Awake After A Year
Leonica had her eyes closed, peacefully sleeping when a single snowdrop from outside found it's way through the window of her hospital room. It landed in the tip of her nose, melting almost instantly. The cold liquidly sensation had her finger twitching, one, twice and then her eyes fluttered open.
At first, her sight was blurred. Everything seemed distorted and unfamiliar. Her eyes wandered around the room, taking in her surroundings and her head spun.
'What happened? Where am I?'
These were the questions that raced through her mind, the feeling of dizziness and confusion clouding her brain and then the entire thing came flooding back Into her mind.
Irene kidnapping her, pushing her into the water, Owen coming to her rescue and the last thing she heard, the sound of him begging her to stay awake.
All that, had happened how long ago? She thought as she sat up, looking around the room to assess the situation of where she was.
It was neither heaven not hell, but a hospital room.
'How long did I sleep for?' She thought, glancing from the hospital machines, IV bags and almost whether Dahlias on the nightstand beside her.
She reached out to touch them, wondering if they were real, but she had to stop when the door to her room suddenly came open.
The sudden noise startled her and she flinched ever so slightly, turning around to meet Owen standing at the door, a look of surprise on his face.
Seeing him, made her body feel like it had just truly woken up. She smiled weakly at him. "Hey Owen."
"L-Leonica," He stammered, slowly entering the room with a look of both disbelief and relief. "You're awake."
"Yes. Did-" Before she could complete her words, Owen had rushed at her, throwing his arms around her, pulling her into a hug, his action making the smile on her lips grow more.
"Did I worry you?" She asked, raising her hand to gently Pat his back.
"No," He whispered and pulled her closer, almost as if he was having a hard time believing what was happening right now wasn't reality.Têxt © NôvelDrama.Org.
And it was just that. After a whole year of waiting and praying that Leonica would wake up, Owen's expectation for seeing her awake today of all days had dwindled, yet here she was, awake, and talking, and smiling and hugging him, and Owen could not have felt happier. "You scared me." He said and Leonica sighed.
"I'm sorry."
He pulled away from the hug and placed his hands on her shoulders. "How are you feeling?"
Leonica thought about her answer for a few seconds before she answered. "Refreshed. It feels like I've gotten the sleep I actually needed." After saying this, she proceeded to ask. "How long was I asleep for?"
Owen hesitated to answer, his lips drawing thin lines as he tried to think of the right words. "A year."
Leonica's eyes widened at his words, and her mouth went agape.
'A year?' She thought. 'I slept for a year?'
That would have explained the amount of snow covering the streets and the number of Christmas decorations that seemed to have filled every corner of her hospital room.
"I slept for a year." She repeated, the words sounding so unreal.
"You did, Luce mia." Owen ran a comforting hand through her hair, she instantly closing her eyes and leaning into his touch.
He chuckled silently, realizing how much he had missed seeing her lean into his touch.
"How's everyone? Are they okay?" She asked with her eyes still closed.
"They're fine. Your family's been very worried."
Leonica sighed. "I've probably missed a lot."
"No," Owen assured her. "Not much has changed since you went to sleep. I guess the only new things is that Ashley is now in his second grade."
"He is?" She opened her eyes. "How has he been?"
"He's fine. He visits the hospital, often, misses you obviously."
"I miss him too." Leonica muttered and a few moments passed with silence. "And Irene? What happened to her?" She asked.
Owen's fist tightened at the mention of the girl who had Put Leonica in the state she had been in for a year. "She was arrested the day she pushed you into the water. The court has handed down a verdict, and she's currently serving a life sentence for the death of Jamil Vanadas and attempted murder on your life."
Leonica closed her eyes again, remaining silent as she couldn't think of anything to say after hearing Irene's fate.
She didn't feel happy, or sad, rather, she felt pity for her. Although Irene had tried to kill her, that hatred had streamed from the fact that she wanted to be accepted by the only family she had left.
And she would have been accepted, if only she approached the whole thing the right way.
"I'm so glad you're okay, Luce mia." Owen whispered, leaning in and placing a soft kiss on her forehead, making her eyes flutter open. "Don't ever scare me like that again."
"I won't." She promised, her voice sounding soft and soothing to his ears.
Owen smiled, but before he could say anything more, the door behind him slid open and Cassandra walked in.
However the moment she spotted Leonica awake, she dropped the bouquet of flower she had been carrying in her hand and covered her mouth with both her hands. ""Hi Mom."
Cassandra couldn't believe it. Was the person she was looking at her daughter or was her mind playing tricks on her.
But no, the person in front of her was indeed her daughter.
She rushed to her side and threw her arms around her, holding her close.
"My baby, you're awake!" She exclaimed, squeezing Leonica in her embrace, a hug that she gladly reciprocated, at first that is."
"Mom," She began, a little discomfort in her voice as she felt herself choking, the lack of air from her mother's hug. "I can't breathe." Cassandra quickly released her, apologizing as she did so. "I'm so sorry honey, I was just so excited. I'm so happy that you're awake." "I am too."
"Do you know how worried we've all been? And Ashley, he's so worried, the poor kid. And your father oh, he's downstairs walking with Doctor
Bailey, Thave to give him a cousne
Cassandra rambled on, reaching into her bag and pulling out her phone.
Owen and Leonica exchanged brief glances as they watched her make the call and in a matter of minutes, Benjamin along with a figure that was not so tiny anymore, rushed into Leonica's room. "Leonica." Benjamin looked like he was about to burst with relief when he saw his daughter sitting up all healthy and fine.
"Mommy!" Ashley exclaimed in pure happiness, rushing towards his mother for the hug that he had craved for the past year.
Leonica wasted no time in embracing her son and holding him close, not wanting to let him go. "Oh baby, how much you've grown."
Ashley didn't respond. All he did was taking in the familiar feeling of his mother's hold and her voice and her scent and how he had missed it all.
"I'm so glad you're awake, mommy." He muttered into her chest after a while and Leonica smiled.
"Me too, sweetie."
Their reunion was broken apart when Doctor Bailey, along with Kareem, knocked on the door and stepped in.
"Ms. Romero." Dr. Bailey greeted and Leonica smiled at him. "How are you feeling?"
"Better than ever." She answered honestly.
"I trust that, but just in case, please allow us to carry out a quick blood draw to check your vitals."
Leonica nodded in understanding and turned her gaze towards her family. "Is it okay if we have moment, guys? I'll be done soon."
Her family and Ashley reluctant at first, all nodded in agreement and excused themselves from the room, leaving Leonica and Dr. Bailey.
"Please roll up your sleeves." He gestured at the long hands of the hospital gown she was wearing.
She did and he quickly drew a bit of her blood, placing it in a container and passing it to Doctor Kareem who would go run a few tests and get the results.
"Alright," Dr. Bailey turned back to Leonica, who had rolled her sleeves back down. "Let's begin the examination."
11
"Your vitals seem to be perfectly stable, your heart rate, BP and temperature are all normal." Dr. Bailey began listing down the result of the test as he wrote them down on the clipboard he was holding.
"I also had Doctor Kareem run a quick CT scan, and it seems like there is nothing wrong with your brain and other organs, everything looks perfectly fine."
Leonica, along with Owen and her family Members, all nodded their heads as they listened to all of what Doctor Bailey had to say.
"So there's nothing to worry about?" Owen asked, earning a nod of approval from the Doctor.
"Then, when can mommy come home?" Ashley asked eagerly.
"Soon." The Doctor answered and
Ashley cheered. "We normally keep patients who have just woken up under a two day watch to see if
everything is fine despite the test. So
once her two days watch is
over,
Ms. Romero is free to go home."
"Thank you, Doctor."
Doctor Bailey smiled. "You're welcome."
He excused himself and as soon as he was out of the room, Cassandra, Benjamin, and even Ashley, began to crowd Leonica, all talking at the same time.
"We should call Grace and have her prepare for your arrival. Or would you rather stay with us for a while" Cassandra was the first to suggest.
"I suggest she stays with us for at least a month so that we can monitor her recovery." Benjamin suggested, a little excited at the idea of finally being able to welcome his daughter home. "Yeah," Ashley nodded in agreement. "And we can even throw an ice cream party to make you feel better." He turned to Owen for confirmation. "Right daddy?"
Eh?
A wave of confusion washed over Leonica at Ashley's words and she found herself looking between her son and Fiancé.
Daddy? She thought, wondering when Ashley had started referring to Owen as his father. Not that she was complaining.
"If your mother agrees, then sure." Owen answered, not sounding fazed by the fact that Ashley had just called him Daddy.
Perhaps it isn't a new thing, Leonica realized and couldn't help but feel a bit saddened that she had missed the very first time Her son referred to Owen as his father.
While she was wrapped up in her thoughts and family's concerns, the door to her room slid open once again, except this time around, it was Anastasia and Megan standing at the door.
"So it is true?" Anastasia said as she approached, tears polling in the bottom of her eyes. "You finally decided to open those stupid eyes of yours, you raccoon."
"Ana-"
"How could you leave us like that for an entire year, huh?" Anastasia asked.
Leonica could tell that she was not really angry, she was glad that her friend had decided to wake up after an entire year of sleeping.
Leonica smiled and opened her arms, inviting both of them into a hug.
Anastasia was the first to jump into the hug, followed by Megan.
"Don't you ever think of leaving us again." Megan scolded.
"I won't." Leonica promised.
The next few hours were spent entertaining friends and family members, everyone being happy and relieved that Leonica had decided to wake up.
After a while, it was just her, Owen, Cassandra, Benjamin and Ashley who stayed.
"It's getting late, we should head home." Cassandra informed Benjamin, who was in a conversation with Owen.
"Yeah, it is." He agreed and stood up, about to gather himself along with his wife to leave when there was a knock on the door.
"Come in," Leonica called and watched as the door opened and Doctor Bailey made his way in.
Concern quickly took place on the face of everyone present and Doctor Bailey who noticed this, was quick to calm them all down. "Please be at ease, nothing's wrong with Ms. Romero. Contrary to that, we made an outstanding discovery today during the process of testing her blood, that I'm sure everyone present would be pleased to hear."
"What is it?" Owen was the first to ask, anxious to hear the news.
Doctor Bailey gave him a smile. "Well, Mr. Lee. Ms. Romero can serve as a suitable donor for Ashley's bone marrow transplant."