9
426words
After I went into coma from that car crash,he heard the system.
It said if he truly loved me,I could return to my world.
But he'd lose his privileges as the male lead—luck,talent,all of it.
Selfishly,he hid this,unwilling to lose me.
Now,he saw I had no attachment to this world.
If he didn't let me go,I'd find more ways to die.
Rather than watch me wasting away,he'd set me free.
"Sarah,if going back is what you want,I'll give you your freedom."
As he spoke,a glowing circle appeared behind me.
Hope burst in my eyes.I stood up,walking toward it.
As I took my last step,Ethan,eyes red,asked if I'd remember him.
I didn't turn or answer.
Our meeting was a calculated game from the start.
"If I could,I'd rather never meet you."
As the circle dimmed,I vanished.
The system received Ethan's final tear of moving on.
His world no longer had a Sarah Reed.
Mine would never have an Ethan Blake.
Back in my world,I accepted the fact that Julian could never wake up.
Every day,I brought fresh irises to his room and told him about my day.
Seeing his unchanged face,I poked his cheek.
"Julian,your so shameless.All this time,and you haven't aged.I'm getting wrinkles."
Later,Julian matched a donor,but even after a successful transplant,he sitll didn't wake.
I opened the window,holding his hand,telling his the stories from One Thousand and One Nights.
Our fingers interlocked,each wearing a plain diamond ring.
Julian bought them before his accident.
Fearing he couldn't give me a future,he hid them.
But I wasn't a fool—I found them.
Flipping to the last page of One Thousand and One Nights,I sighed.
"Julian,I've finished it.Shall I read you a new story?"
Just muttering to myself,I heard a reply.
"Okay."
A weak but clear voice.The book fell to the ground from my hands.
I stared,incredulous,as Julian opened his eyes.
Tears spilled out of my eyes."Julian!"
His waking was a miracle.
Declared brain-dead,he woke up with minimal bodily decline.
Medical experts flocked to see him.
I could only hold him tight,sobbing at his recovery.
He held me,hoarse."My Sarah,you've suffered."
Crying,I asked how he woke.
He smiled mysteriously.
"After all you did for me,how could I give up?"
I didn't understand until I saw the system in my dream again.
It said it found another host named Julian Grant taking on tasks on the list.
I realized Julian,like me,took an impossible task to wake.
His was no easier than mine.
We both fought to see each other again,giving our everything.
