The Crown of Pearls

"COME BACK TO MOMMY, MY LITTLE GIRL. MOMMY NEEDS YOU."
Aimee was beside her daughter's hospital bed, holding her hand. It had only been hours since she arrived at the hospital, but she could barely bear the sight of her daughter's almost lifeless form. She could only imagine what her son must have gone through.

Aimee could almost smell the air of death hanging heavily about her daughter. Although she could not let herself think such ugly and hopeless thoughts, it could not be dismissed easily. It was there: in the white sheets, in Mara’s hair, in her pale cheeks, in the ECG, in Aimee’s mind and soul, everywhere. Aimee wondered how the world could go on without Mara. Won’t time stop? Would the snow still fall like it did now, even with the disappearance of a girl who used to love it and squeal whenever it started falling? Was it really like that? Won’t it even recognize its loss?

Brian was asleep at the next room. She had been informed that the one that Mara saved was extremely rich. That's how Mara was provided with the presidential room. It was very cozy, with a plasma TV, large sofas, and two bedrooms with separate bathrooms. But none of it could ease her tension.

If Mara knew that she slept in a presidential room, she would have jumped with joy. She always loved fancy things. When she was just a little girl, she always told me that she’ll get rich when she grows up and that she’ll buy a castle for me and her brother. I’ve always felt guilty that I couldn’t afford everything she wanted, and that she had to dream of it instead of experiencing it herself. Of course, I couldn’t possibly afford a castle, but I would have bought a bigger house than our house no. If Laurence was still alive, we could have managed to do it.

Mara was once full of life. She was always active and cheerful. She was full of spirit and vigor. It was very hard to accept the fact that the girl lying in front of her was the same girl that kissed her goodbye in the airport a week ago.

Aimee remembered clearly the last memory of Mara awake. It was in the airport, and her children were saying goodbye to her. It was evident that Mara wished she didn’t have to go, it was shown clearly in her eyes. But she never even mentioned it. Aimee never heard a single complaint. She rarely had time for her children. Of that, she was very guilty, but it couldn’t be helped. She had to, or Brian wouldn’t graduate college. Mara knew it, but knowing is very different from feeling. Mara couldn’t help feeling sad. And Aimee knew that too.

Aimee deeply regretted that she left her children alone. If she hadn't then this wouldn't have happened. If Laurence was alive, Aimee was sure that he would know what to do. He was always calm and collected even when facing the biggest problems. Aimee could almost hear him telling her that she had to be strong. That Mara would wake up. That she had to believe.

Laurence. Her deceased husband. Just the mention of his name gave her a bittersweet feeling. Just the thought of him opened up wounds that were never healed, and never would be. Aimee’s heart would always be bruised. Her husband’s death was like a nightmare forever etched in her memory. He was suddenly taken from his family, without even a single decent goodbye. It hurt too much. And worse, his body was never found. He didn’t even have a grave. It was like he just left and never returned. Everyday Aimee hoped that he would knock in the door and tell her “I’m home.” the same way he always did before. But after nine years of waiting, he never returned.

Aimee had never been religious, but she found herself praying to God to spare her child. She was clinging to her faith. God would save Mara. Faith was all that was needed.

If Mara would also be taken from her, she would go insane. The pain would be too much for one heart to bear. She would do anything to make her daughter wake up. Anything.

Aimee knelt down and prayed to God once more.

**********

Brian woke up to the deafening sound of the ECG.

Brian had always been frightened at that machine. It was like that thing was telling him that his sister's life was numbered. That it would not last. That sooner or later, his sister's heart would stop beating.

Brian felt miserable. He haven’t felt like this since his father’s death nine years ago. He swore that he would never let someone he loved die, and yet, here he was, in a hospital room, where his sister is in a bed only a room away, in a coma. Maybe Death is mocking him, thinking he’s someone he could play jokes with. And if Death would ask him, he would probably tell him it wasn’t the least bit funny.

Brian got out of his room and was surprised to see his mother kneeling down beside his sister's bed, praying. Their mother had never been a very religious woman. He had never even heard her mention the word God. Let alone pray.

But he shouldn't really be surprised. If any god could save his sister, then he would be worshiped without hesitation. Anything to save his sister.

The sight of Aimee made Brian feel even more miserable. If Mara died, what would happen to his mother? After his father’s death, Aimee had never been the same. The last time he saw her show a genuine smile was when they were in the airport to see his father off. Laurence was an engineer and he was going to California because of a contract. His father was about to leave then, and his mother was strangely quiet. And when Laurence was about to leave, she suddenly blurted out “I love you” out of the blue. His dad was surprised at this, and he hugged his wife and told her “I love you too”. He and Mara were also hugged, and then, he went away. And he never returned.

Brian sighed. It had been nearly four days and Mara was still not showing any signs of improvement. No twitch, or squeeze, or anything at all! He heard that this could go on for months, even years! He even heard of someone being in coma for ten years. Ten Whole Years! He knew he wouldn't be able to bear it if she goes on like this for days. He would go crazy if this goes on for years.

Well, maybe losing my sanity is not a bad idea after all.

Brian figured that he would eat something while thinking; maybe it would help him get his mind working. He still had to ponder on some things.

Brian was a third year college student in Guinevere University, where he took Architecture. If he continued to skip classes because of his sister, he would get dropped. They were absolutely not rich, and his mother was working extra hours just to afford his education. Architecture was not a cheap course. He even had to work part time just to add something to his tuition money.

It was not like he didn’t want to take care of his sister, but all the money would be put to waste if he just stopped attending his lessons. If he was the one earning the money, he wouldn’t care if he got dropped, but his mother's efforts would be for nothing.

Brian's head was aching. If he stayed with his sister, he would be putting his mother's efforts to waste. If he attended his classes, he would be betraying his sister.

Isn’t there any other way?

At this point, his head was throbbing. But if Mara was in a coma, she would never know, right? She would never even be aware if he was there or not.

Stupid, how can you even call yourself a brother?

He put his head in his hands and sighed. He would have to decide sooner or later. He already called his professors three days ago, but he knew for a fact that their sympathy wouldn’t last forever. It would even be a wonder if it'll last a week.

He already asked Ethen, his best buddy, for advice. He really shouldn’t have asked him, since he always answered so vaguely that you get even more confused than before you asked the question. But he was getting desperate. And guess what he told Brian? “Do what you think is right.” How helpful.

"Come on Mara, wake up! Don't you see how we've been without you? I promise I'll never tease you again, just wake up."

**********

Ezra was on his way to Mara's hospital room.

Of course, he took Violetta with him. He was never going to do the same mistake twice of leaving her alone. She just got into a trance too often. And besides, she was just a five year old kid. Even with her powers, she still needed a guardian.

But he never did leave her alone on purpose the day of the accident. They were searching Mara's school that time, and he was looking at every face to see if they were Mara. Her face was showed to him by Violetta. But there was something strange with the memory. It was too short for one thing, it was like it only lasted for three seconds, while the other memories lasted for almost five minutes, and then the memory was blurred. It was like looking at a reflection in water. Violetta’s memory wasn’t like that before. Princess Violetta was a gifted child. She had keen eyesight and a perfect memory. Ezra found the incident strange. The only image she managed to show Ezra was a girl with dark hair and brown eyes. Not very common here in Canada, but still hard to find. He tried to read each of their minds but none of them seemed to be thinking of her at the moment.

He must have been distracted, because by the time he turned around, Violetta was already gone.

Ezra would have never admitted it, but he panicked. If something ever happened to Violetta while in his care, he would be dead. Literally. She was the granddaughter of the Queen, for Pete's sake! He would be lucky if he only got shot. He would most probably be tortured then hanged.

Ezra told himself to calm down and read the people's minds so that he could follow her. She couldn’t have gone too far. And besides, a beautiful girl like Violetta was always easily noticed. People would easily remember her and think about her.

Of course, before he did, Ezra searched for her thoughts first. Nothing. You see, when Violetta was in a trance, she sometimes waited for someone to dream. She had a few favorites. While waiting for them, she put her thoughts in a void, in infinite nothingness. In that state Ezra couldn’t read her mind, because there was nothing to read.

Frustrated, Ezra let himself out of the school grounds. At first, it was fairly easy, because as expected, she was noticed by many people. Then the crowd started thinning, up to the point that nobody was in sight.

He decided to follow the path he was on, since that seemed to be where Violetta was heading. That was when he heard the truck driver's thoughts. It seemed that the brake won't work. And he was going to hit Violetta!

He ran. But by the time he arrived, it was already too late. But he managed to see everything.

Mara was running towards Violetta. She was in the middle of the road when he saw her, and he instantly knew that she would not make it. By the time she got to Violetta, the truck would already hit the both of them. It was going too fast.

And then, the truck stopped, but for only two seconds. But it was enough time for Mara to grab Violetta and jump to the other end of the road. If she ran instead, it would take too much time.

At the time when Mara jumped with Violetta, the truck already sped away, just as if it never stopped. Ezra knew for a fact that the brake did not work. It was Mara that stopped the truck.

And before he knew it, Mara was already on the ground, bleeding.

He was the one who called an ambulance and he made sure that Mara didn’t lose too much blood. Violetta had a few scratches, but she was fine.

Violetta seemed to wake up from her trance then. The first thing she saw was Mara, covered in blood. She was hysterical. It must have been traumatic for the child. But he managed to calm her down.

Ezra opened Mara's hospital room and was greeted by the sight of Mara's mother, Aimee Evans, praying. She seemed to be oblivious to his arrival. Ezra knew it was rude to interrupt a prayer, but somehow, he was bothered by the sight of her kneeling. It was pathetic, and he hated those most.

"Good Morning, Mrs. Evans."

Aimee turned around and saw Ezra. She stood and faced him. Even if Ezra couldn’t read her mind, he would know how heartbroken she was. It could be seen in her features. Black dull hair, wide sad black eyes, a little nose, and high pale cheekbones. Her posture was drooping.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Ezra FitzGerald, Ma'am. This is Violetta, the girl Mara saved from the truck. We're here to visit Mara."

Aimee stared at Violetta. She thought the exact same thing as her son when he first saw her. If Mara's sacrifice was worth it. Somehow, they both think not.

"Oh, well, sit down."

I and Violetta sat down at a nearby chair. Aimee did the same beside Mara and took her hand.

"We're terribly sorry this happened, Mrs. Evans."

"She still won't wake up."

"Don't worry Mrs. Evans. I know she'll pull through. From what I've seen, she's a strong and brave girl. And because it’s Mara, it will be all right."

"I hope you're right."

Then, Aimee's eyes widened. Ezra's too. He was taken by surprise. He didn't expect it to happen so soon. But, most of all, he was relieved.

Mara squeezed Aimee's hand.

**********

Mara was falling.

Not just falling, falling fast. Too fast for her liking too. If she could puke midair, she would have done it.

Mara could see it. She could see the ground.

I know this is going to happen. I knew it. I'm going to hit the ground. I should have just stayed with my father. Now what? I don't like to die again!

Mara closed her eyes and prayed that she won't hit the ground too hard.

Stupid. Of course it will be hard. You just jumped off a cliff. Idiot. Are you trying to be a daredevil? First, you jump in front of a truck and hit your head in a post, now you jumped off a cliff! How stupid can you get?

And then she realized that there was no ground, only water.

Great, it won't hurt!

But then, she realized a simple fact of her existence.

Oh, Jesus! I can't swim!

By then, she already splashed into the water, and then, there was light.