Silence

Time slowly passed. Two hours of uncomfortable and unbearable silence with no words from any nurses about Mai’s condition. The emptiness in the room sucked the warmth and heat from the bodies of the two brothers.

“Chloe and Alexa are on their way back,” Damian said calmly to his brother as he slowly put the cellphone in his pocket.

Mark silently fixed his posture in the waiting room chair. His legs were bouncing up and down restlessly, unable to hide the anxiety and fear coursing through his veins.

Damian wanted to say something to take the edge off of Mark, but decided against it to prevent more agitation. Instead, he reached a hand to Mark’s shoulder.

Tensing for a moment, Mark shot a look at his younger brother. Damian’s poise and steadiness in this feeling of panic and worry helped tame Mark’s tensions.

“She was so scared,” Mark said quietly to his brother, finally opening his mouth after their time of silence. “I’ve never seen her that frightened.”

Damian’s head perked up slightly towards Mark’s voice, as if he forgot what it sounded like. Typically, it was the older brother’s job to pass down wisdom. This time, Damian took the opportunity to return the favors he had been given in the past.

“What about you?” Damian asked sincerely, looking his brother deep into his eyes. “Are you scared too?”

“I’m horrified,” Mark admitted as he returned his gaze back to the floor. “How am I supposed to face her if- I mean, when she lives?”

“That’s for you to figure out,” Damian started softly.

Mark looked back up to his brother with a confused expression. Everything from his body language to his facial features conveyed a sense of loss and uncertainty. He wasn’t sure what Damian’s goal was with starting like that, but it wasn’t helping Mark feel any better.

“But let me tell you this,” Damian continued with a serious tone of voice. “If she means anything to you as a friend, you won’t run away from this. You promised you wouldn’t.”

Mark tried to open his mouth, but it wouldn’t open for him to speak. At a literal loss of words, Mark nodded his head in agreement.

“I should’ve said this to you when we were younger, but I’m really proud of you, Mark,” Damian said honestly as his grip on Mark’s shoulder faded slightly.

“P-Proud?” Mark repeated questioningly as he looked back to Damian who bore a small smile on his face.

Damian nodded silently, then tapped Mark’s shoulder lightly before returning his own hand to his side.

Once the two brothers finished their quick heart to heart, two familiar faces made their way into the waiting room.

“Hey, we’re back,” Chloe announced softly as she walked into the room.

“And we brought a present,” Alexa followed up as she entered the room with a five-foot tall (150cm) teddy bear, a bear about the same size as Alexa herself (149cm).

Exhausted with hauling the bear around the hospital, Alexa handed Mark the bear and threw herself into the seat next to Mark.

“Is this for Mai?” Mark asked softly as he inspected the stuffed bear gently. From the warm smile on its face, to the warm and cozy scarf around its neck, Mark felt at ease just by having it in his presence.

“Mhm! She told me about all of her stuffed teddy bears, so I know she’ll love it when you give it to her,” Alexa said with a kind smile.

“What do you mean ‘when I’ give it to her?” Mark asked suddenly. “You and Chloe were the ones who got it. I’d feel bad giving this to her.”

Chloe sat down on the other side of Mark and placed her hand on his. Mark’s tensions subsided even further with her calming touch.

“Something tells me she would appreciate it more if you were the one who gave it to her,” Chloe said softly to Mark with a soothing pace and tone.

As Mark looked back down at the bear again, a nurse came into the waiting room where the four of them had been sitting. She was marking some things off on a clipboard with a pen until she looked at the four of them.

“Mark?” the nurse asked as she looked towards Mark whose body was covered by the big bear that he was holding in his hands.

“Yes!” Mark exclaimed quickly as he stood up from his seat. “Is everything alright?!” Mark continued as he stepped closer to the nurse.

“I’m happy to inform you that Mai is doing well, despite the incident that happened,” the nurse said gently.

Mark and the others let out sighs of relief and happiness. Some of their worries had been washed away with the joy of knowing that Mai was well.

The four of them then began following the nurse out of the waiting room and into the ER that Mai was resting in.

“Do you guys think I can have some time alone with Mai?” Mark asked hesitantly as he looked towards Damian, Chloe, and Alexa.

The three of them exchanged brief glances with each other, then nodded to Mark, granting him his request.

“Thank you,” Mark said softly, then proceeded to give them all a quick hug before heading into the room.

*     *     *

When he stepped into the room, he saw Mai and the worn state she was in. Bandages were wrapped tightly around her left shoulder, covering up part of her collarbone above her heart. Her face was stoic as usual, though that seemed to add a sense of relief to Mark.

Once Mai noticed that he entered the room, her face lit up happily. Her eyes were locked onto Mark’s mute expression and the gift.

“Mark?” Mai asked once Mark reached the side of her bed.

As soon as Mai spoke to him, Mark collapsed to his knees at the side of her bed. He buried his head into his arms on top of the bed near her hand.

“I’m so sorry, Mai,” Mark sobbed quietly, gripping at the bed sheets covering the bed. “It’s my fault this happened to you. I should’ve stopped him last night, or given him some money, or-” Mark continued, only to be stopped by Mai.

Mai’s happy expression fell into a melancholic one. Her small smile creeped into a line of neutrality, unable to hold the shape it once held. Reaching with her right hand, Mai began to toy with Mark’s hair, hoping that would be able to calm him down as it did before.

“It’s okay. I forgive you,” she said with a calm and gentle voice. “Please, don’t torture yourself.”

“What?” Mark thought surprisingly.

“H-How could you forgive me so quickly? You could’ve died because of me,” Mark responded quietly, trying to understand how she could forgive this transgression at all.

Mai continued brushing through Mark’s hair. Her face drooped even more as she internalized the pain that Mark was feeling. He was blaming himself again for a situation he wasn’t present for.

“This is the second time I should’ve died…and this was my fault,” Mai responded softly.

“Second time? Your fault?” Mark asked quietly as he stared at Mai now with a questioning and perplexed look on his face.

“If I was able to open the register, or if I didn’t do what I did, I would’ve been fine,” Mai admitted matter-of-factly. “That’s why it’s my fault,” she continued with a small voice.

“I still don’t understand. What did you do?” Mark asked sincerely, looking into her cold and distant pink eyes.

Mai looked down at Mark and the bear next to him with a small smile. Then, she briefly explained what happened between her and the man. She talked about how the man threatened her, how scared she felt, and how the man threatened his own life.

“I had the power to give him another chance at life,” Mai said softly with a hint of hesitation in her voice. “I tried to give him that chance.”

“Even if you were scared?” Mark asked, noticing her shaking slightly.

Mai took a small breath of air. The words she wanted to say were suffocating her with painful feelings of guilt. Once she was able to free herself from her own guilt, she nodded her head, and opened her mouth slightly to speak.

“I just acted like my mom did,” Mai said quietly with a sad smile. “She knew the risks, yet still tried to give birth to me…” she continued, trailing off at the end.

“Oh. I’m, very sorry to hear that,” Mark empathized softly.

Noticing Mai’s lack of words and expression, Mark took her hand from on top of his head and held it in his hands. One hand lay under hers in comfort, and his other lay on top of hers in assurance and protection.

“If she didn’t give me a chance to live, I would’ve never met you,” Mai said gently with a warm smile taking shape on her face.

“Even if my kindness put me in this hospital room, I’ll never forget the kindness and care given to me from others,” Mai continued warmly.

Mark showed a small, genuine smile back to her. The true and honest feelings from Mai radiated within him, reverberating throughout his entire body. The passion behind her statement made Mark remember something, and he quickly fished into his pockets to pull out a folded piece of paper.

“I guess that means everything here is true,” Mark smiled as he opened up Mai’s letter.

Mai nodded as she craned her head slightly to read the note with him. The two of them spent a couple minutes silently reading the note together. As they got further along into the letter, Mai’s smile grew even more.

“…I would love to spend that time with you. Even if we spent that time in silence,” she read silently as she looked at Mark who was still reading the letter with a smile.

Once Mark finished reading the letter, he folded it back up and placed it in his pocket. Looking at Mai, he stood up and gave her a nice, tender hug. It felt nice to be able to hold her after their crazy afternoon.

“If there’s anything you’d like to do,” Mark started softly as he pulled away to look at Mai directly.

Mark reached over to the stuffed bear on the floor next to him. He hoisted the toy up closer to Mai, then took hold of its hand to wave at her.

“I’d be beary happy to join you,” he concluded, hiding behind the bear to make it seem as if the bear was talking to her.

Unable to control herself, Mai let out a small and adorable laugh filled with pure joy. She reached up to Mark and the bear, then brought them both in for the best hug she could muster with one arm.

“Thank you,” Mai said sweetly as she let go of Mark only to steal the bear from his hands, earning a soft laugh from Mark as her reward, along with her new oversized friend.

Their sweet and wholesome moment was then interrupted by a loud knock on the door. Mark walked over to it slowly and opened the door to find Alexa, Chloe, and Damian.

“Oh, I’m sorry guys. I lost track of time,” Mark said while rubbing his neck with a smile on his face.

“Time flies when you’re having fun,” Damian joked as he playfully hit his brother in the stomach.

The three of them headed past Mark and into the room to see Mai. Mai waved at them kindly with a gentle smile on her face.

They each began having their own brief conversations with Mai. Alexa and Mai talked about how comfortable and cuddly her new friend was while exchanging hugs with it. Chloe and Mai hugged and exchanged simple back and forth, and Damian told Mai that they would cook for her tonight.

“She seems so happy now, despite everything that’s happened. Even being in the hospital, Mai doesn’t look afraid,” Mark noted as he stood in the background watching her interactions take place.

After some time had passed and the nurses did some final checkups, Mai was discharged from the hospital.

Later in the evening…

The sun was starting to set on this tiresome day. The five of them returned to the Reyes’ household in higher spirits. Mai seemed happy and well, despite some discomfort and pain in her left shoulder and adjoining areas.

Letting out a massive yawn, Mark planted himself onto the couch. Though he was still awake, his eyes were closed and his breathing was silent.

Mai smiled quietly and took a seat next to him.

“He’s so peaceful…” Mai thought as she closed her eye and leaned to her right side, laying her head on Mark’s left shoulder.

Feeling her presence beside him, Mark unconsciously rested his head on hers. A blush warmed over Mai’s face, flushing it with a pink and radiant glow.

Alexa smiled with childish glee as she placed Mai’s teddy bear in the center of the floor and cuddled up next to it.

“Mai, your face is pink. Are you feeling alright?” Alexa asked while wrapped up with the stuffed animal.

“Mhm!” Mai answered softly as she failed at hiding the wide and genuine smile forming on her face.

Damian shot a look at the scene before heading to the kitchen with Chloe to make dinner. Seeing Mai and Mark together on the couch made him smile with happiness for his brother. Mark was able to stand his ground against his worries, allowing him to get closer to Mai.

“That’s a nice smile,” Chloe said sweetly as she kissed his cheek gently. “You should wear it more often,” she continued as she went to the fridge to gather some ingredients to make dinner for the five of them.

“Well, if you keep giving me kisses, maybe I’ll smile more,” Damian said playfully as he parked his wheelchair by one of the countertops.

“Jeez. What would you do without me?” Chloe teased playfully as she quickly pecked Damian’s lips.

Chloe reached out a hand to Damian and pulled him up from his wheelchair. On shaky legs, Damian leaned on the counter and began cooking a meal with Chloe’s help.

Chloe explained her cooking processes along with the spices and what each of them did. Damian cracked a few jokes in between different instructions from Chloe, and even earned a few laughs from her. They rarely ever had time to be together by themselves, so they took advantage of it and shared some peace together while the stove was being tended to.

“Thank you for teaching me,” Damian said honestly. “Maybe I should take some time to learn how to cook something special for you one day,” he continued.

“You probably won’t have time,” Chloe started softly. “Your team’s going to want you back once you’re all healed up.”

Damian’s smile withered slightly upon hearing about his baseball team. He had already planned on quitting or leaving the team, but he never mentioned it to anyone. Damian didn’t find much joy in it the last few times they played, and after the recent events that happened in his life, he needed time to rest.

“I don’t want to play anymore,” Damian began quietly, netting him a surprised look from Chloe.

“I want to enjoy other things in my life,” Damian said with a smile. “Besides, the life of a traveling athlete isn’t the life I want to have.”

Chloe smiled nicely for Damian and his decision. It meant that he could spend more time with those around him, including her.

“Get better soon then,” Chloe ordered kindly as she gave him a gentle hug. “The faster you heal up, the faster we can enjoy our lives,” she finished with a playful laugh.

Damian smiled at Chloe’s words and held onto her hug. They stood together for a couple minutes in peace and harmony with each other, only to be disrupted by the sound of a kitchen timer going off near them.

“I can’t believe you distracted me,” Chloe blamed mischievously as she turned her attention to the stove and turned off everything that was on.

“I can’t believe you just blamed me,” Damian retorted back teasingly as he shimmied along the counter towards the cupboard and took down some plates and bowls.

Chloe let out another laugh and started serving food for the five of them.

“Alexa! Mark! Mai! Dinner is ready!” Damian called out.

Alexa sprung up from inside the bear’s grasps and tapped at Mai and Mark.

“Hey, dinner’s ready,” she said softly as she gently nudged the two of them to wake them up.

Both Mai and Mark began to wake up, only to find themselves looking into each other’s eyes in close proximity. Their faces grew warm with blush and awkwardness as their mouths made incoherent noises to try and find an excuse for what happened.

Meanwhile, Alexa laughed at the two of them and their pink faces, making them turn a darker shade of red with embarrassment.

Without exchanging a full word or sentence, Mai and Mark got up and walked with Alexa over to the dinner table.

The five of them sat down together to enjoy another meal as a group of friends. Even though it was a simple meal, they enjoyed it happily, hoping that this could be the turning point from the tragedy and loss they all experienced over the past week and a half. Spring was almost over, and it was now summer’s turn to greet them in her warm arms.