The Royal Contract

After breakfast, Roseann had not returned to update him about her sister. No doctors also came to see him. He tried to ask a nurse, but she said. “The doctors are still working on your fiance, Mr. Anderson.” That was as far as she knew.

It meant it was worse than he thought. Who would endure such a lengthy operation? And how could she survive, remembering the condition of her wrecked car?

David wanted to see and talk to her. He believed if she heard his voice, it would encourage her to fight. She would know that she was not alone. But he could not even pass inside the sterile area as they blocked his path.

Now, he had no choice but to wait. He had seen people, probably family and friends of patients, come and go. But unlike them, he was alone. Although Roseann was here, he had no idea where she was. Maybe she was dealing with this in her way.

Roseann offered to call his family, but he did not want to bother them. Besides, the only person in his family who liked Rosella was Serena. But his sister was also dealing with her issues at that moment.

“Hey, kid!” He called the attention of one girl who had a lollipop in her mouth as she passed his side. “What is in that other room?” He asked when she stopped and looked at him, pointing to a door outside.

.....

He noticed the young girl just came from that place, right adjacent to the waiting room. He had been staring at that place since seeing many people go in. Then a while later, they came out looking somewhat different, more at peace.

“It is a chapel. I prayed that my Dad gets well soon.” The little girl with lovely braided hair and a cute smile told him. She looked so innocent and hopeful. “Mom said if I pray hard enough, God will heal my Dad, and he can go home soon.”

Then, the girl licked her lollipop and joined her family on the other side. Suddenly, he felt his feet move. He had seen Rosella pray a lot. Her family was religious. She even attempted to teach him a prayer, but he did not pay it much attention.

A minute later, he stood outside the door, looking at the closed door. “What am I doing?” He muttered in a whisper.

Unlike the other rooms with glass walls, this one had wooden panels, hiding the inside from passersby. He could not see anything from the outside.

He had attended weddings and other ceremonies in different churches and religious houses but had never entered a chapel. The only chapel he had seen in his life was the one in Las Vegas, where Elvis presided.

Another minute, he sat at the front pew, looking at the man nailed to the cross. He had no idea what religion meant, except people believed in something they could not see. They had faith in a God they had never heard speak to them.

He heard his fiance pray several times for help when she faced a dilemma in her life or her family. Then she also thanked the man above for the blessings she had received.

“I...” But he stopped, suddenly hesitant. He looked at the thorn crowning on the head of this bleeding man. He could only wonder. Would this God listen if a man like him prayed?

Although he doubted, he still wished to try. Who was he to ask when he had not believed in a superior being? But he was not asking for himself. He was not doing it for his benefit.

“I have no idea how this works or what I am supposed to say, but I am here for Rosella. She believed in you even if I did not. Maybe she could not talk or even pray to you, but she needs you.” He spoke louder than a whisper, hoping someone would hear him.

“Please, please, please.” He kept repeating in his mind. He did not even know what he was asking as he closed his eyes, and memories of her filled his mind.

He had no idea what he would do if he lost her. Would he ever survive life without her? He did not know, but he did not look forward to such a thought. He still wanted her to live, marry her, have kids with her, and be happy for a long time together.

“I hope you are listening, but Rosella is the most remarkable person I know. She does not deserve to die, not yet. Her family still needs her. Please, let her live.” David had no idea if his prayer would work, but it was worth the try.

He would do anything for Rosella, even go down on his knees to her God. “I love her.” He said in a voice full of anguish. “Please, don’t take her away from me.” This time, he was praying for a selfish reason.

He could not help himself. He knew he would not survive without the woman who had shown him how to live and love. Not after all they had gone through to get to this point in their almost-perfect lives.

She was the other half of his existence.

She was the air he breathed.

She made his heart beat again and again.

She always believed they were born to be together, soulmates.

Without her, he would surely die.

But as he had expected, there was no response from the man before him. He looked the same as he first saw him, and nothing changed. Should he dare hope that this man, this God, heard him?

Maybe that was what faith was all about, hoping and believing.

But was he ready to believe in God and put all his faith in him? Could he pray for a miracle despite the odds against them?

“There you are.” Her voice floated in the air, making his heart flutter, somehow bringing him hope. If that was how miracle worked, it was fast.

He abruptly opened his eyes, expecting Rosella to stand by his side. He knew it was foolish, but he wanted to believe. Sadly, all expectations did not meet reality. It was not her.

“Roseann?” It was her sister, who stood patting him lightly on the back to catch his attention.

He did not realize until now that they had an almost similar voice, not until he heard it without looking at her. But the point was, it was not his fiance who came to see him. The miracle had not yet happened.

“I am sorry. I did not mean to startle you and bother you while you pray.” Roseann slightly backed away, moving a few steps backward. “But I have some news if you want to hear them.”

When his eyes cleared from the cloud of closing them too tightly and his memories, he finally saw no one else was in the room. It was just him and his future sister-in-law.

“What is it?” He was suddenly quite aware of what was happening as fear gripped him. But she did not look like she had been crying or sad. Was that supposed to be a good sign? He could only hope.

She took the space beside him and sat down. She looked up at the man on the cross and made a sign on her body, symbolizing her faith in her God. She looked like she mumbled something silently. Then, she turned to him when she finished.

Truthfully, the suspense was killing him as he remained silent beside her, but if it meant it was good news, he did not mind. He could wait for as long as it took to thank her God. Maybe he also should thank him.

“She is out of surgery.” That was good. “But she is not yet out of the woods.” She continued with her seemingly enthusiastic smile.

“What does it means?” He was a lawyer, but in his understanding, she could still die.

“They manage to repair the major damage in her internal organs and stop all the bleeding, but any of those could still have some complications.”

Roseann explained to him the details of what the doctors did to her sister.

But no matter how complicated the words, or the procedures, he tried to listen and understand them. He wanted to know if there was something he could do to help.

He had money, success, intelligence, and power, but those seemed useless since he could not save her from this. What was the point? He was just a human being, just like the rest of them.

“She could still die.” It was the inevitable truth. She was alive now, but there was no certainty until when.

He suddenly looked up and realized he was not like the man before him. He was no God to save her from her fate, despite all his achievements in this world.