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EIGHT MONTHS TORTURED him to the core and he was having enough of it. No more. He had already left everything behind as he began to walk across the silent hallway, and all he could hear was the sound of his own footsteps. Nothing else.
His phone's vibrations caused him to halt, so slid his hand on his pocket and puffed out a breath before answering the call.
CALL: "Kio? Where are you?"
Silence.
CALL: "Look, can't you just listen to us and stop being so stubborn? You don't know what you're doing," his mother heaved out a sigh, "we are all aware that she's in a critical condition and needs help, so there's no way in hell you are taking that girl home."
He swallowed the lump in his throat and gritted his teeth, "She's my wife." Call ended.
Then he proceeded to where he was going like nothing happened, stopping in front of room 019. He made sure to knock the door a few times before finally turning the steel handle open. The door creaked open and closed with a whump, and there he saw michiko in a long loose white clothing—sitting on the white sheets staring at nothing.
"Michiko," he called out her name and her head turned to look at this new stranger that had entered her room.
"Who are you?" she bluntly asked.
His heart started to ache and break into pieces as he saw how Michiko blinked cluelessly at him, but he still managed to smile, just for her. "It's me, Kio."
"K-kio?" she furrowed her brows at the seemingly unfamiliar name and squinted her eyes to see the boy clearly.
Rin A-kio walked over towards her direction and got on his knees, letting the girl study his face closely. He couldn't help but grant his tears to fall down his cheeks after holding them back for such a long time. "It's me, love."
Michiko reached her hands out to caress his face, grazing her thumb on his lips. A little smile grew on her face as she finally remembered bits of the memories with him, so she kissed his tears away before wrapping her arms around her loving husband. "You came back," she whispered in his ears.
"God, what have they done to you?" he closed his eyes and felt nothing but the warmth of her embrace.
She chose to ignore his question, "I'm so happy you're here now. It felt so lonely without you," blurriness took over her eyes and paleness reigned on her once, rosy lips.
Michiko broke the hug only to look at him, "Are we going home now?"
"Yes, love," said Kio before placing a chaste kiss on her forehead.
...
Rays of sunlight peeked through the gaps of their blinds, painting their sheets with bright and warm stripes. The smell of morning coffee and buttermilk pancakes permeated the air, she knew she was home again.
"Good morning, love. Did you sleep well?" he greeted.
Michiko opened her eyes and smiled, "Yes."
Kio leaned over to leave a quick peck on her forehead, the tip of her nose, and her lips. He stared at her eyes and all he could see were lies, lies, and a thousand of them. "You're lying," it pierced his heart.
