CHAPTER 36:THE MIDNIGHT VIGIL
543 Words
The hours dragged on in the ITRMC ward, marked only by the soft, rhythmic hum of the ventilation and the distant, muted sounds of the city of San Fernando settling into sleep. Mama Eliza was finally dozing off on the wooden bench, her breathing evening out, but I remained awake, staring at the ceiling, my mind still swirling with hospital bills and the terrifying fear of what tomorrow might bring.
Reuben stood up quietly, smoothing out his uniform. He caught my eye and gestured toward the door. "Malia, hindi pa kayo nakakapag-dinner nang maayos. Lalabas lang ako sandali. Bibili ako ng pagkain, mainit na kape, at kung may mahanap man akong folding bed o kumot sa labas para hindi kayo masyadong mahirapan ni Tita."
"Reuben, tama na. Sobra-sobra na 'yung binigay mo," I whispered, but he only gave me a small, determined smile.
"I’ll be back in fifteen minutes. Don’t worry about the cost, Engineer. Just worry about staying sane," he murmured, his eyes lingering on mine for a second longer than necessary before he slipped out of the room.
He returned just as he promised, carrying a plastic bag filled with warm beef pares, two cups of steaming coffee, and a soft, thick blanket he must have haggled for from a nearby shop. He set everything down with the efficiency of someone who had a plan for every contingency.
After we gently tucked Mama Eliza in with the new blanket, we retreated to the small table near the window where the moonlight filtered in. We didn't talk much at first; we just shared the warm meal, the simple comfort of hot food feeling like a luxury in the sterile hospital environment.
When we were done, Reuben didn't reach for his phone to scroll mindlessly. Instead, he pulled out his CPA reviewer, and I, in turn, unrolled the thick tube containing my structural blueprints.
"Hindi natin pwedeng hayaan na mapag-iwanan tayo ng requirements mo," Reuben said quietly, spreading his ledger sheets across the small table. "I’ll review my balance sheets, and you can finish those calculations for your load-bearing walls. If you get stuck, let me know. I might not be an engineer, but I know how to check if the math makes sense."
I looked at him—my accountant, my friend, my constant—working diligently under the dim yellow light of the hospital corridor bleeding into our room. The silence wasn't empty; it was filled with the scratching of his pen and the soft rustle of my drafting paper.
"You know," I said after a long silence, my voice barely audible. "People say hospitals are places where hope goes to die. But right now, with you here... it doesn't feel that way."
Reuben looked up from his ledger, his gaze locking onto mine. "Hospitals are places where we fight for the future, Malia. And I’m not just going to watch you fight alone. Whether it's structural integrity or financial audits, we’ll solve the equation together."
In the dead of the night, amidst the beeping of machines and the weight of our shared struggles, we calculated our way forward,i one line of math and one heartbeat at a time.
- Writer
