He saw figures in white, hollering over him. He felt a sharp pain in his stomach but he was too weak to move.
He felt helpless, the same kind of feeling he felt when his granny passed away. He tried to talk but could not, and fell back to sleep again.
When he woke up again and slowly took a look around the room, there were other people lying on the beds besides him.
They were wearing green robes and he realized he was in a hospital, he tried to get up when a gentle yet manly voice stopped him, “Don’t move. You won’t want to move too much after all the pumping of drug residue from your stomach.”
Sylvester looked at the guy with weary eyes and saw a good looking guy in his 30s. The guy has a sharp face with bright eyes, broad smile, tanned and seemed to have a fit nice build.
He introduced himself, “I am Julian, your counselor. You are Sylvester, right?” Julian broad sunny smile immediately relaxed Sylvester.
“Yeah, I am him. Why am I here?” Sylvester said breathlessly.
“You were sent in by your friend. He found you spasming in the room when he returned home. You had a drug overdose and the doctors just pumped your stomach. You must rest well to recover.”
Julian placed his big palms on Sylvester shoulders and Sylvester felt a sense of warmth and security that he had not felt before.
He asked anxiously, “Will I be charged? Or will I be send to rehabilitation?”
Julian, with the same smile, replied, “Let’s not worry too much about that. Focus on getting well and we will talk about that in due course.”
“No, you don’t understand. I don’t want to be sent to rehabilitation or be sent to jail. I can’t be a jail bird, I already have no future, I can’t have a record, please help me Julian!” Sylvester was agitated.
“Hey, don’t worry too much, ok? I will do my best to help you. But let’s focus to get you well first, ok? I promise to give my all to help you. Don’t think too much, just rest more. Can I have your family contact? I can contact them for you.” Julian said smilingly.
“I don’t have family. I am all alone.” Sylvester lied.
Julian looked at Sylvester sympathetically and tapping his shoulders, Julian smiled again, “It’s ok. Then let me take care of you for the time being. Get some sleep, I will be here.”
Sylvester nodded and closed his eyes, he slept soundly and had a sweet dream which had not happened for a long time.
Sylvester was woken up by a nurse to take his medication in the middle of the night, he called out Julian name and realized his folly when he saw the female nurse looking at him puzzled.
He took his pills and asked for the time. It was 2am in the morning and the whole ward was dead quiet.
Sylvester felt peaceful, something he had not felt more than 10 years. He sat up on his bed slowly and peered out of the window.
He felt that he had lived again, he was not sure if it was a good thing but he knew he was given another chance to live again. He went back to sleep after a while and dreamed about Julian.
The next day, Sylvester woke up early and managed to get off the bed and walked around.
He met Julian at the corridor and was mesmerized by his handsome good looks after taking a good look.
Julian, flashing his sunny smile, supported Sylvester with a firm grip when Sylvester almost slipped on the way back to his ward.
Sylvester felt a rush of adrenalin when he felt the strong hands supporting him, his face blushed unwillingly and he dared not look at the handsome Julian.
“Be careful, don’t fall. You looked so much better today. You sure recover fast!” Julian spoke gently.
Sylvester nodded and said softly, “I am glad to be back from hell.”
Julian helped Sylvester to his bed and said encouragingly, “Sylvester, you are a strong man. You are a good looking dude. Don’t throw your life away like you did. You must learn to embrace life and grow with it. It is a waste to lose such a young handsome man like you.”
Sylvester has always been confident about his looks, he knows he is a good looker, tanned and fit built with a bad boy image.
But to hear such compliments from another handsome man he hardly knows, he felt shy suddenly.
Julian looked at Sylvester and was puzzled by his silence and he patted on Sylvester’s shoulders and continued, “Young man! You hear me? Don’t worry too much. I am going to write a good report on you and hopefully we can get you out of jail term and go for rehabilitation sentencing. But I need you to be honest with me and we will see how well the counseling session progress, ok?”
Sylvester looked at Julian pleadingly, “Please Julian, I really do not want to go to jail. You must do your best to help me, ok?”
Julian nodded smilingly and they talked like old friends that day.
Sylvester bared his soul to Julian and told him everything from his childhood days to the very day he was out from drug overdose.
Tears were swelling in Julian’s bright eyes when Sylvester finished his story.
He smiled at Sylvester and said softly, “It must be hard on you. Do not give up your life. There are much more unfortunate people who are braver than you. If they can survive, so can you. I will work on your self esteem and drug addiction, it will not be easy but I need you to put in your faith and work with me. I know you can brave through this obstacle and we can do it!”
Sylvester looked at Julian gratefully, the first person to show genuine care without asking anything in return.
He felt that Julian was like a family to him, something he never had.
Julian listened to him, encouraged him, believed him and supported him.
He felt an instant inclination towards Julian and poured all his troubles and hatred for his parents to Julian.
They talked more than 5 hours that day, and when Julian had to leave, Sylvester can’t help but felt downcast and lost that his confidante was leaving.
Julian seemed to know what Sylvester was thinking and reassured him, “Sylvester, it’s ok. You don’t have to tell me everything today. We still have a long way to go, you can tell me everything slowly. We can take things one step at a time. I will be here and not going anywhere soon. And now, you should take a good rest and get well. This counseling session is gonna be much longer term than you think.”
Sylvester smiled at Julian, his eyes brightened with expectation for the first time, asked, “You will be here for me? You really will? You will not leave without any indication?”
Julian placed his strong arms on Sylvester’s shoulders and assured, “Yes. I will be here. Don’t worry too much. I will do my best to help you.”
to be continued....
Redemption is written by Covantai, who enjoys writing short stories yet having difficulties finding an avenue to post his entries. For more of Covantai, please visit http://covantai.blogspot.com/
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