Eyes Closed

44 ; No mercy

October 09, 2018

I was excited to say that my father would now be getting the surgery he badly needed. I know I was being selfish preferring my happiness over Tzuyu's, but I can't afford to lose my dad just yet.

"Nana?" My mom called out as she sat beside me on the chairs outside of my dad's private room.

The nurses and doctors were coming in and out of my dad's room as they prepare for the incoming heart transplant in an hour.

"Hey," I whispered as I greeted my mom with a small hesitant smile, "what's going on, mom?"

"Nothing, Nana. I just noticed you're really out of it today. Is something bothering you?" She offered a small smile, caressing my back with her left hand.

"I.. I guess I'm just nervous,"

"How come? Aren't you supposed to be relieved?"

"I don't know," I sighed, averting my eyes away from her, "what if he doesn't make it?"

I felt her doubting eyes on me. "That's not what's really bothering you, am I right?"

I gave up, releasing a deep breath. She caught me. "If the operation fails, I won't only lose dad, y'know? It also means that Tzuyu's mom's heart will be put to waste. She'll hate me even more,"

"Stop overthinking too much, honey. I assure you, everything will be just fine,"

"What if not?"

"Then life goes on," she sadly smiled. "There is always a reason why things end up the way they are,"

I groaned, shaking my head slightly.

"Now, stay strong, your dad's transplant will be in less than an hour," she tapped my back lightly as she stood up. "I'll go check up on your sister, she's in the cafeteria," she said and then left.

I waited for another thirty minutes spending those ticking moments in doubt, nervousness, and even the feeling of having your brain drained.

I looked up from the floor I had been staring at as Dr. Sung approached me with an unhappy expression on his face. "Miss, where is your mother? I need to speak to her," he asked.

"Is there a problem?" I asked nervously, standing up only to face him.

"There is," he paused, sighing out, "now I want to speak to your mother,"

"She's somewhere else," I started panicking, "What might seem to be the problem, doc?"

"Your dad's operation will either be cancelled or posponed,"

"WHAT?!" I shouted in surprise and in slight anger. "What do you mean cancelled or posponed?!"

Dr. Sung looked at his surroundings in shock at my behavior. "People might hear us, I think it's best if you come with me,"

"NO! Tell me what's going on!" I insisted.

"Come with me to my office, Miss, please," he sighed, calming me. "Someone wants to see you,"

I frowned as I let him drag me to his office. Once he opened the door, I saw someone else whose back was turned towards us.

No shit.

"Tzuyu?" I whispered quietly to myself, frowning deeply as tears made its way on my eyes.

She stood up from the chair in front of the doctor's desk where I was once seated earlier, turning around with a slight smirk on her face.

"Sana," she mocked, darkness and anger seeping from her eyes.

I knew from the moment I saw her that she had something to do with my dad's posponed surgery. "Please, don't do this," I whimpered, completely forgetting the doctor was with us.

"I want to get something straight, Sana," she said in a cynic tone. "My mom isn't a lab rat that you can experiment on! She has feelings, and she's still alive! What do you think you're doing huh? tryna transfer her heart to your dad?!"

"It wasn't my call to make, Tzuyu," I argued in a shaky tone. "It was your dad,"

"Don't you fucking dare bring my dad up, you bitch!" She gritted, taking steps towards me as I took steps back, hitting the door behind me.

"He signed a deal," I whispered, scared.

"I don't care if he signed a deal! If I have to go to court to fix this thing, I will do my very best to win! I don't care if I have to go through my dad before getting what I want!"

"You can't do that!" I almost shouted, thinking about the idea.

"I've waited eleven years to see my mom smile again, I won't let you take her heart away from her!"

"But it's been years!" I started to argue in a desperate tone.

"It doesn't matter! If I have to wait for another eleven years, I will!"

"She's brain dead, Tzuyu! Don't you get that?! Accept it! Your dad and siblings had signed the papers to pull her life support off of her!"

She chuckled humorlessly without any expression on her face.

"Pl– please," my lips quiver as I begged and begged, pulling her body close to mine in desperation. I wrapped my arms around her waist tightly as I cry hysterically on her chest. Her arms were just hanging on her side as she had a stiff posture.

"Okay," she noded nonchalantly, "you win,"

Just that easy?

"Really?" I asked hopefully.

I was hoping, deeply hoping for her to finally let her mom go, but the next words that came out of her mouth made me cry harder.

"No," she deadpanned. "If my mom dies, your dad dies. They both die," she whispered, pushing me off of her as she walked past me and out the doctor's office.