Bedridden Young Man

In a hospital room, there was a bedridden young man with all kinds of medical apparatuses going in and out of his body.

"Sigh…"

A sigh came from the young man as he woke up from his sleep, revealing his eyes filled with despair and hopelessness. However, deep within them were traces of brilliance that had long faded out of existence.

The young man looked down. Seeing the medical apparatuses that had been embedded in his body since who knows how long, the young man was filled with anguish.

'Will my suffering ever end??' Thought the young man as he took a deep breath, enduring all the difficulties and pain as he did so.

The young man then looked at his bedside table. More specifically, at the picture frame on top of his bedside table.

Inside the picture is a family of four.

In the far left is a valiant man in a suit with pitch-black hair and golden eyes. Beside him is an elegant woman with snow-white hair and ruby-red eyes.

In their embrace were a boy and a girl.

The boy has pitch-black hair which he inherited from his father and ruby-red eyes from his mother. While the girl is the complete opposite with her mother's snow-white hair and her father's golden eyes.

As the young man stared at the picture, he unknowingly daydreamed of his past.

As a child, he was very satisfied with the life he used to have. He can run anytime he wants, he has a sister who he loves to dote on, he has loving parents, and all those things every normal family experiences.

He also used to be very talented. Whether it be academics, sports or even learning different skills such as magic tricks, he could be considered a prodigy.

It was perfect for him.

Until that happened.

***

10 years ago. In a simple living room.

A boy and a girl were playing as their laughs and giggles sounded from time to time.

A valiant man and elegant woman are sitting beside each other on the sofa, checking on their children every few minutes.

It was a relatively peaceful weekend.

*Thud*

Until a loud thud sounded across the living room, making the couple whip their heads only to see one of their children collapsed on the floor.

They hurriedly stood up and ran to their children. As they ran, beads of sweat filled with worry formed on their foreheads.

"Zen!!!" Shouted the couple as they got to their son.

The valiant man immediately carried Zen, their son, and moved towards their car.

The elegant woman also carried their daughter whose face was filled with tears formed from worry.

As they ran, the elegant woman asked their daughter in a calm comforting tone. "Sera, what happened to your brother?"

Sera, who was barely 8 years old, struggled to talk caused by the hiccups she got from crying. "M-mom I-I don't know, we were just playing t-then brother suddenly collapsed!"

As the family got into their car, the valiant man immediately stepped on the gas blazing through the roads in the middle of the night.

As it is midnight, there aren't that many cars on the road, making it easy for them to go to the hospital.

As soon as they got to the hospital, the valiant man hurriedly stepped out to call for a stretcher, afraid of moving Zen's body that might cause more complications, while his wife stayed with their children.

Soon after, the medical staff arrived at their car and skillfully laid Zen onto the stretcher.

They hurriedly moved towards the emergency room.

"Sir, Madam, you cannot enter the emergency room. Please wait outside for the time being." A newbie nurse informed them carefully, afraid of them going berserk as he had seen in the movies.

"We understand, please do your best for our son." The valiant man suppressed his panic and calmly said as he hugged his wife and daughter.

They knew that panicking and making a ruckus won't help and instead might even affect the operation of their child negatively.

The valiant man led them to sit while they waited for results.

As hours passed by, endless worry surged through their hearts.

The elegant woman leaned on the valiant man's chest and said. "Ren, will our son be okay?"

The valiant man, Ren, kissed the elegant woman's head and whispered assuringly.

"Don't worry Rina, our son is strong. He will be alright, I'm sure of it."

They looked at the wall clock located in the hall where they sat from time to time.

A few more hours later, a kind-looking old man wearing the doctor's uniform came out of the emergency room where Zen was.

"Are you the family of Zen Alcantra?"

Hearing the doctor's careful tone, the couple became even more worried.

The valiant man who doesn't look so valiant anymore nervously looked at his wife who was carrying their sleeping daughter.

After looking at each other's eyes for a few seconds, he stood up and shook the hand of the doctor before placing his arm around Rina's waist.

The doctor looked at the document in his hand, touched his glasses and said to them.

"Zen's case is special, I would like to invite you to my office for a private conversation."

The couple, Ren and Rina, nervously looked at each other again before proceeding to follow the doctor.

After closing the door in the doctor's office, the couple, who were still carrying their sleeping daughter, sat face-to-face with the doctor.

A conversation between them ensued, the couple's expression being filled with more worry as the conversation went on…

***

After being moved to a private ward from the emergency room, the boy named Zen, woke up in confusion.

'Where am I?'

'Where's Dad?'

'Where's Mom?'

'Where's Sera?'

After a bout of confused thoughts, Zen started to remember the event prior to his current situation.

He also noticed that although it was minimal, his body was gradually becoming heavier as time passed by.

Fear and confusion filled his whole being.

Knock~ Knock~ Knock~

Fortunately, all his thoughts came to a stop as knocks echoed in the room.