Lea felt like she had been dreaming for a very long time.
Her mind felt hazy and her body felt heavy, and when she tried to move her head to the side, her neck felt stiff. Still, she managed to lift her head and looked around the room. Everything looked familiar yet unfamiliar. The constant beeping sound from the monitor placed beside the bed made her think, 'Is this just another dream?'
"Please, let it not be a dream," she whispered earnestly.
Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her head like it was pierced by a hot, thick needle.
"Ugh…"
Lea wanted to scream but her throat was too dry to even make a sound. The only thing she could do was to close her eyes and clasped the sheet of the bed and endure the pain. Tears fell from both sides of her face as the pain was getting too intense rather than subsiding.
[Emergency Interference]
Awakener's brain is overburdened by the sudden influx of data.
The World's system will temporarily seal the Awakener's memories.
The pain in her head was gone the instant the hologram screen disappeared before she even noticed it was there in the first place.
'Was I dreaming a sad dream?'
Lea blinked her wet eyes slowly. She wanted to touch her face but she didn't even have the strength to lift her arm. Before more confusion took over her thoughts, Lea succumbed to the tiredness and fell back asleep.
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When more and more people awakened as Awakeners, governments all over the world were compelled to make changes to accommodate the unexpected world-altering reality. Due to the influence of modern civilisation, people especially the younger generation, adapted to the changes pretty quickly. And in just ten years, society returned to a somewhat state of normalcy. That's excluding the occasional reminder that rifts do appear here and there at any given time.
Presently, at the very late hour in a hospital that became known as the leading medical facility for treating Awakener-related injuries, one of their long-term patient had finally and miraculously woken up after a record-breaking six years of a comatose-like state.
"Are you sure, doctor?"
"We checked the security footage in the patient's room. Your daughter was indeed clearly awake for a brief moment," the doctor replied with no trace of doubt.
Hearing the news they had been waiting to hear for six years brought the parents to tears.
The patient's father wiped his tears with the sleeve of his shirt and asked the doctor, "How's our daughter now? Can we see her?"
"At the moment, we're monitoring her condition very closely and will let you know as soon as she shows any sign of waking up."
Right then, a nurse rushed over with a new update on the patient's condition which prompted the doctor to leave to check on the patient.
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A young man with dyed blonde hair ran down the quiet hallway and stopped in front of the two people standing in each other's arms with similar anxious expressions.
"Mom, Dad," the young man nervously called out.
"Alan? When did you get back?"
His mom expressed her surprise seeing her son who should be unreachable due to work, was here at the hospital. From his dishevelled hair and ragged breathing, she could tell at a glance that her son hurried over on foot.
"I, I got dad's message, he said Lea…"
Alan's voice trembled. He couldn't continue speaking for fear that his hope might be crushed.
His mom gave him a hug to comfort him.
"It's good that you're here but what about your work?"
Alan's dad expressed his concern that his son might be reprimanded.
Alan pulled away from the hug but did not let go of his mom and said, "My team finished early and I got permission to leave first with the guild's plane."
"Doctor Timur is checking on your sister right now. We're just waiting," his dad explained when Alan looked at the door to the Special Care ward.
Alan wanted to know more details but held back from asking until the doctor came out. He was able to calm down a bit when his dad gently patted him on the back.
The family of three waited while standing and holding on to each other for emotional support. After what felt like an eternity, for their family, it was truly a very long time of waiting, the doctor came out of the Special Care ward.
Doctor Timur raised his brows in surprise upon seeing Alan but only for a moment. He looked at the parents' hopeful gazes and gave them a reaffirming nod, "The patient has woken up from a very long sleep."
Alan stood stiff, processing the news he just heard. His parents managed to stay composed, though their eyes were reddening again with tears.
"Can we see her?"
Doctor Timur easily gave permission to the patient's parents, however, he could not easily do so for Alan.
"Sorry, Alan. It's too early to tell whether the adverse effect of Hibernation Syndrome will be triggered when an Awakener is near."
Alan snapped out of his daze when the doctor explained with an apology.
Because of the adverse effect, Alan was the only person on the family who wasn't permitted to take a step inside the ward to see his sister. Alan was an Awakener. If an Awakener was physically near a patient under Hibernation Syndrome, that patient would go into a seizure.
Alan clenched his fist but soon let go.
"I waited six years, I can wait a little longer."
Then, he stood in the hallway as he watched his parents enter the Special Care ward.
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Lea was woken up by the sound of an unfamiliar voice before she drifted back to sleep.
It happened a couple more times after that but she couldn't stay awake long enough to figure out what the voices were saying until she heard a voice she recognised. For some reason, she felt in her heart that she deeply missed that voice. So, Lea conjured all her willpower to open her heavy, sleepy eyelids.
"Doctor, her eyes are opening!"
"Miss Carter, do you understand my words?"
Lea ignored the unfamiliar voices and the bright light. From the corner of her eyes, she saw the person she wanted to see.
'Mom, and Dad.'
Something was different about them. Their eyes were red like they'd been crying and their faces looked tired, like they aged overnight.
'…can't hold on… sleepy'
Still, she needed to tell her parents.
"Missed…you."
Her sleepy gaze never left them when she whispered those words until she drifted off to sleep, again.