199 In my dream

The nurse looked at the sleeping patient first and then at the man who stood there, radiating authority and sincerity. She shrugged her shoulders and lifted the sheet which had been tucked around her.

Wondering whether she should ask the silent man to step out while she examined the comatose woman, the nurse eventually had decided to let him stay in the room. The quiet worry and concern in his eyes showed that he was related to her in some way. She remembered that he had been the one accompanying her when she had been wheeled in. He had looked around wildly, demanding the best doctor in the hospital. He hadn't let go of her hand till the paramedics took her away to the examining room. Even after that, he had continued pacing outside that room.

"She must be someone precious to him," with that thought, the nurse peeled away the night gown from the shoulder.

Pale smooth skin peeked out. Frowning, she pulled it down further to reveal an angry looking scar right above the heart. It seemed like a recent one but it had already healed. This couldn't be reason to cause her any pain. The nurse touched the area around the old wound properly, just to be doubly sure. Shrugging, she replaced the gown and sheet back and gestured the patient's kin to step out of the room with her.

"How recent is that injury?" she enquired.

The minute Ying Hui saw the puckered skin few seconds ago, he recalled his first meeting with Jia Li at the Shanghai airport. She had clutched her chest in exactly the same spot, at that time. He hadn't bothered with the details then but vividly remembered the blood which had seeped through her sweater when he had met her outside the washroom.

"It's been more than three months," he replied to the nurse.

She nodded her head in understanding.

"The patient is disoriented due to the hit on her skull. It is possible that she is reliving her most recent trauma. There is nothing to worry about. She will be fine when she wakes up," she explained and reassured him.

Shanghai, Tang's condo

It was not even morning yet. Like always, she came to him with her arms wide open. Her eyes sparkled with mischievous, smiling expression. She was here to tease him again, his innocent siren.

He begged her, "I just need a taste of you. It's been so long. I am thirsting for you, hungry for you. Won't you have mercy on me."

She shook her head and stayed out of his needy grasp.

"You are hurting me now. I can't take it anymore. Just one hug please…let me smell you. My fingers have forgotten the contours of your body. Let them run over it, one more time. The hands which used to carry the fragrance of your hair in them, have not had a chance to run through them even once. How much more will you torment me?" he complained, pleaded.

But to no avail. She refused to come anywhere within his reach. Slowly, she started to move away from him, further and further away, until he couldn't see her anymore.

Heartbroken, he called out, "you called me a coward, but the truth is that you are the real coward. You are the one who runs away every time and hide behind others. Doesn't that make us even? Come back to me, Jia Li. I can't take the separation anymore!!"

Suddenly, she appeared in front of him again. Her face's expressions were no longer the same. The teasing look had been replaced with the one in immense pain.

""Tanggggg, it hurts," she screamed.

He got up with that scream and looked around in confusion. The room was still dark. Dawn's rays hadn't penetrated through the curtains yet. But where was Jia Li? He had become used to these dreams now but this one felt unnaturally vivid. His heart was still pounding. His back was drenched in cold sweat despite the low temperature in the bedroom. He looked at the wall facing his bed.

Taken when they both had lost their milk teeth and the permanent ones hadn't grown out yet, the wide grins on their faces had been captured expertly by the person clicking this picture. It was a close-up photo which contained only their faces. Everything was vividly clear, including the then 'innocent' mole above Jia Li's lip. Tang had recently found this treasure, unexpectedly. He hadn't wasted much time and got a full blown version of it done and pasted on his room's wall facing his bed. Since then, he woke up and slept with the image of two of them laughing and holding onto each other.

It was an image full of hope and yearning, for the now grown-up Tang.

He reached for his phone.