle?

It was now almost two years.

No Light At The End Of The Tunnel:

Providence sure took its time.

Kira could wait.

She had patience, if nothing else.

But the worst thing was, she couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel.

If only the doctors could give her a clear prognosis.

If they t

told her that her father would wake up after five years, or ten, or twenty, she would circle the date on the calendar with a big red marker.

She would grit her teeth and tough it out.

But she couldn't bear this uncertainty.

Getting her hopes up, only to be met with crushing disappointment.

Kira saw the doctor off with a forced smile.

As soon as he left, she rushed into the restroom and let the tears burst the dam.

When the torrent subsided into a trickle, Kira looked up.

Her eyes were red and puffy.

"Like an albino rabbit.' Kira pulled a face.

It was what Giana would have said if she were here..

Kira splashed cold water on her face. Come on, pull yourself together."

She returned to the ward.

""Morning, Dad."

With a wetted sponge, she cleaned her father's face.

Never plump to begin with, he was now practically reduced to a bag of bones.

Kira swallowed the lump in her throat.

Someone had left a copy of yesterday's newspaper on a bench outside the room.

Kira picked it up.

'Let's see. A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck a southwestern province. 46 dead. Jailed ex-PM seeks royal pardon. Arsenal and Man United are in another contest for titles. Ah, here's some happy news. Scientists have made a breakthrough in the race to save Caribbean coral...' After she finished reading the headlines, she put away the paper and chatted with her father.

Dr Morrison said a familiar voice might ald in her father's recovery.

"Did I tell you I got the job at the M Group? Unbelievable, right? I even got an employee ID, with my name and photo on it. I'll bring it by and show you another day. Payday's in two weeks. I can't wait!'

It was only a two-month internship, but the M Group was known for its ultra-generous salary

She would be able to add to her growing pile of cache

"I'll pay back every cent I owe the McCarthy family,' she promised. 'It may take a long time, but I'll get there eventually."

'Don't take anything that doesn't belong to you," her father used to say to her when Kira was a kid. 'There's

No Light At The End Of The Tannul

no such thing as a free lunch."

"Slow and steady wins the race.'

'Big mouthfuls often choke."

'If you ask for too much at once, you will come home with an empty bag."

He was fond of pithy proverbs like those and he practised what he preached.novelbin

If he knew what she did to get him treatment, he would have pulled the plug on his own ventilator.

Kira willed the day of graduation to come sooner.

Graduation meant a job.

A job meant a steady income.

A steady income meant she could pay off her debt.

The day she became debt-free would be the day she left Austyn.

"Mom, didn't you visit the vegetable yesterday? Why are you back? More importantly, why must you drag me along?"

Georgina complained.

She poked her fan at the patient's inert body.

Helen sized up the room. "What do you think of this place?

She was here yesterday, but had to cut her visit short.

Georgina told her Kira must have hooked up with a rich man, since she saw the girl get into a luxury car. Helen couldn't hold back her curiosity. She didn't have the girl's number, so she had to come to the hospital.

But she didn't see Kira on her first trip.

Georgina gave the room a cursory gland sneered It's a VIP ward, plain as day. That girl is a college

student. Where would she have gotten the money to pay for all this? I'm telling you, she has a sugar daddy."

A dark cloud descended over Helen's face.

When Kira returned to the ward, the first thing she saw was her biological mother, with a face like thunder.

She'd just run to the cafeteria downstairs to make some calls,

How did they get in here?

*Georgina, get your hands off my father!" she shoved the door wider and stomped inside. 'If you touch him with that fan again, I'll break your arm!" Georgina jumped at the loud bang.

Then she curled her lip when she saw who it was. 'You think I'm scared by your lousy threat?"

To prove her point, she tapped the round silk fan on the patient's face. 'There, I did it again. What are you going to do about it?'