It wasn’t until she heard the sound of a helicopter that she snapped back to reality. Melissa didn’t dare move, afraid that they both might sink deeper. She could only watch helplessly as the helicopter hovered in the sky.
A small rescue truck rushed out from the dunes and stopped nearby. The wind and sand blurred Melissa’s vision, and her clothes were in tatters, her face streaked with two long trails of tears. She saw Conrad quickly open the driver’s seat and dash toward them. Melissa immediately began to scrape at the sand pit.
“George, George, can you hear me? Someone’s coming to rescue us!”
“Conrad’s coming to rescue us!”
When Conrad reached them, he was careful and quickly untied the rope around Melissa’s waist. But when he tried to pull her up, she refused.
“George, George is in my hands, I can’t let go.”
Conrad’s face darkened. “I know.”
He nodded at Andrew.
Andrew immediately waved his chess piece into the air, and soon the helicopter locked onto its position. Someone lowered a rope.
Conrad focused and said, “Melissa, I need you to cooperate now. Move your legs upward and let go.”
Melissa looked at him, and Conrad stared back at her. “Trust me.”
The rescue was a matter of seconds.
Melissa nodded seriously, and almost as Conrad counted to three, they both moved.
Melissa was quickly pulled up by the rope, and Andrew grabbed her and pulled her to safety.
Conrad’s hand swiftly replaced Melissa’s to grab George’s shirt.
At that moment, the rope dropped from the helicopter, and Conrad secured it around himself, using all his strength to pull George out of the sand.
Soon, one of George’s hands appeared in front of Conrad.
He hadn’t sunk too deeply, but a grown man’s weight wasn’t light, and with the sand’s effect, Conrad had to pull hard, his veins bulging, until George gave him a faint response from below.
Once Conrad confirmed he had a hold of George, he signaled the helicopter to ascend.
The distance needed to be carefully controlled.
If they pulled too hard and lost their grip, it could lead to even worse consequences.
Melissa watched in horror, her heart racing. If it weren’t for Andrew holding her tightly, she would have almost lost her mind.
At a critical moment, Conrad’s arm bulged with veins as he yanked George out of the sandpit.
The rush of air allowed George, deprived of oxygen, to gasp desperately. He was almost completely covered in sand.
Conrad tossed down the rope he’d brought, shouting, “Can you move? Tie yourself up.”
George, feeling weak, looked at Conrad. Thinking of Melissa, his survival instinct kicked in, and he tried to move. After securing the rope around himself, the helicopter slowly ascended, pulling them into a safe zone before gently landing.
As soon as George touched solid ground, he lost consciousness. Conrad quickly jumped out, lifted him, and began checking his vital signs.
Gordon and the others arrived hurriedly.
Lionel jumped out of the vehicle before it even stopped.
Melissa crawled toward them, running with all her strength.
From a distance, she watched as they carefully placed George into the helicopter, and the sight made her throat feel bitter and sweet.
“How is he?”
“He needs to be taken to the nearest hospital for examination. Wait for the news.”
Conrad jumped back into the helicopter. “Andrew, take them back!”
“I want to go too!” But the helicopter doors closed, and Melissa was pulled away, watching them fly off.
Lillian was waiting on the spot, having only a few empty shots left to film.
Hearing about George’s possible accident, she was too anxious to focus and asked Jack to keep an eye on things while she paced restlessly at the intersection where they would return.
She waved at them when she saw the vehicle.
Gordon stopped the car, and Lillian rushed over, but only a disoriented, disheveled Melissa, as though she had rolled through the dunes, got out.
“What happened?”
“I think you should go back to the camp with her. She needs you right now.”
They were also heading to the hospital to see if they could help.
With Melissa in this state, Lillian couldn’t stay. Andrew was in charge of taking them back to the camp, and Lillian took a leave.
Before leaving, she went over the details for the next scene, and then accompanied Melissa to the car.
Melissa was completely blank, showing no reaction at all.
Lillian took her back to the dorm, where the air conditioning wasn’t on. The sweltering heat made the room feel stuffy and suffocating.
She stood there in a daze, and Lillian grabbed her toiletries, leading her to the bathroom. Throughout it all, she just cried, showing no other reaction.
Lillian didn’t say anything or force her to explain what had happened. She helped her take off her clothes, and when the water began to wash over her, Lillian noticed several blisters on her skin from the heat.
She washed Melissa’s hair, and when some shampoo accidentally got in her eyes, Melissa didn’t react at all.
Lillian silently dressed her, dried her hair, and then led her back to the dorm, letting her lie down on the bed.
“Do you want to rest for a bit?”
Melissa closed her eyes, but a tear fell from the corner of her eye.
“This was an accident. Neither you nor George wanted this. Besides, they’ve all gone. He’s always been in good health, he’ll be fine.”
“He doesn’t want to live.” After a long pause, Melissa’s voice broke softly. “He’s holding on because of me, but he doesn’t want to live. Even if it wasn’t this accident, he still… was going to the front lines.”
Melissa choked on her words, “He shouldn’t have done this.”
Melissa’s voice was strained and filled with pain. She sobbed as she slowly spoke, “Lillian, I finally understand now. I understand why, when you saw Conrad taking his medication, when you saw him go crazy, you were so conflicted.”
Because she couldn’t bear to see the person she loved become like that, because she couldn’t stand him loving her to such an extent, and she was more afraid of repeating the same fate. She hated that things had turned out this way.
“I know, I know everything.” Lillian lay beside her, holding her hand, her forehead resting against hers. “Melissa, I know what you’re thinking.”
Melissa hugged her, crying until she couldn’t catch her breath. “When I first met him, he was the best. He was good at studying, came from a good family, and so many people liked him at school. Back then, I just wanted to see him every day.”
“I tried to keep up with him. I worked hard in my studies, I worked hard to lose weight, and I avoided all my favorite foods for seven or eight years, just so I could be at the same school as him, so I could be closer to him. I joined the student council, and made friends everywhere, just to connect with him.”
“I know, I know.” As her best friend, Lillian had watched her transform over time.
The two of them would walk down the hallway of the teaching building, and whenever someone called out George’s name, Melissa would immediately turn around, and then quickly lower her head when their eyes met.
That alone was enough to make her happy for the entire day.
All the joy and secret thoughts of her youth were spent in those days of unspoken love, with that young man standing in the light.
So when the unexpected struck her, and when she found out she could marry George, she was so overwhelmed by luck and happiness that she hadn’t even thought to refuse.
Being able to marry the man she had always loved- was such a huge surprise and blessing.
Someone as refined as him would surely treat his wife well.
With all her expectations, she became his wife.
Even though later, when she became hopeless about the marriage and couldn’t bear George anymore, she never thought he would have an accident.
She just wanted him to live.