Antonio came to the nurse station and asked one of the nurses who were on duty, "Excuse me, why
hasn’t my daughter woken up after so many days?"
The nurse skimmed through Pearl’s diagnosis and case and then explained slowly, "When a patient
exhibits such a condition, it can only be concluded that it’s due to certain psychological factors.This
usually happens to patients who have mood swings or wish to escape from reality through extreme
means.That’s why they’ll remain in self-isolation even after being cured.
"If the patient is conscious but unwilling to wake up, family members should stay here, accompany her
more frequently, and communicate with her to stimulate her cranial nerves.That might help her regain
consciousness prematurely."
Antonio nodded.
He walked back to the ward with a heavy heart and saw Mrs.Santiago standing by the bed, watching
over her daughter and sobbing silently.He took a deep breath, grabbed his coat, walked up to her, and
draped it on her.
"You should go and rest for now." Mrs.Santiago wiped her tears.
"I don’t want to go.You should go first."
Antonio tried to persuade her.
"Pearl is still alive, and you’re exhausted.If you were to collapse because of exhaustion, would Pearl
feel good when she wakes up, knowing that her mother’s health is not doing too well during this
period?"
Mrs.Santiago paused for a bit.
After thinking about what her husband had just said, which made sense, she stopped talking back.
A week later...
The city was drizzling, and the sky was overcast and looked gray.
Standing in front of the tombstone with a n umbrella, Tanner stared at Sandy’s photo with a dimmed
expression and dull eyes.
The rain drenched the bouquet of yellow roses that he had in his hand, and the crystal clear water
droplets condensed on the delicate petals and slid down.
"Sandy,"
Tanner murmured her name as if he was talking to her, "You must blame me, right? In fact, the person
who deserves to die the most should be me."
The only thing that responded to him was the cold wind that was whistling in his ears, and he lowered
his eyelids.
"Maybe you’re right.You’re not the one who’s changed, it’s me.I’m the one who’s caused our
relationship to arrive at where it is today.So yes, I’m the one who f*cked up, but I didn’t have the balls to
admit it or face the truth.
"I didn’t expect that it would cause you so much harm.I never even thought that you would choose to
end yourself in such a way.And...And because I couldn’t let it go, I could only push all the blame onto
her in order to make me feel better."
Tanner’s eyes turned bloodshot, and he laughed at himself.
"You think I’m ridiculous too, don’t you? I didn’t want to owe you anything when it came to this matter,
but I didn’t want her to leave either.In the end, it hurt both you and her."
He squatted down slowly, placed the bouquet on the tomb, and waited for a while longer before he left
the cemetery.
The rain dripped on the cold tombstone, everything in the whole scenery was gray in color, and the
bouquet of bright yellow roses was the only colored item in sight.
And that only colored item looked just like the most beautiful past that they once had—it was just a
memory that existed.
When Tanner came to the hospital, he arrived outside of the ward and looked at the person lying on the
bed.
Pearl was still there, sleeping peacefully.
He sat in the chair next to the bed, holding her warm palm with his chilly hands.
The warmth was the only sensation that could make him feel more at ease.
"Pearl, I know you hate me."
Tanner brought the back of her hand to his lips.
"I'll take any punishment you throw at me no matter what you wish to do to retaliate against me.I only
want you to wake up.You can hit, scold, or even stab me when you wake up.I’ll take a knife without
fighting back."
He pressed his cheek against her palm.He could no longer hold his emotions back at this moment and
burst into tears.
Warm tears flowed through her fingertips, and her fingers trembled.
The person lying on the hospital bed slowly opened her eyes.
Tanner noticed something and lifted his head abruptly.
He was ecstatic when he saw that Pearl had regained consciousness, and his hand trembled when he
held her.
"Pearl, you’ve finally woken up..."
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