Leon froze at that stroke, so faint… he almost missed it. His breath hitched... His eyes dropped to her hand.
Her fingers, They had moved.
It hit him all at once.
"Mira…?" His voice broke.
Another slight twitch.
Real... Not imagined.
"Doctor...!" Leon shot up from his chair, panic and hope colliding violently inside him. He slammed the emergency button, his hands were shaking uncontrollably.
"Doctor! Doctor!" His voice echoed through the room, raw.
He turned back to her, rushing to her side again.
"Mira… Mira… I'm here…" His hand hovered near her face, afraid to touch, afraid to disturb her. His heart pounded like it would tear out of his chest.
"Come back…" he whispered.
Doctors rushed in and surrounded her. They checked monitors and observed her vitals. Reports were scanned with practiced urgency.
Leon stood frozen to the side.
"Congratulations sir, "Madam is showing clear signs of waking up. If everything continues like this… she should regain consciousness soon. Maybe within a day."
"A day…?" he repeated, almost breathless.
A day.
"A day…" A broken laugh escaped him as relief flooded in. "Thank you… thank you, doctor…"
His voice was unable to hold steady. Before anyone could say more, he moved, almost stumbling in his haste... back to her side.
A smile spread across his face, wide and unguarded, something rare and fragile.
He reached onto his hands and pulled out the prayer beads he had worn all these days, his fingers tightening around them.
For a moment, his closed his eyes, A silent prayer... A desperate gratitude.
By noon, the room was no longer empty. It was filled with his hopes and happiness. The doctors checked her again.
"She could wake up at any time."
Any time. Leon didn't move.
He stood beside her, his eyes locked on her face, unblinking—as if afraid that if he looked away, he might miss it. The moment he had been waiting for. For twenty-nine days.
And then— A slight movement. So faint, it could have been missed.
Her eyelids fluttered.
Leon's breath hitched.
"Mira…" he called, his voice barely above a whisper.
Her lashes trembled… then lifted. Her eyes opened.
Leon froze. For a second, the world stopped for him.
Hope, fear and relief all were crashing into him at once.
"Mira…?" His voice broke, softer than ever.
Her gaze was unfocused at first, drifting—adjusting to the light.
Then slowly…
It moved. And settled,
On him...