Alice took a deep breath to steady herself as she stared at Evan's form. He was real, both here in front of her and in the spirit world. Only his eyes were closed now and he truly looked to be in a state of coma. The truth of her situation, of Evan's situation attacked her like a tornado that had picked her up, spun her around and dropped her again. How was it possible that spirits existed, or rather, how was it possible that she could see one?
As she stood there coming to terms with her situation, Alice hadn't noticed the door opening behind her and a nurse stepping in.
"Hi," a female voice said. "You're here to see this patient?"
Alice turned to the sound of the voice and saw a nurse eyeing her. She'd paused, a look of surprise palpable across her face.
"Er, yes."
The nurse smiled.
"Well, it's about time someone came to see him! You know you're the first person to come visit him since he's been admitted."
It was Alice's turn to be surprised.
"What about his family?" Alice blurted, before she'd even thought about it.
"Who knows? They pay for his hospital fees but they've never once visited him."
Alice blinked, unable to begin imaging what life for Evan must have been like. What kind of family did he have, to not see their own son who'd been in hospital so long?
"How long has he been in a coma?"
"Nearly a year. Are you a friend?"
Alice nodded.
"Well, it helps if you talk to him. Brain studies have shown that if you talk to a person in the state of a coma, they can hear you. It's supposed to help them with their recovery."
After recording some things, the nurse left. Alice went to stand beside Evan. It seemed surreal, standing before a man who she'd only just talked to but was now in a coma before her. Reaching a hand out, Alice couldn't resist in touching his face – to check that he was, indeed, real. She ran her fingers across his cheeks, down his forehead, the bridge of his nose, across his lips. It was all solid flesh. Alice pulled a chair out beside Evan and took a seat. For a long while, she simply stared, not knowing what to say. It wasn't like she knew him well.
"Hey, Evan," she began. "It's um – it's Alice. Crazy how you don't even know me in real life. That we don't even know each other. God, even sitting here and seeing you here is unreal," she laughed. It sounded unusually high-pitched, almost hysterical even, shaky. "I didn't know whether or not I believed you, you know, about the whole wish thing," she confessed. "But I guess seeing you here has made it more real."
She paused, staring at Evan.
"Um, the nurse told me that I'm the first person to visit you since you've been in a coma. I'm sorry that your family hasn't come to visit you. When I asked you about them, I hadn't realised what kind of, well, situation it was. And I still don't – I mean, not that it's any of my business. I just mean - I didn't know. God, sorry, I'm just blabbing now," she gave a nervous laugh as she stared at Evan, trying to think of what to say.
"You know, clearly, I haven't talked to anyone in a coma before. I'm no good at this, but the nurse said that it helps and you can supposedly hear what I'm saying. I hope you wake from your coma soon."
Alice continued to sit there for a while, staring at Evan. His motionless features looked so serene and though she could read no emotion across his face, something about what she saw around Evan weighed Alice's heart with loneliness.
"Well, I'd better get going."
Though despite saying that, she made no move to leave. She didn't know whether it was because she couldn't bring herself to do – couldn't bare the thought of leaving him there, or if she was just scared to leave and face reality. Perhaps it was both. Eventually she pulled herself up and gave Evan another look.
"I- I'll come back, if I can," she smiled, as if to reassure Evan that he wouldn't be alone. Then reaching down, she gripped Evan's fingers and gave it a gentle squeeze before letting go. His fingers were ice cold but they were definitely real, nonetheless.
"See you soon, Evan."
Alice was left with an odd sense of calm after talking to Evan and leaving his room. Or maybe her calmness was a façade for the feelings rushing within her. Her head still buzzed and the thump thump of her heart continued to ring in her ears.
During the whole ride back home, Alice kept rethinking about Evan's situation. How was it possible? So caught in her thoughts, Alice gasped after turning on the lights and seeing a figure waiting on the couch. For a second, it'd seemed like he was alive – really there, when he'd just been in a coma moments ago. Then the reality of his situation, of her situation dawned on her in that way she'd gotten used to. The silence seemed to echo on as they stared at each other.
"You went to see me," he finally said.
"H- how did you know?"
"I could feel it."
Alice frowned and walked into the lounge. "So it's true, what the nurse said. You can hear what I say in a coma?"
Evan didn't respond. He was looking at her with an unfathomable expression. Alice didn't know what to make of the intensity with which he was looking at her. She didn't know Evan that well, but from their previous encounters, she had gathered that he was a carefree character with an almost indifferent attitude to life.
"Er, so I guess everything you've said is true then."
Evan gave a sarcastic grin, "Believe me now?"
"I-I'm sorry, about everything before, you know, not believing you and asking you to go away… That doesn't mean to say I agree with this whole wish thing!"
Evan chuckled, "At least you've moved on from denial it seems."
"I guess so," Alice murmured. She shifted from where she stood.
"So, what, you suddenly start believing and now you're nervous around me?"
Alice chewed on her bottom lip.
"Um, how much of what I said did you hear?"
Evan gave her a puzzled look before understanding dawned on him.
"I didn't hear anything."
"Then how-"
"I could feel it. Just because I don't know, doesn't mean I don't feel."
"I – I want to apologise for when I spoke so carelessly about your family. I didn't know…"
Silence followed. Alice dared to look up at Evan to see how he was reacting. Yet even then, she couldn't read the expression across his face. A shadow had fallen across his face.
"Didn't know what? That my family is miles apart from me? That they don't to see me and haven't seen me in five years? How could you have known?" he laughed but there was no humour in his voice. It had taken on a hard bitter edge coated in contempt. "I don't need pity."
"I'm not – it's not pity."
"Isn't it? Why are you apologising then?"
Alice blinked, taken aback by this side of Evan that she hadn't seen before.
"Don't assume that every family is functional."
"I don't-"
"I told my father that I never wanted to see him again."
Alice bit down on her bottom lip to stop the gasp that would have escaped.
"Think different of me now? That's right. I asked for it so there's no reason to pity me."
"Evan, I-"
"Forget it," he said while standing up and towering above Alice. An aura of darkness seemed to surround him now, making him appear like a dark angel. Alice stepped back.
"Figure out what you plan to exchange for your life before I'm forced to take it," he disparaged, voice coated with contempt.
Before Alice could say anything, Evan had stepped back and evaporated into thin air. Alice released a huge breathe of air, the tension suddenly unleashing from her body. She hadn't realised just how tense she had been, standing in the presence of Evan as he emitted all that negative energy, like a bomb that was waiting to explode. It was a whole new side to Evan that she hadn't seen before. And that had made her curious. How could someone be driven to the point of never seeing their parents again? What would have happened?
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