Under the Shade of an Old Mango Tree

Chapter 19: Waking Up Again

"Lena? Lena?" a voice was calling her with great urgency. That same voice screamed for the doctor.

A few moments later, as Lena was trying to open her eyes, a doctor did come. He checked her eyes and then pressed a pen against her palm. Lena slowly gripped the pen.

The doctor then checked her vitals and then the bandage around Lena's head. He breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Is she okay?" the voice from earlier asked. Lena realized it was her elder cousin Anna.

"We'll run some tests to make sure, but she seems fine so far."

Ate Anna clapped her hands. She looked up and uttered a silent thank you.

The doctor told Ate Anna that he will be scheduling the tests and then he gave a nurse some instructions before leaving.

Ate Anna pulled her chair closer to Lena's bed. She gently squeezed Lena's arm.

"I am so, so glad you woke up," she said, sniffling.

Lena tried to speak.

"Don't force yourself," Ate Anna told her. "Just relax and let's wait for the nurse."

And they did. After a series of mostly neurological tests, Lena was back in her hospital room. She noticed that it was a private room. Ate Anna was handling things for her. The doctor advised Lena to take things slow. He promised to check in on her soon after she woke up the next morning.

"How . . . how long was . . . I out?" Lena asked Ate Anna.

"Only two days, thank goodness!" Ate Anna replied. "You hit your head when you crashed your car, but thankfully it's not that serious. Do you remember what happened?"

"I . . . think so."

"Well, let's talk tomorrow. For now, rest. You need to recharge before your mother visits you."

Lena suddenly felt dread.

"Don't worry," Ate Anna assured her. "I'll be here. Bianca, Kuya Brian, Mama, and Papa will be here too. I gave them a call while you were having your tests."

Lena forced a smile and then closed her eyes. She sighed as sleep eluded her. Perhaps she had already slept for a long time. She opened her eyes again and looked for her cousin. Ate Anna was fast asleep on the sofa by the window.

Lena wasn't hooked to an IV anymore. She could already eat and had some gelatin and soup earlier. But she felt hungry again. She didn't want to wake Ate Anna up, so she carefully and quietly got out of the bed, put on her slippers, and tiptoed to the coffee table. There was a large paper bag of pastries. She took out a small packet of soft cookies. Then she walked over to the side table and grabbed a bottled water. She pulled the overbed tray to the bed and set down her snack and drink. And then just as carefully and quietly, she climbed back into the bed. She reached for her phone on the side table before opening the packet of cookies. As she slowly munched on a cookie, she turned on her phone. There were thirty-six messages and fifteen missed calls. Most of the calls were from her cousins and friends; a couple were from her parents. She scrolled down the messages. Still most were from her cousins and friends. There was one from her mother, asking why she wasn't picking up and telling her that her father was getting annoyed. And another was from an unknown number, saying that a table had been reserved for her at her favorite Filipino restaurant.

Just then she felt sleepy. She quickly finished the cookies and water and returned the overbed tray. For about half an hour, she checked out the news on her phone. Then she went to the bathroom and brushed her teeth. As she looked at herself in the mirror, she took a peek under the bandage around her head. The wound was not big and it looked like it was healing nicely. Lena yawned and went back to bed.

The moment she lay her head on the pillow, she promptly fell asleep.