It was the early hours of the day and June was fast asleep when her phone started ringing.
Having slept in from her busy night, she silenced the call and turned over, hoping to get some extra sleep before returning to Rafael’s mansion.
The phone started ringing again, disturbing not just her but Luis who turned in his sleep, disturbed by the noise.
This time, June silenced the call, got up from bed, and headed out the balcony to answer the call.
The phone stopped ringing before she could pick up and started ringing within a few seconds. It was Carson.
“You better have a good reason for calling me this early in the morning,” June said once the call was connected, irritated from having her sleep disturbed.
The line was flat. She could hear breathing but there was nothing. She removed the phone from her ears and checked if it was still active.
“Hello?” June said when she was certain the call was still connected.
“Good morning, wifey.”
June stiffened upon hearing a gruff masculine voice she knew too well. She blinked, wondering if she was hearing things.
“Carson?” She said cautiously.
“I miss you,” Rafael said, pouring his emotions into his words. “Come to me.”
June’s heart thundered as she listened to his voice. She knew that voice. It was engraved in her heart like a priced possession.
“Let me see you.”
Her brain worked overtime as she tried to string her thoughts. Rafael was in a coma. There was no way, no way he could be speaking to her.
June ended the call and dialled back with a video call. She wore her heart on her sleeves as she called again with no answer.
She dialled the third time, swearing under her breath when it delayed response. She bowed and closed her eyes, trying to put herself together.
Unknown to her, the line was connected and Rafael watched her the entire time from his hospital bed.
Meanwhile, Luis woke up a few minutes ago and realised she wasn’t in the room. When he saw the balcony door open, he stepped out of the room and saw his dad on the phone while June swore under her breath.
“Daddy?” He called in his tiny voice, blinking repeatedly and shocked at the sight of his father looking back at him.
June turned around, startled at the sound of Luis’s voice. She suddenly felt guilty, seeing him up so early. “Did I wake you up, baby?” She said, then stiffened.
“What did you just say?” She asked carefully but Luis didn’t say a word. His eyes were fixed on her phone, prompting her to turn around.
“Son.”
June slowly turned her head. Her eyes widened as she stared back at Rafael, sitting in his hospital bed, very much alive.
Her palm loosened and her phone slipped from her hand, shattering the screen in seconds. Her breath pattern changed and she fell on the floor, fruitlessly trying to turn it on.
Mrs Evelyn felt the cold air from the open balcony. She got up to close the door but realised there was someone out there. Without a second thought, she rushed out and met her daughter on the floor.
“What’s going on?” Evelyn asked Luis when June didn’t respond.
“My f-father.” He managed to say. “He’s awake.”
******
June, Luis and Mrs Evelyn sat in the back of a taxi driving to the hospital.
June had not spoken a word since she saw Rafael’s face, a fact that was disturbing and concerning to Mrs Evelyn.
As they drove to the hospital, Mrs Evelyn questioned Luis. “Are you certain you saw your father?”
Luis nodded, still quite shocked himself. The car pulled up in front of South City Hospital and June took the lead, dressed in her birthday outfit.
Soon enough, they were in the elevator, headed to Rafael’s floor. Midway to Rafael’s floor, the elevator door opened and Carson stood in front of the elevator with a team of Doctors.
June accosted him as soon as he stepped into the elevator. “Is he Alive?” She asked, voice croaky. “Tell me, Carson.”
At that moment, June wanted to hear it, she didn’t think her heart could take it if she went to his hospital room and found that she hadn’t seen correctly.
Carson stared at June with a smile, and her eyes watered. He didn’t need to say anything. His smile was proof that she wasn’t going crazy.
Rafael was alive.
The elevator stopped at the floor and Luis rushed out first. The little one took off in a sprint and headed right for his father’s ward.
Rafael was in bed, waiting for Carson’s arrival when the door cracked open and Luis stepped in, breathing fast. Rafael’s eyes watered upon seeing his son.
He didn’t think he would see his little genius ever again. Luis looked a shadow of what he used to be. His eyes seemed hollow and empty as he stood at the door, holding back tears.
“Daddy…”
Rafael wanted to stand up. He wanted to run over to his son and hug him tightly but he couldn’t. His legs were temporarily paralysed.
“Come here,” he said when his son made no move to come forward.
That did it. Luis rushed to his father’s side, attacking him with a hug as they both cried. Rafael held on to his son and apologised profusely.
“I’m so sorry, baby. I’m so sorry.” He said over and over again until the others came.
June remained at the door while her mother, Carson and Luis engaged Rafael in a conversation while the doctors did their thing.
She kept staring at him, throat constricted. When the doctor’s round was over, they left, leaving June and the other family members who left when June took a step closer.
The door shut, leaving June and Rafael alone in the room. The atmosphere was racked with tension and unsaid words. June started by looking him over.
She trailed a finger over his body, as though trying to check if he was real. When she got to his face, she was full-blown crying.
Rafael held her hand over his face, squeezing lightly. “It’s me.” He said softly, “I’m sorry I made you wait for so long.”
June smiled through the tears. “Rafe…” She called endearingly, lowered her head and captured his lips in a maddening kiss.