Suddenly, a sharp pull yanks at my chest painfully. I gasp for air and it happens again.

What the hell is that?

“Again,” says a stern female voice. I take a long, deep breath and follow the pull into a sitting position. My eyes blink open, but I shut them again quickly because of the blinding light. I fall back onto the bed.

“Alex,” says a sweet, concerned voice besides me. I open my eyes again. “Baby, are you okay?”

“Mark,” I say, tears spilling from my eyes. “You are really here,” I murmur.

He frowns. “Where else would I be?”

“Sir, please stand aside while we examine her,” a man in a white coat tells Mark. I panic. I don’t want him to leave.

“No, don’t go Mark,” I say, reaching for him with my hand.

“I’m right here, baby,” he assures me, standing in my sight while the doctors poke and probe my body for any sign of damage. When they are satisfied with my status they leave me alone with Mark.

“Welcome back,” he says.

“What do you mean?”

“You were in a coma, love.” He gauges my reaction. Suddenly my memories come back to me.

“I was unconscious but I could hear everything around me. I was trapped in my head…I tried to wake up when I thought you were dead but I couldn’t. I couldn’t hear anything anymore.”

Mark doesn’t say anything. I think he doesn’t understand me. Suddenly I remember my dream.

I smile up at him. “You will not believe the dream I had.”

“What was it about?” he asks patiently.

“It’s a long, long story. It’s about a protest and a company called LG, and about the SAI. You know, there was a bad cop named John and a good one named Blessing.” I frown.

“I thought you were dead,” I say, caressing his cheek. “And you were so mad at me, I thought you didn’t love me anymore.”

Mark’s expression reads perplexed.

“Don’t worry, I will tell you the whole story,” I giggle, relieved that it was all just a long dream. “There was a happy ending to it all. We were on a plane to the President’s private island, can you imagine? Us being so close to the President of the country?”

Mark reaches out to feel the temperature on my forehead. “Baby, it wasn’t a dream,” he says, talking to me as if I were a small child. “All that really happened. Your mind was playing back your memories, not your dreams.”

Now I’m confused. “Wait, how long was I in here?” I ask.

“A week.”

“A week?” I scream. “That’s not possible. In my dream, memories, or whatever, the whole thing took almost a year. I was in a coma for three months.” I’m bemused.

“And it did, baby, but a week ago when we were actually going away, you passed out again, lapsed into a coma. Your mind must have been replaying everything we’ve been through. The doctors found a haemorrhage in your brain, that’s what caused you to relapse.”

“So I did wake up from the first coma when Blessing took me into protective custody, and from then on I was wide awake?”

He nods, smiling.

“Wow,” I say, scanning my room. It’s not a typical hospital room. It looks luxurious and I know that my Mom couldn’t afford this. “Where are we?”

“Cosmos Private Hospital…the President moved you here,” he grins. Am I really friends with the President? I still feel like I’m in a fog.

“Hey, sleepy head,” Lifa says as he walks into the room, hand-in-hand with a tall pretty woman in a floral dress.

“Lifa,” I murmur. He comes closer to my bed and throws a quick glance at Mark, who nods. He leans down and hugs me.

“Should we change your residential address to the hospital?” he teases. “Because you are always here.”

“I’m sure that you can arrange that as the head of the SAI, huh?” I smirk. I glance at the lady on his arm.

“Oh, this is my girlfriend, Monica,” he says, smiling at her. “Monica, this is nagging Alex.”

“I’ve heard so much about you, Alex,” she says with a harmonious voice as she shakes my hand.

“Don’t believe a word of it,” I retort.

“Where is my baby?” A racket outside my door catches our attention before my Mom flies into the room. She pulls me into a crushing hug. “Child you are going to be the death of me,” she says after releasing me.

“I missed you too mommy,” I tell her. She squeezes my hand.

“Are you OK?” she asks. “Do you think we can go for a decade without you landing in a hospital?” Laughter erupts around the room.

“My sentiments exactly,” Blessing smirks.

“Let’s start with a year, Ma. Yes?” I tease.

“Excuse me,” says another voice, and an elegantly dressed woman appears in the doorway.

“Grace,” I squeak. “Please come in.”

“I heard you were awake.” She looks down at me warmly.

“From nicely situated friends?” I ask.

She grins and winks at me. “I’m glad you’re OK, we were worried.” She turns to Lifa. “Hello Lifa, Monica.”

“Ms Grace,” Monica greets warmly. Lifa acknowledges her with a nod. I shoot him a scary eye.

“I called, OK?” he says. “We had a long chat, all thanks to you.”

“You have a very special child here, Kate,” Grace tells my Mom, and she agrees.

“And a handful too,” my mother tells her.

My room is buzzing with love and joy. Everyone I care about in one room. I make a silent thank-you prayer to God. I’m so blessed that we made it. No matter what may come our way now, we have each other and that is all we need.

“Would any of you rather be anywhere else than here?” I ask. There is so much love, reunion and positivity under one roof. Each person turns and looks around the room, recognising my point. I take Mark’s hand and he takes my Mom’s. My Mom takes Monica’s and she takes Lifa’s. He looks at his mother for a second and then at me. I smile and nudge him to take his mother’s hand. He does, and she takes a small, sharp breath. Her eyes shine with tears.

“Thank you,” she mouths to him. He gives her his lopsided smile. Grace finally takes my hand and together we form a circle of love and victory.

“I think we should all go on a vacation,” Monica suggests. Everyone agrees and starts planning it.

I look at Mark and he smiles at me. “I love you,” he says.

“I love you more,” I tell him. “Together forever.”

The end

***

Tell us what you think: Did you enjoy this story? What does the future hold for the feisty Alexandra Lubisi?