It was five o'clock in the morning.
Noah tossed and turned in bed and opened his eyes. He kept his eyes closed the whole night, but he did not sleep at all.
In the winter, nighttime was longer than daytime, so it was still dark outside. The lights in the ward were turned off, so it was also dark inside.
Noah slid out of bed and opened the curtains. He saw John sitting quietly beside Nina's bed, still in his original posture.
'Has he been sitting there all night?'
When John heard the sound Noah made, he did not move. He kept his focus on Nina, hoping that she would wake up already.
Noah walked toward him and asked in a low voice, "Hasn't she woken up yet? She has been sleeping for a long time. We better call the doctor before daybreak."
John did not say anything.
After a while, Noah said again, "I have something to tell you. Let's step outside."
But John kept still.
"It's about Nina, and it's very important to you."
After Noah finished his words, John finally turned his head toward him. After taking one last glance at Nina, he stood up and left the ward.
Noah followed him and shut the door behind them.
After the door clicked shut, Leon woke up with beads of sweat all over his forehead. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down.
He had dreamed that his sister had slipped into a vegetative state.
Leon sat up and wiped the sweat off his forehead and face with the back of his hand.
'Wake up, wake up!
Nina isn't in a vegetative state. She's just sleeping. The doctor said so, too.'
Leon lifted the quilt and got out of bed. After letting his eyes adjust to the darkness, he sat on the chair beside Nina's bed. The cushion was still warm.
He guessed that John had just vacated it after sitting on it all night.
But John was nowhere to be found now.
Leon looked around and did not see anyone.
The next moment, Nina finally stirred. She kept murmuring, "My babies, my babies..."
"Nini?" Leon stood up at once, bent over, and listened to what she was trying to say. When he heard her call for her babies, he immediately said, "Your babies are fine. They are being kept in incubators right now, and there are special nurses to take care of them."
Nina moved her head and finally stopped murmuring.
"Nini, wake up." Leon tried to rouse her.
After a few more tries, he finally heard some noise. Leon was so excited. As long as his sister woke up, everything would be fine.
Nina slowly opened her eyes.
She called in a hoarse voice, "Leon?"
"Yes, it's me." Leon almost burst into tears. He quickly turned on the lights in the room.
The dark ward suddenly lit up, and the sudden change made Nina and Leon close their eyes in response at the same time.
When they opened their eyes again, they still felt a little dazzled. It took their eyes a little time to adapt.
"You're finally awake, Nini. I'm so glad you're okay. You scared me to death." Leon leaned over and hugged his sister.
Her brother's warm embrace and slightly excited breathing and heartbeat made Nina slowly smile and clap Leon on the back.
"I'm fine. My head just hurts a little after all that sleep." Nina frowned and soon relaxed. "Where are the babies? I heard you say that my children are fine."
"Yes, they are." Leon stood up and raised his hand to smooth out her slightly messy hair. "Because they're premature babies, they need to be kept in incubators for a period of time. Our parents actually nicknamed them. The elder boy is called Van, and the young boy is Don."
"Wow, that's great!" Nina smiled, revealing her white teeth. Her lips had started to regain color.
"Where is my husband?" Nina suddenly asked her brother.
Leon was stunned. "Which one do you mean? Vicente or..."
"I'm here. I'm awake." Vicente jumped out of bed, opened the curtains, and ran over.
Seeing Nina sitting at the head of the bed, she could not help shedding tears. She stood at the foot of the bed and said tearfully, "I'm so excited to see you awake intact."
"Intact?" Turning to look at Vicente, Leon asked, "You couldn't have used a better word? Is my sister short of an arm or a leg?"
Vicente ignored Leon's comment and just said with a smile, "I just mean that I'm glad she's okay."
"That's better." Leon turned to look at Nina who was a little confused.
Vicente went straight to her and asked with concern, "How are you feeling, Nina? Do you feel comfortable enough? Do you need me to get you anything?"
"No, Vicente. I'm fine. Thank you." Nina smiled.
Her smile was polite. She looked as if she did not know that they had been living together for more than six months.
Vicente raised her brows as doubt slowly set in. She sensed that something was wrong, although she could not tell exactly what it was.
"Vicente, I'm looking for Noah. Where is he?" Nina looked around and found three empty beds and curtains drawn.
She turned her head toward the door.
"Weren't you looking for your husband?" Vicente asked in confusion.
Nina replied with a smile, "Isn't Noah my husband? I remember telling you before."
As soon as Nina finished the first half of her sentence, Vicente stared at her with wide eyes.
Leon froze.
The two of them looked at the calm Nina in disbelief.
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