THE MAN WHO NEVER SLEEPS

When I opened my eyes, all I could see was white. I shifted my gaze sideward.

Dextrose...

That was when I realized I was lying in a hospital bed.

The nurse in the room noticed I was awake and her eyes widened. I heard a doctor and a few nurses loudly padding inside the room, checking my vitals and everything, asking me a lot of questions, like they couldn't believe I woke up.

"W-where's d-dad?" I stammered because of the lack of strength and energy.

No one answered me. It was like they were purposely ignoring my question.

My body felt weak so I couldn't stay awake longer and went back to sleep again. When I woke up again, I felt much better than earlier.

"Where's my dad?" I asked the nurse who was changing my dextrose.

She gave me a kind smile. "He went somewhere," she ambiguously answered.

Where is that somewhere?

Even though I wanted to stay awake and wait for my dad to come, I couldn't. I felt sleepy all the time. Every time I would wake up, I would ask for him, but no one gave me a clear answer.

I found out, as the nurses had told me, I was comatose for three months. They said it was heaven's miracle that I managed to gain consciousness.

So where's my dad?

As days passed, I got better and better. My dad was still nowhere to be seen. Where could he be that he didn't even bother visiting me?

"Nurse, where's my dad?" I asked again for the nth time.

This time, I prayed for a proper answer.

"Uh?" He looked flustered. "He had some business to do."

The nurse immediately left.

I got annoyed at all of them. Why couldn't they give me a proper answer?

One afternoon, a lady nurse in her 40s visited my room to check on me.

With an evident irritation laced in my voice, I asked her. "Just where on earth did my dad go?"

She paused for a moment like she was calculating in her head if she should tell me or not.

"My dad. Where is he." I demanded with impatience.

She stared at me and then sat on my bed.

"Let me tell you a story. It's about a man who never sleeps and a girl who never wakes up."

I gulped absentmindedly.

I didn't know why but I got scared of what she was going to tell me.

"There is this girl who's always sleeping. She doesn't wake up. She's asleep day and night. So the man did everything to wake her up. Everything. Even if it broke his bones. He never sleeps. He just works and works and works to buy the medicine that could make the girl wake up."

Why is she telling me this? I don't care about her storytelling! I want my dad!

"Did you know what happened to them?" she asked.

I was struck when I saw her tears streaming down her face.

Why is she crying?

"A miracle happened. That girl who couldn't wake up finally woke up."

I didn't know why but I also cried. Maybe it was because she was crying. Or maybe because there was a contagious sadness in her eyes. Or maybe, because of the realization I suddenly had.

"Am I the girl in the story?" I asked.

With tears in her eyes, she nodded her head.

"Then what happened to the man who never sleeps?"

She held my hand and slightly squeezed it. "He finally slept."

"Really--"

"Forever."

I froze.

Forever?

Does that mean--

"What?" I managed to mutter before my voice cracked.

"The girl who never wakes up has already woken up. And the man who never sleeps is now sleeping. And he will never wake up again."

Dad…