All We Need Is A Miracle

By Emmie

For Han

“I’m sorry, but I really don’t think there’s anything else we can do for him . . .”

The cold and harsh words hit her like bullets of ice. They penetrated through her, shattering her heart and her life into a thousand tiny pieces, like the glass of a mirror breaking up and falling to the floor. Silent tears of shock and misery stung at her eyes as she faced the consultant with his face covered in a staged look of sadness and false compassion. He didn’t care, not really, not like she did. She felt as though she was breaking apart, her whole life was dissolving infront of her eyes.

She sat down shakily in the chair beside her, which had been her home for the past 24 hours. All the blood drained from her face leaving her looking pale and stunned. She shivered slightly as a chilling feeling swept over her numb body. She glanced at the man lying in the hospital bed next to her, still and peaceful, as though he was sleeping. But he wasn’t just sleeping. Chances were she would never again stare into his deep eyes and get lost in his soul, for his eyelids wouldn’t flutter open now. His lips would never curve into that smile he reserved only for her. His strong arms would never hold her close again.

“Is there nothing you can do?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

The consultant shook his head sadly. “I’m afraid not. All we can do now is . . . wait for him to go.”

Tears began to stream down her grave face as she picked up his hand and gripped it tightly. Her salty tears dropped onto it as she kissed it gently. His body was still warm, but for how long? Soon it would be lifeless and cold as stone.

All of a sudden she could no longer control her emotions and she flung herself forward and leaned her head against him, sobbing uncontrollably. A nurse wandered over and placed his hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her, but nothing could console the pain she was feeling.

She hadn’t left his side since she had arrived. She almost didn’t believe it when she first heard, she didn’t dare. The thought of losing him was too painful, she didn’t want to have to cope alone. He had been involved in a car accident and come out of it with a serious head injury, which was now proving fatal. She hadn’t been able to take it in at first, and it was still unreal now. Soon there would be nothing left - just dreams and fading memories.

* * * * *

She turned on the tap and cupped her hands under the flow, filling them with crystal water. She leaned over the sink and splashed the ice cold water onto her face, momentarily feeling refreshed. She grabbed a paper towel from the dispenser next to her and dabbed her face dry. She straightened herself up and stared at her dishevelled reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were red and sore from crying and her expression was one of misery and anguish. She looked down at her hands and gently fingered her engagement and wedding rings, thinking of everything they symbolised and everything she was about to loose.

At that moment the creak of the door opening startled her and she looked suddenly up to see Chloe enter the toilets. “Holly!” Chloe cried as soon as she saw her. “How is he?” She walked over and squeezed Holly’s shoulder in a comforting way.

“They said . . . they . . . they don’t think he’s going to make it,” she told Chloe in a small voice, shaking her head sadly. Tears began to well up in her eyes again.

“Oh, Holly!” she said, unsure of what to say to comfort her friend, knowing that absolutely nothing could make her feel any better.

Holly swallowed hard and sighed. “Now it . . . it’s just a case of . . . waiting for him to . . .” she broke off, unable to say the word. Just the thought of it was enough to start the tears streaming down her cheeks again. Chloe reached forward and embraced Holly in a comforting hug, giving her a desperately needed shoulder to cry on. “Oh Chloe, I . . . I’m going to loose him and he . . . he’ll never know . . .” Holly mumbled in between sobs.

“He’ll never know what?” she asked curiously.

“He won’t know that . . . I’m pregnant, Chloe. Patrick’s going to be a dad and he’ll never know! I was going to tell him last night, but . . .” she broke off, unable to carry on through her sobs.

Chloe sighed, not sure whether to congratulate her friend on being pregnant or be sorry because the father of her baby was dying. “I’m really sorry Hol,” she said quietly.

“Look I . . . I’d better go,” Holly muttered, wiping her eyes dry again. “Thanks Chloe.”

* * * * *

Slowly and with a lot of effort, he managed to force his eyes open. Everything was blurry, just a muddle of different variations of light and dark. Slowly he blinked, and when he opened his eyes it was a little clearer. He blinked again, and again, then found himself staring up at the white, tiled ceiling. He could hear the faint bleeping of monitors from somewhere nearby and the gentle breathing of someone in the room. He turned his head to the side, causing a throbbing pain to shoot through him. He winced and almost cried out, but it meant that he could see the sleeping face of his wife as her head lay on the bed beside him, resting on her hands that were still holding tightly onto his. Her eyes were closed, but her face still held the same expression of pain and sadness. Faint traces of tears could still be seen on her cheeks.

Gathering all the little strength he had, he moved his hand slightly, trying to reach out and wipe away her tears, only to find that he couldn’t because her cheek was resting on it. However this movement woke her up from her troubled sleep, her eyes fluttering quickly open. When she realised that he was awake she sat suddenly up, her face a mixture of shock and relief. “Patrick?” A huge grin broke out over her face, and this time it was tears of joy that were falling. “Patrick!”

* * * * *

“Well, someone must have been praying very hard for you,” the consultant concluded. “There’s no scientific or medical reason as to why you survived. All we can say is that it must be some kind of miracle,” he told them, disbelief sounding in his voice.

“What, you mean . . . there’s nothing?” Patrick asked.

“No,” he shook his head. “All the tests and scans before showed that there was no way you could have survived.”

Patrick stared up at Holly, who was still smiling, glad that he was going to be okay.

“A miracle ey . . .” Patrick pondered as the consultant left the room, leaving them alone.

“Speaking of miracles . . .” Holly said suddenly. She stood up from the chair she was sitting in and perched herself on the edge of the bed, taking both of Patrick’s hands in hers. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

“What?” he asked curiously.

“You’re going to be a dad Patrick,” she grinned.

“What? Seriously?” Holly nodded vigorously and he smiled back. “I would give you a hug, but . . .” He signalled at the fact he could barely lift his own head let alone his body. But he was getting better, he was going to be okay. It might take a while but he would be all right.

Holly leaned down and kissed him gently on the lips. “Thank you,” she whispered.

“What for? All I did was nearly die on you—“

“For everything.”