The Long Slumber Ends    

Tubes and wires snaked their way across Xin's body, connecting him to the pulsating rhythm of life-sustaining equipment. The steady symphony of beeps and hums filled the room, merging into an otherworldly melody that reverberated within his consciousness.

As he gingerly opened his eyes, a veil of confusion and disorientation shrouded his thoughts. The harsh glare of fluorescent lights pierced his vision.

A surge of panic coursed through his veins when he attempted to speak, only to be met with silence. His vocal cords betrayed him, emitting only a rasping rasp that scratched against his throat.

W-wha . . . what happened?

His parched lips struggled to form words, the muscles having forgotten to shape sounds.

With wide eyes filled with equal parts fear and curiosity, Xin gazed at his surroundings, searching for answers in the somber stillness.

He stumbled upon a familiar face. His mother.

She looked aged. Nearing her forties, her once supple face was dry. Dark bugs stretched her eyes down, and she looked thinner, pale, and sickly.

"Mm . . . mom . . ." Xin's hand reached out.

Evelyn rose, the chair scraping the floor from her haste. Her tears were falling down her cheeks as she opened the door and shouted.

"Doctor! Doctor! My son! My son has woken up!"

As Xin lay there, his consciousness gradually emerging from the depths of slumber, he found himself caught in the ebb and flow of his mother's conversation with the doctor.

Their words melded into a symphony of concern and medical jargon, yet amidst the confusion, fragments of memories began to resurface, crashing against the shores of his mind with painful intensity. It was as if each recollection carried the weight of an ocean wave, threatening to overwhelm him.

He remembered the incident that had robbed him of four precious years of his life — a simple misstep on a flight of stairs, a collision with an unyielding stone that had sent his world spiraling into darkness.

How could a single accident exact such a heavy toll?

The enormity of the loss seemed incomprehensible, an unjust twist of fate that defied logic.

Yet, as Xin absorbed the realization, time seemed to blur and warp, the boundaries of past and present blending together. Four years compressed into a fleeting moment as if the passage of time had been suspended, frozen in hazy memory.

It felt as though the events of that fateful day had occurred only yesterday, refusing to release their grip on his brain.

Confusion etched lines upon his brow as he struggled to reconcile the disparity between the years stolen and the sensation that they had been but a brief sliver of time. The gap in his memory left an ache in his heart, a void that yearned to be filled.

There were things he did understand, though. One, he still couldn't leave the hospital. They still had to run some checks on him and do some therapy so he could be integrated into society as if nothing had happened.

And two . . . his mother must have paid millions in these four years to keep him alive. But where did she get the money?

They weren't rich, and his mother was the only sole provider in the family. He didn't know his father. He had left them before they were even born.

Evelyn worked as a secretary in a multibillion corporation. Though she earned decently, there was no way that she could afford this.

A sudden burst of energy shattered the tranquility of the room as the door swung open, revealing a young woman with vibrant fake golden locks cascading down her waist and captivating ocean-blue eyes.

"Mom!" she exclaimed, her voice brimming with excitement. "Did Xin really wake up?!"

Their gazes locked, and in that instant, Xin's heart stirred with recognition. It was his twin sister, Xiaxia, standing before him.

Time seemed to stand still as their eyes met, and a rush of memories flooded his mind. They had once been inseparable, two halves of a whole, but a rift had driven them apart, casting a shadow over their relationship.

Where Xin had been guarded and distant, Xiaxia was a ray of sunshine, radiating warmth and exuberance like the ever-changing bold color of her hair. Her infectious cheerfulness had always been the antidote to his solemnity.

However, their bond had fractured, leaving them adrift in separate worlds.

Yet, as tears welled in Xiaxia's eyes and streamed down her face, realization dawned upon Xin.

In that vulnerable moment, the barriers that had divided them melted away, and a flicker of the past rekindled within his heart.

"Y-you . . ." Xiaxia's quivering chin betrayed her attempts to contain the torrent of tears streaming down her face.

Without a moment's hesitation, she rushed to Xin's side, her anguish finding release in a forceful slap against his head.

"You IDIOT! How can you slip and fall into a comma?! I thought that you're the careful one here?!"

The room erupted in a flurry of commotion as Xin recoiled from the unexpected blow. Evelyn shot up from her seat in alarm and shouted, "Xiaxia!"

The doctor caught off guard, stood frozen in his place, his shock mirrored on his face.

Xin's lips parted his instinct to protest halted by the piercing gaze of his tearful sister. Wide-eyed, he absorbed the impact of her words, unable to look away from the depths of her sorrow. The sting of the slap was nothing compared to the anguish etched upon her face.

Struggling to wipe away her tears, Xiaxia choked on her words, "Don't you know how worried we were? You idiot. They said that you'll never wake up. They said that you're already dead, but we refuse to believe it . . . four years . . . Four years of waiting, hoping, and praying . . . You reckless fool."

Xin's heart melted. "S . . . S-so . . . rry . . ."

Xiaxia's palm swiftly connected with his head once more, the force of the slap reverberating through the room, almost rattling his skull.

"The HELL you are!"

Evelyn couldn't contain her exasperation any longer. Her voice rose in a resounding yell.

"XIAXIA!"