In the past, James was someone who did whatever he wanted without thinking of the consequences
and his brother was always there to clean up the mess he made. Unfortunately, his brother was no
longer as energetic as he used to be.
Time made it easy for people to throw their lives away. There was no one left in the end.
Light from the outside was slowly starting to fill the room. Noticing that it was almost morning, James's
eyes darted towards Jacob. "Why don't you get some rest for a while?"
Jacob smiled bitterly and only shook his head. "You can go ahead, Uncle James. I'm fine. I can take
over for now." The way he said it as he looked at his uncle with a tired expression made Jacob seem
like he had been carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
No matter what he was going through, he had to remain strong. After all, not everything turned out for
the worst. The operation, at least, was a success. There was still hope no matter how long the wait
would be.
However, Michael was still currently in a coma. Jacob believed that his father would definitely wake up.
His old man was strong and he knew that he wouldn't be giving up that easily.
Still, he couldn't help but feel restless. During the past couple of hours, Jacob didn't do anything but
pondered on a lot of thoughts in his mind. Perhaps, life really consisted of ups and downs.
"I'll just rest here for a while. I've already asked Winnie to bring some food. You don't have to worry
about the company's affairs right now," James murmured. Surprisingly, he was very calm that he didn't
expect it himself. It didn't take long before he felt his eyes getting heavier for him to handle. At first, he
plopped on the chair beside him and after a few minutes his eyes had finally closed. After struggling for
too long, exhaustion had finally met him.
Sara, on the other hand, had suddenly jolted awake. Her eyes had immediately landed on Jacob,
whose own orbs were bloodshot from the lack of sleep. She blinked a few times and rubbed her still
sleepy eyes to clear up her vision. It didn't feel like she had dozed off at all. She only remembered
barely closing her eyes for a moment and the next thing it was already morning.
However, she remembered a series of dreams that took place while she was out cold. Michael had
appeared in her dream, and she kept on calling for him and Jacob. No matter how many times she
called out to them, no one answered.
Still, she kept on yelling out their names with the hopes that someone would respond. The moment she
snapped out of the dream and opened her eyes, it immediately confused her. The dream felt so real.
Nothing could be compared to real life, though, since reality was crueler still.
At that moment, Michael still remained in the ICU for observation. This didn't seem to make them feel
at ease. If anything, it made them even more restless. Although he seemed so close to them, he still
felt so far away.
"Did you wake up? Do you want to go back to sleep?" Jacob's voice was low but it wasn't as calm as it
used to be.
At the moment, he was like a boat in the sea that was on the verge of collapsing. He was trying his best
to hold up his sails to make himself appear stable.
No one would be able to face a storm without going through it first. This was how Jacob perceived the
challenges he had to face. Life isn't always kind to us. It will only make a few turns from time to time,
but in the end it will force people to endure the journey all throughout.
A lot of people have been straightened out by life. In the end, they have ended up blending in with the
crowd.
Jacob couldn't deny that he also felt the same way. The boat he was currently sailing could be
overturned by a storm at any moment.
"No, I'll stay here with you," Sara suddenly said. Snapping out from his current train of thoughts, Jacob
glanced over to Sara whose eyes were filled with affection towards him. Unlike in the past, she didn't
bother to hide how she felt anymore.
Being there for someone is the most affectionate way to show how much you love them. From now on,
they would have to face all difficulties together, throughout the good times and the bad.
Jacob managed a small smile as he reached out to Sara and patted her gently on the head. He could
feel the chapped skin on his mouth stinging as the dry areas tried to stretch out with the curling up of
his lips. If he had left it like that any longer, it could have been worse.
His eyes then darted towards the ECG monitor over the other side of the glass window of the ICU
where he could get a clear glimpse of Michael who was still not awake. A soft sigh escaped his lips.
Fortunately, his heartbeat was at least still normal.
He was determined to wait for his father to wake up, no matter how long it would take. There was a lot
of time that he had missed out to spend some time with his father. He couldn't bear to waste any more
minute of what's left of it.
Once Michael woke up, Jacob promised himself that he would spend as much time as he could with
him. We only pass once through this world. Once we have reached the end of our life's journey on
earth, there is no more returning back.
It pained him to see his father like this, lying on the hospital bed without any consciousness. Getting
him to wake up wouldn't be easy. It was just a prosperous dream, and only when he first woke up did
he realize that he had nothing.
The atmosphere in the dining room was gloomy when breakfast had been served. Sara stared blankly
at the porridge in front of her before managing to take in a few bites. Jacob wasn't in any mood to eat
either, but still he obediently ate the food that Sara had forced into his mouth. He felt extremely awful,
but he didn't want to let Sara see it. After all, the last thing he wanted was for her to worry about him.
When afternoon of the next day came, Michael had finally woken up. As he groggily managed to look
around at the medical staff who came to his aid, he found himself unable to speak properly. The doctor
then informed the others that his situation was special and that only one family member could come
and visit him at a time.
This made Jacob feel even more nervous. How special could his situation be that only one person was
allowed to enter? The moment he entered the room where Michael was, he finally realized why.
Michael was in deep pain whenever he tried to speak.
"Jacob... Is Sara here?" He barely had the strength to slowly utter out his words.
It took all of Jacob's willpower to muster a smile as he approached the bed. He didn't want Michael to
see how in pain he was to see his father like that. It would only make things worse.
"Dad, I got her back. You have to get better as soon as possible so you could see your grandson."
Jacob's smile didn't reach his eyes. He wanted to laugh as if he just told him a joke, but he wasn't able
to do so. The next best thing that he could force himself to do was to smile.
"That... Is... Great... Then I... I don't... Don't have to worry..." The more Michael tried to speak, the more
difficult it seemed for him to do so. He didn't know how long he could hold on after waking up this time
around. It felt like his head was splitting in half.
He was in so much pain that he couldn't even feel his own breathing. However, he was still aware of
what he was saying despite his mind feeling a little hazy. Perhaps it was because he was already used
to be in a life and death situation.
It was just that at that moment, the scene was too depressing. Jacob reached out to his father's hands
and held onto them tight. He stared at the now cold hands which used to hold his own to help him grow
up. Now, all that was left was a layer of dry, wrinkled skin.
The pain in his chest kept on radiating, but he knew that now wasn't the time to show how sad he was.
"Please promise me that you will be fine, dad." As Jacob leaned forward to rest his head on his father's
cold hands, tears started to form in his eyes.
Michael had always taught him not to cry in front of people ever since he was a child. But right now,
Jacob couldn't resist becoming a child in front of his father.
No matter how old one gets, they would still remain forever young in front of their parents. Michael
understood this quite well and allowed Jacob to pour his heart out.
"Jacob... Jacob... Listen... Listen to me." Michael wheezed out those words as if it were the last of his
remaining strength. He knew that he didn't have much time left, so he had to tell his son what he was
concerned about as soon as possible.
"Dad, I'm listening. Take your time." Jacob raised his head and wiped the tears from the corner of his
eyes. He couldn't cry. Not now while he was in front of his father. He refused to show his father how
upset he was. There was still hope that his father would be fine.
Maybe it was because of his father's presence by his side, or perhaps he was just able to finally calm
down his nerves that he suddenly looked much more relaxed.
"Grow old... Until you get sick with old age and it's time for you to go. Don't indulge yourself too much in
life." As Michael said this, tears started to roll down his face. For Jacob, it felt like those were the
heaviest tears that he had seen in his life.
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