I had realized.
I realized already but I wanted to make a fool of myself once more.
Miracle is possible, isn't it? I should believe in it.
"This..." The male voice mumbled and instantly shoved my hand away. "Do you go around grabbing strangers or what?" He asked me.
I looked up.
Not him.
Not my man... Not my crush. He wasn't the one I was looking for.
"So— Just wanted to say thank you for the help!" I said, biting my lips. I had shamed myself.
"The hell... I don't know what you're talking about," the man said and walked away immediately.
So he wasn't the one? Then who did and where could the person be? Why playing hide and seek games with me?
Sigh.
I turned and returned to the hospital but before I began to head back, I glanced behind me again. I felt something.
It was too brief to notice but I did. Someone was watching me... That was for sure.
After returning to the hospital, I took a seat by the corner of the operation room. I silently prayed for my brother to come out of the operation alive. I feared losing him.
Seconds turned into minutes, minutes turned into hours and I didn't know when I slept off. While sleeping, I had a dream, and in that dream, I saw him.
My crush.
He was smiling at me. Even though I could not see his face entirely, I knew he was smiling at me. I could feel it. I tried going over to where he was standing but as I tried to move , the ground beneath me teared open and I saw myself sinking inside. I yelled out for help but when I looked at the man's face.
He was smiling. A creepy smile.
I yelled as the ground swallowed me whole. When I opened my eyes, I looked around and saw people staring at me. I quickly got up, apologized to them for disturbing their peace, and then rushed out to take some fresh air.
'What kind of weird dream was that?' I thought to myself. One second, the man was smiling warmly at me and the next second, he looked like a monster waiting for me to be devoured.
Why would I have a bad dream about someone I was so helplessly falling in love with or is it God's way of telling me that I should give up on him? What for? Why?
"Excuse me," a female voice said behind me, jolting me. "I'm sorry but your brother is out from the operation already. You can now see him," she said.
"The operation is successful?" I asked the nurse.
"Yes, an hour ago," she replied.
"Wow! Thank you!" I said and rushed back in. I ran back to the ward where he was and saw him lying on the bed. He wasn't awake yet and I could see the bandages wrapped around his chest.
The doctor was standing beside the bed, mumbling some words to a nurse. Noticing me, he smiled.
"Congratulations, the operation was a success and your brother is safe," he said, still smiling.
"Yes. Thank you so much doctor, I really do appreciate," I said to him.
"It's God, I just did what I had to do," he replied and I shook my head in agreement. It has always been God. "Well, I'll suggest you allow him to sleep for now. He should come around towards noon time," the doctor said after a while.
"Okay, doctor. Thank you once again," I said and he nodded and left the room with the nurse. After they had gone, I walked to the bed and glanced at my brother's face, it was pale with a tired expression. "Thank God you are safe now," I mumbled with tears in my eyes.
There was nothing else I asked for, just the wellbeing of my brother. Nothing else. If something goes wrong with him, I'll suffer for it and suffer alone. No one is there to help, no one would... It was just me and me alone.
Soon, my phone rang and I picked it up immediately — A call from Bella.
"Hello, Bella. What's up?" I asked.
"Liana, where are you?" She asked me. There was urgency in her voice as she spoke.
"At the hospital, what's the matter?" I asked her.
"You need to come to the shop right now," she replied. "As fast as you can."
"But I can't leave," I replied and glanced at my brother. "My_"
"If you don't come, you may end up losing your job!" She said and hung up.
Whatever it was, it was urgent and I had to be there no matter what. My job was at stake.
I glanced at Ezra, he was fine.
So I left the hospital, boarded a taxi with the little change in my purse and headed to the cafe where I work. On getting there, people gathered around and this piqued my interest the more.
"Here she is."
"She's nothing but a thief, hmph!"
I froze at the entrance of the cafe, my heart thudding against my chest. Everyone's eyes shifted to me, heavy with judgment and disdain. I felt like the ground beneath my feet would give way again, just like in my dream.
"What… what's going on?" I asked, my voice trembling.
Bella pushed through the crowd and came straight at me, her face tense and pale.
"Liana, someone reported that money went missing from the register yesterday. A large amount. And…" She stopped short, looking away.
"And what?" I pressed, already fearing the worst.
"They said you were the last person on shift. That you must have taken it," she whispered.
A cold shiver ran down my spine.
"What? That's a lie!" I snapped. "I didn't take anything. You know me, Bella. I'd never—"
"Then how do you explain the CCTV footage?" another coworker, Mira, asked, stepping forward with crossed arms.
"Footage?" I repeated, stunned.
Bella nodded. "The owner reviewed the cameras and said it looked like someone in your uniform. The face wasn't too clear, but the time stamp matched the end of your shift."
My mouth opened but no words came out. I felt like I was choking. This couldn't be happening.
"I swear I didn't do it," I said, looking around at the others, hoping someone—anyone—would believe me.
But no one stepped forward. No one defended me.
"I think you should leave, Liana," Bella said quietly. "At least until the owner decides what to do."
"But—my brother just got out of surgery. I'm already drowning and now this?" My voice cracked.
No one responded.
I turned around slowly, walking away from the cafe with tears blurring my vision. My heart ached—not just from the injustice, but from how alone I felt in the world. I had nothing. No job, no money, no support.
Just Ezra.
And I couldn't afford to lose anything else.