Death is Fate

Chapter One - The Awakening

I heard a sound that I couldn't figure out what kind of sound it was. I slowly opened my eyes, I felt the long-term closure and my vision was very blurry, the bright light hurt my eyes and I felt dizzy. I raised my hands and tried to look at them again and again until my vision gradually became clearer. I noticed something prickly on the top of my left hand and I felt a slight pain as I slowly waved it. I realized it was a serum, but why? I was just woken up by a sound. I looked for where the sound was coming from. I could hear it from the left side near my head. I looked at it closely, a small monitor showing wavy lines and numbers on the side and wires attached, then I followed the wire where it was connected, and I saw something attached to my chest as if it was monitoring my heartbeat and this was probably the sound I was hearing. I slowly looked around and saw that I was lying on a bed that I felt was a patient's bed. I saw a long couch on the right side near the door and on top of it was a large blue bag and I thought there was a lot of stuff inside because it looked like it was about to burst from the amount of stuff it contained. I turned my gaze to the left side near another door that I didn't know if was another room or a bathroom. There was a table on the side of it and many different flowers were placed on it and above the flowers there was a blackboard with many sticky notes hanging on it. I don't know why I feel a tingling sensation in my body, I think I've been lying down for a long time. I thought of pulling the serum out of my hand and enduring the pain. I also removed the wires that were connected to my body. Then I move my legs and feel them stiffen as if I've been in one position for a long time. I also feel the weight of my body, but I still force myself to sit up. I moved my shoulder and arm, it hurt like it was stocked up. I can feel them pulling my back and hips, especially my neck and nape. My head also hurts so much that I can't explain what's happening around me and why I can't see anyone. I took a deep breath and tried to get down but my legs and feet were so weak that I thought it would be difficult for me to stand up. But I tried anyway. I used my hands to lower my legs one by one and when they were hanging over the edge of the bed, I tried to put my feet on the floor slowly. And when I felt the cold floor, I tried to stand up, but I lost my balance and lay down on the floor, my legs were so weak that it was as if they were paralyzed. I cried in pain and was confused about what was happening to me.

I forced myself to sit up and lean on the edge of the bed. I couldn't stop myself from crying. The fears, confusion and unknown reasons were mixing in my mind. My hands were shaking as I wiped away my tears. I tried to scream and call for help, but my voice seemed to be struggling to come out, and I could feel my throat drying up. My eyes searched around the room for water and I saw a small bottle on the edge of the couch that I thought was filled with water. But how could I get it if I couldn't stand or walk? I thought about crawling slowly, even though it was painful and very difficult, I still forced myself just to drink water. I didn't care about the pain and the weight of my body, the important thing was to drink water. When I reached the edge of the couch, I took the bottle and leaned on, then I took a sip of water. I slowly drank the water until I finished it.

I took a deep breath and composed myself. My gaze turned to the door near the couch. I could hear footsteps getting closer and closer. Suddenly, the door opened, and a nurse came rushing in and was shocked to see Lila sitting on the floor while leaning against the couch.

She hurriedly approached Lila's and examined her body carefully, "Are you okay?" she asked with concern in her voice as she repeatedly examined Lila's body.

Lila remained silent and dumbfounded, with a look of surprise on her face, as she stared at the nurse. When the nurse saw that Lila's body was okay, she immediately got up and went out to call a doctor.

Nurse Irish quickly opened the office door of the doctor without knocking. " Doctor William, Lila is finally awake. " There's an excitement in her voice. Then she turned her gaze to nurse Tiara standing at the side of the doctor's desk. " Call Nurse Martin, I need him, please, hurry up. " She asked nurse Tiara to do what she said with a serious face. And her voice echoed inside the doctor's office, then she hurried back into the room where Lila was.

A little later, a male doctor arrived in Lila's room. He looked elderly, tall and of average build, fair-skinned and wearing glasses. "Where is nurse Martin?" the doctor asked and looked at nurse Irish. "We need him to lift Lila and sit her on the bed," he explained.

"Don't worry, doc, he's on his way," Nurse Irish replied and looked at the door. "He's here, doc." Nurse Irish pointed to Nurse Martin's arrival.

Lila looked at the man who had arrived. He was tall, had very black hair and was a bit curly, had fair skin, and it was obvious that he exercised every day. I turned my gaze to Nurse Irish. She looked like she was from another country. She had narrow eyes and brown eyes, a slim and shapely body and was tall like a model.

"Martin, move Lila to her bed." Doctor William asked Nurse Martin to carry Lila's to move back into her bed.

Nurse Martin came over and carried Lila and made her sit on the bed. Doc. William approached Lila and took the small flashlight from his pocket and shone the light directly on Lila's eyes. Doctor William held her eyelids and opened them wider and examined her irises with the flashlight. He examined both of her eyes. " How is your feeling now? " He asked Lila and took the stethoscope hanging from his neck, and the chest piece was inserted and passed through the collar of Lila's patient's gown, he placed it on top of her chest and began to check her heartbeat.

She tried to speak but not much of a voice came out. She had a hard time getting words out, as if her throat was very hoarse. But she still forced herself to speak. " W~what's g~going on? W~where am I~ and why am I~I here? " I couldn't open my mouth very much, and it seemed like I was whispering and struggling to speak. But the expression on my face was begging to know the answer.

" Before I tell you, take a deep breath, inhale, exhale. " Doctor William asked first and listened carefully to her breathing with the stethoscope. And when he was sure everything was okay, he hung the stethoscope back around his neck and started talking. " I want you to know that you have been in a coma for over five years, so if you notice that you are experiencing difficulty speaking, hard to balance your body weight, you feel dizzy, you feel the weakness of your body muscles and all because of lying in bed for a long time due to in coma. " He explained clearly with taking a deep sigh.

"I see, b~but why am I in a c~coma? and w~hy can't I re~member a s~ingle memory? " It's hard to speak, but these are the questions that are bothering Lila's mind. And she's seeking more answers.

" You suffered traumatic brain injuries from a fall from the second floor of your apartment, which also caused you to lose your memory. I'm sorry to say this, but I no longer know the cause of your fall because your family has kept the incident confidential. I am not in a position to know the whole story. Your matters are only for your family, the police and investigators. " The doctor explained the difference between his positions. He felt a little sympathy for Lila's condition, and he knew that she would suffer slight difficulties facing the new steps on her new journey without her memories.

Hearing those explanations from the doctor, Lila was still not satisfied and still confused by everything. So many questions are playing inside her head and the hardest thing she is going through right now is losing all her memories from the past, even the last day of the incident. Her eyes started to watery and her tears were on the way to falling.

She felt her head was going to explode, so she started to calm herself for a moment.

The doctor saw Lila's struggle. " I know you're still confused right now and seeking answers for everything, but for now, you should take a rest first. " Doctor William held Lila's shoulders and slowly pushed her to lie down, then he turned his gaze to the nurse standing beside him. " Nurse Irish, I want you to call her family and let them know that she's already awake, hurry up." He said in a bit louder voice. Then he turned back to Lila, " For now, I want you to listen and do what I say, okay? Your family will be here soon, so don't think about anything and just calm yourself down and take a good rest " He said softly while adjusting Lila's blanket and patting her shoulder. "Don't force yourself and your mind to remember what happened to you since the day of the accident because your memory will return when it can remember everything slowly." Doc. Williams explained to her calmly and gave her hope.

Lila just followed what Doctor Williams said and tried to calm herself down. She felt Nurse Martin's hand on her leg as he lifted it and placed a pillow under it. Then he went to her head and adjusted the bed frame behind her, raising it a little. "Is this the right height? Are you comfortable or should I raise it a little?" he asked Lila with a gentle voice and a smile as he spoke.

Lila just nodded in response and moved up a little so she could lean properly on the pillow behind her and smiled slightly at the nurse in gratitude. Lila was suddenly surprised by what the nurse did next to her. Nurse Martin slowly took Lila's left hand and held it with both hands then gently patted the top of Lila's hand

"I'm so happy to see you wide awake," he said while smiling. His face showed the overwhelming joy he felt. " Don't worry because we will help you gradually walk and regain your previous strength and completely recover. " There was excitement in his voice and he promised Lila with a smile.

Lila felt joy and excitement for her speedy recovery. She showed it with a wide smile on her face. And in the middle of their conversation, she couldn't understand herself when she noticed something on the nurse's face and felt a tickle. And suddenly she said in her mind "he's so cute when he smiles." and she didn't notice her sudden smile because of what was playing in her mind.

Nurse Martin suddenly felt something strange about Lila's sudden smile and the way she looked at him. " Hey, why do you look at me like that and why are your smiles so strange?" he asked and slightly squeezed Lila's cheek.

Lila suddenly felt embarrassed and laughed, as if she was thrilled by what the nurse had noticed about her. She didn't know how to answer this because even she didn't understand why she was acting like that. She shook her head, realizing what she had done when answering the nurse. The nurse slowly let go of Lila's hand and laughed a little, then he came closer to her and gently brought his face closer to Lila's, their faces only about three inches apart, and because of what he did, Lila suddenly felt a strong pounding in her chest. Their eyes met for a moment and Lila held her breath with surprise on her face and her throat suddenly swallowed.

"But why are you blushing?" he asked in a whisper, showing a silly smile and his eyes slowly dropping down and stopping at Lila's lips.

Lila hid her lips when she heard what he whispered to her and lowered her face, clearly uncomfortable because she was already feeling shy and tense between the two of them. When Martin saw this, he immediately moved away from Lila.

"I'm sorry, I was just joking, don't take it seriously." He said, scratching his head, and the worry in his voice was obvious.

Soon after, they heard a loud knock on the open door and they looked at the door together. They saw Nurse Irish standing with one hand on her waist and her eyes widening at Nurse Martin.

Nurse Martin laughed at the way her eyes made her look at him and scratched his head, saying, " woh! scary tiny eyes" he said in funy way. " don't be jelouse okey i'm still on you. " he continue teasing Nurse Irish.

"ahgg! and where would I jelouse? huh? nothing is important to you, aren't you ashame of yourself?"Nurse Irish rolled her eyes showing her a little attitude and walk towards him then she slapped his muscle arm, not hard but with a little force on her hand. "You better stop messing with our patient,if you do that again, I assure you I'll turn your pretty face into ugly duckling." then she gave him a crazy smile and pushed him away in playfull style.

He laughed out loud when he was pushed away by Nurse Irish. " Fine, fine, " he said and gestured to salute but before he went out he looked at Lila and said "That's just how I am, sweet but don't worry I'm a gentleman so you have nothing to worry about." he said while smiling and before turning around he winked at Lila.

" oh,please! stop doing that winked style, that's disgusting, ewww! "nurse irish rolled her eyes again.When Nurse Irish saw Martin coming out the door, "Lila, now you should start being careful with that person, he's a fool, so don't be fooled by him." She said with a secret smile.

"I heard you" Martin shouted and his voice echoed outside the room. Lila and Nurse Irish burst out laughing when they heard Nurse Martin's shout.

" Don't mind him, he does that all the time but, his right his a good person he just love joking around. " Nurse Irish said with a smile on her face. She showing how she know him well. " Honestly sometimes I thought his a gay, " She covered her mouth and suppressed a laugh.

" A~nd why d~id you t~hink that? " even though she know it's hard to speak but still Lila talk and asked with coruiosity in her voice. " s~orry I'm j~ust c~uruios b~ecause I d~on't s~ee him t~he w~ay you t~hink of him. " Lila sounds like she's whispering but she is so sure that Nurse martin is a straight guy.

" I don't know, maybe because i see how picky he is and it's just surprising that until now he is still single" Nurse Irish shrugged her shoulder when she explain.

" or m~aybe he h~asn't found t~he right p~erson for him y~et. " Lila speak out what she thought then slightly smile a little.

Nurse Irish shrugged her shoulder again, " yah maybe, like 10 years of singleness." she burst into laughter then she took a chair next to the small table near the comfort room. She brought it to the side of Lila's bed and sat down, " Anyway, I'm so much happy to see you awake, smiling and talking. It's like theres a miracles happened to you. You've been bedridden for over five years and we've all almost lost hope that you might never wake up. But your family never give up especially your mother. She always check you every hour and every day to see if there is even the slightest change, that's how much she loves you. " She told everything and showed how happy she is for Lila.

She smiled and looked at Nurse Irish. She made her feel that she was also happy. She couldn't understand the whole incident yet, but she felt happy and relieved because she saw that everyone was happy to see her awake. But suddenly she become silent, she felt sad about what happend to herself for over five years.

Nurse Irish broke her silence. "By the way, I already called your mother and I was happy to tell her that you were awake." she said with a smile and excitement. "And I could hear the shock and disbelief in her voice because her voice almost stammering and raspy on the phone. Maybe it was because she was so excited and couldn't believe that you were awake but of course, She was so surprised that all she could say was that she was on his way now, then she hang up the call." she said happily while talking. As if she was more excited than Lila.

Lila only showed a brief smile, which Nurse Irish immediately noticed. "Why don't you seem happy?" Nurse Irish asked in surprise.

"N~not like t~that, maybe because I~I can't remember even one memory, not even their f~faces or names, I~i can't even remember myself, I don't know what kind of person I am." The voice that came out of her was a gentle whisper, but it wasn't like before when she was struggling so much to speak. "I don't know how I'll feel when I see them," there was sadness in her voice.

Nurse Irish rubbed Lila's back. Now it was clear that she understood what Lila was going through. "Don't worry, I know your family will understand you and they will help you remember everything. I know they love you very much." she said soothingly to Lila.

"Can I ask you a favor?" Lila asked and looked straight into Nurse Irish's eyes.

"yes of course" Nurse Irish quickly answered

" Can you take me outside for a moment to get some fresh air?" Lila asked, her voice was raspy but neither of them noticed that at this time her voice had returned.

Nurse Irish thought for a moment and didn't know what to answer but she immediately showed concern. "But Doc said you need to take a rest. I'll be scolded if Doc finds out I let you out, I might get suspended." nurse Irish obviously scared for herself.

"Please," her voice pleaded. "We won't be long, we'll just be outside for 20 minutes and then we'll be back again." Lila begged and held Nursh Irish's hand.

"But your family will be here soon. I'm sure they'll go straight to your room and when they see you're not there they'll be worried and for sure they will go to the information desk to ask and I'll be in a big trouble for letting you out without permission." Nurse Irish worried with a little fear of what might happen.

"Please, I'm still confused about what's happening, and even if I rest, I still can't relax. And I don't know what to do when my family is in front of me. I'm scared that I don't understand why, I don't know what to do anymore. I'm having a hard time with this situation right now, so please, I hope you can give me just a few minutes to breathe and let out what's bothering me. Please." she begged as tears fell one after another and she held Nurse Irish's hand tightly.

Nurse Irish thought for a moment and her face showed deep thought. She took a deep sigh "Okay, but we only have 20 minutes and no more than a minute, can you promise that?" she replied and placed her hand on top of Lila's hand, squeezed it and stared into Lila's eyes, showing that this was a serious conversation and promise.

Lila smiled, quickly wiping the tears from her cheeks, "Yes, I promise." She nodded in serious response.

"Okay, wait for me, I'll just get the wheelchair for you". she said, standing up and walking out of the room.

She followed the exiting nurse's gaze and took a deep breath. She wondered what she would do when her family arrived. "Will they be happy when they see me? are they a good people? Will they answers all my questions?" she asked herself. "What really happened to me?" she asked herself again. She felt her head is starting to ache from the amount of thoughts she was having. She stopped thinking when she felt and heard Nurse Irish arrive.

"Are you ready?" Nurse Irish asked with a smile as she pushed the wheelchair towards Lila.

Lila nodded with a smile when she saw Nurse Irish bringing a wheelchair for her. "Thank you so much." Her happiness was indescribable and she couldn't wait to get out.

"hey, don't get too excited, i just wondering what if doctor william is standing at the back door and when we open the door he will ask us, where the hell you two are going? "she joked to Lila and show evil smile.

Lila just laughed and forced herself to sit up. But Nurse Irish caught her, she immediately let go of the pushing wheelchair and helped Lila to sit up properly. "Just a moment, let me help you, don't force yourself because your body is still weak." She said to Lila with concern.

"I'm sorry." She apologized. She composed herself and took a deep breath and just let Nurse Irish do what she was going to do next.

Nurse Irish placed the wheelchair near to Lila. She first made sure that the brakes on the wheelchair and bed were locked. Then she folded the footrests. She lowered the bed to the lowest position so it was level with the wheelchair, then turned Lila around so that her legs were hanging over the edge of the bed. She took the shoes from under the bed and put them on Lila's feet. Then she took the transfer belt that was on top of the wheelchair seat and put it on Lila's waist.

"Place your hands on my shoulders and when I count one to three, lift your body upright, okay?" Nurse Irish calmly instructed Lila to stand up.

Lila just nodded in response and followed the instructions. Nurse Irish bent her knee and placed it in front of Lila's knee, holding her by the belt and starting to count to three and when Lila heard the count of three, she forced herself to lift her body upright and when Lila was able to stand, she turned her around a little and placed her in the wheelchair, Then she slowly helped Lila to sit up. She made sure Lila was leaning back properly and when she was sure she was sitting properly, she then put the footrests back and placed Lila's feet on them.

"There, we can go out now. Are you excited?" Nurse Irish asked happily as she walked behind Lila and grabbed both handles of the wheelchair.

Lila only replied with a smile. "Come on, I want to see the outside," she gently asked.

"Okay, okay, hhmm,that's funny, you're not slurring and mumbling anymore, your speech is a bit better now. That's good, isn't it?" she said happily, "but it seems like the speed of your improvment is surprising." she whispered to herself in surprise as she pushed the wheelchair out of the room.

There was a little speed in pushing the wheelchair out of the hospital because Nurse Irish was worried that they might be caught and she would be suspended. But when they arrived in the hallway opposite the counter desk. Nurse Martin saw them and his face showed surprise.

It turns out that Nurse Martin had just finished making a phone call when he saw Nurse Irish carrying Lila out of the room. "Irish, are you crazy? Why are you taking Lila out? Aren't you afraid of being scolded?" he asked angrily in a high-pitched tone and widened his eyes at her.

"Please, lower your voice, someone might hear us." she pleaded worriedly and looked around.

Lila felt scared and worried. "Please don't be angry with her, I was the one who insisted on her taking me out. She really didn't want to but I forced her to. So please don't report her. I just begged her for 20 minutes, that's all and then we'll be back right away." Lila's voice was shaking and her deep concern for Nurse Irish was obvious.

Nurse Martin saw the fear on Lila's face. So he calmed himself down. "I'm sorry Lila if I scared you." He apologized. "But it's not right to take you out, especially without permission from Doc. William. Because this is a strict order from your family." He explained.

Lila frowned at what she heard. "What?" Lila asked in surprise. "I don't understand what you mean," she asked again, eager to know the answer.

"Martin" Nurse Irish called out loudly. She suddenly let go of the wheelchair handles and quickly approached Nurse Martin and pulled him inside the counter desk. And Nurse Irish speak him privately.

Lila was even more surprised by what Nurse Irish did. She seemed to feel like the two were hiding something from her. In the middle of her thoughts, she heard the voice of a toddler who attracted her, to find the crying child. She looked at both wheels of the wheelchair to see if it was locked. When she saw that it was not locked, she grabbed both wheels and spun them forward to find the source of the voice.

As she moved forward, she noticed how big the hospital was. In front of the counter desk, there were long chairs lined up and nailed to the floor, and she thought this was the waiting area. In the middle of the chairs was a large tree and its leaves were made of plastic. As she got closer to the tree, she noticed a child sitting on a chair behind the tree, maybe this was the child she heard crying. She couldn't get close to the child because of the long rows of chairs.

"H~hi there, are you ok?, are you the one I hear crying?" she called out to him but she couldn't shout loudly.

The child slowly looked at Lila and he nodded in response. " the nurse is putting something in my serum." The child complained and cried. His skin color is different, around of his eyes was darker, his also wearing patient gown, his voice also sound sadnes.

" Wait,What? I can't hear you very well. Are you saying the nurse is putting something in your what?" Lila asked, frowning because she couldn't hear it very well.

"The nurse is putting something in my serum, my heart is weakening." he said crying. "The nurse is putting something in my serum" he said it again and staring into Lila's eyes while crying.

"Nurse? Which nurse? Where are your parents?" Lila asked confused. And she tried to look around.

"red tie, bunny bracelet, red tie, bunny bracelet" he shouted over and over and his crying got louder.

Lila felt the vibration in her ears because of the loudness of the child's voice. The child's crying was causing her earache and headache. Until suddenly a loud noise reached her eardrum causing her to close her eyes in pain and cover her both ears. She felt like she was going to colaps.

"That's enou~gh." She screamed in extreme pain. Suddenly she felt someone touch her shoulder and when she opened her eyes she saw Nurse Irish. She was saying something to her but she couldn't understand and it seemed like she was very far away from her. All she could hear was deafening silence and she felt dizzy and weak.

Nurse Irish grabbed Lila's face and patted her cheek repeatedly with a little force. "Lila, Lila, look at me, can you hear me? What's happening to you?" Nurse Irish was panicking and screaming in extreme worry.

Nurse Martin ran over, "What happened? jesus! oh, my god, see irish this is what I'm telling you but you didn't listen to me.Look now." Nurse Martin's concern for what was happening to Lila made him hold his forehead. " damn it!"

"Really, right now? Can we put Lila's first before you blame me? please? " she shouted angrily.

"The child, the child is crying," she said in whispering, pointing to where the child was standing while staring into Nurse Irish's eyes.

Nurse Irish looked at what Lila was pointing at but she frowned, "Lila, there's no child there." she said in confusion.

" the child is crying,please make him stop, it hurt my ears". lila voice is pleading.

Martin and Irish looked at each other .