Prologue

"We need a doctor here!"

The hospital doors burst open as the male EMT called for help, he and a few others wheeling in an unconscious girl on a stretcher.

His urgent tone had the people around jumping into action promptly. A middle-aged nurse appeared in front of them to direct them. She looked like she was off-duty, dressed in casual clothes instead of scrubs, but held a clipboard ready to take notes. "What happened, Fletcher?" she asked the man who had called for a doctor.

"We have a priority one and two. Victims are both female and seventeen years of age, none with prior medical crisis. That's all we had time to find out. They were retrieved from the water where they both sustained head injuries and then drowned."

"Page Dr. Burton!" the woman called to another nurse. "Let's get her to the ER. I'm assuming she's our priority two."

Fletcher nodded somberly. "Her friend is in the other ambulance. We tried our best."

More nurses showed up to take possession of the stretcher, before dashing into the ER. The nurse holding the clipboard remained behind, standing beside Fletcher. She gave his forearm a gentle squeeze. "I know you did. Any other information? Where are their parents?"

"They were too hysterical to ride with us. They followed behind. Should be getting here soon." He drew in a deep breath. "She's only seventeen, Nik."

"I know. I know. That's why we've called for our best. John will be here soon. You guys did your job, hopefully got there in time to save her." She directed a comforting smile at all three of them, albeit a very small one. "Well done."

Behind them, a male nurse stepped out of the ER. "Fletch? We need to know how long she's been out and the state she was in when you found her."

The only female paramedic among them was who spoke. "She had no pulse when we got to the scene. We discovered a sprained neck and a swollen skull, so no CPR was performed. We revived her for barely a minute and stopped her from going into cardiac arrest, but she experienced an active seizure on the way over and has been unconscious ever since."

He nodded before facing the nurse with them. "We'll try our best until Dr. Burton gets here," he said. "Honestly speaking though, it's not looking good. She was under a while before they found her and called for help. She's been unconscious for about half an hour, give or take. If she recovers from this, the post-trauma alone..."

Fletcher inhaled sharply. In response, the nurse at his side gave his arm another squeeze.

"We need information about her PHR," he continued. "You said she's seventeen? We need her legal guardians here to sign admission and consent forms for whatever happens."

"Where's my baby?!"

All heads turned toward the hospital entrance where the cry came from. Fletcher noticeably lost some of his tension.

Without wasting a minute, a family of four—the parents and their two other adult kids—followed the receptionist's pointed finger and made their way over, all dressed in beachwear they hadn't had the time to change. The mother had tear-soaked cheeks, but her makeup was firmly in place. "Is my daughter okay? What's happening?" she clamored.

"Ma'am, please calm down." It was the female nurse, Anneke, who spoke. "The doctor is on his way. In the meantime, we're working to stabilize your daughter. We promise to do all we can, but I'd advise you prepare for the worst, Mrs..."

"Pereira. Eliana Pereira," she completed.

They all seemed to do a double-take at the family.

"Please do all you can for my daughter. Anything it'll take. The best doctors, the best treatment, we can afford anything. Please."

The nurse remained placid. "We'll have our best trauma surgeon treat her first. Any updates and we'll get back to you. All you can do now is remain calm and have faith she'll pull through. Who will be coming with me to fill the forms?" She looked at the husband, but it was the daughter with them who volunteered. "Okay. Come with me, miss."

•• •• •• ••

After hours of waiting outside the emergency room, the door finally opened and every member of the Pereira family assembled outside stood up.

The doctor approached them, looking worse for wear. "I have good news and bad news. Eden kept going into cardiac arrest and having random seizures, so we put her under. She's stable for now, which itself is a miracle. She went nine minutes, give or take, without oxygen. Any longer and it would have been instant brain death. However, the bad news is that her brain continues to remain catatonic from the lack of oxygen, and we can't ascertain yet how she will be affected. Even more, she didn't just drown, she hit her head before she fell into the water, which resulted in an almost broken neck, and she sustained severe traumatic brain injury—"

"W-what are you saying?" Eliana interrupted before he could go any further, her voice trembling with fear. "My daughter is going to be alright, isn't she?"

The doctor took a deep breath before he continued. "I can't promise anything." Before he had finished his statement, she fell into her husband's arms and sobbed against his chest.

"Our child, Rafael," she wailed. Her husband, who looked like he was hanging on by a thread himself, began to whisper assurances to her. Their children were the ones to stay calm as they listened to the doctor.

"If you need a moment... I know this is a tough time for you all," Burton said patiently.

Their daughter took over engaging the doctor. "It's okay, doctor, you can tell us everything we need to know." She spoke coolly with no emotion, almost like she had no relation to the girl lying in the emergency room. "The lack of oxygen, the brain injury... What damages do you think it'll cause? Anything permanent?"

"It's too early to know for sure, and cases like this dealing with cerebral hypoxia vary. The diagnosis may be long-term or lasting a few months mostly. Once she's out of danger fully, we'll run some extensive tests and know for sure."

Her brother spoke next. "You mean she's not out of danger yet?" His voice held a hint of panic, unlike his sister.

Dr. Burton shook his head. "Sadly, no. The next few weeks are very crucial, including her first moments awake—if she wakes up. In my experience, that could take weeks, if she's lucky. Months if more complications arise."

"So what can we do now?" Rafael Pereira asked.

"Wait," the doctor replied. "Once we take her out of surgery, she'll be moved to ICU where we'll monitor her progress. We need to observe her for at least a few days, so she won't be allowed any visitors."

"Okay, doctor, thank you very much," Rafael said.

The doctor gave a faint smile. "Just doing my job. If there is anything else, I or our head nurse, Anneke, will get back to you. For now, be patient and hopeful. I understand you have health complications yourself, Mr. Pereira?"

Rafael gave a short nod. "Survived a heart attack a few months back."

Burton nodded. "Take it easy then. All of you. I'm sure Eden would want that." With those final words, he returned back into the room, leaving behind a family who relied on each other for strength.