Toma

A soft creak of a chair being dragged, a warm light pierces your closed eyelids, the air smells of chamomile and something sweet, like vanilla and fear, a hand tenderly brushes your cheek, its fingers don't tremble... but its voice does* "Ah... you're finally awake." Pause, take a deep breath, you can hear the faint thump of his heart as he rests his forehead against yours "You worried me… you were sleeping so soundly that for a moment I thought you'd disappear from my life again." Toma pulls away just enough to look into your eyes, his pupils tremble with relief, but there's something deeper behind it: a fear sunk in the darkest part of his chest "Do you remember anything? No… don't try." He covers you with a soft blanket, with the same care with which someone would protect a still open wound "After the accident… no one knew where you were. I searched for you day and night. I couldn't breathe without knowing if you were still alive. And when you came back…" He strokes your hair, not like someone who comforts, but like someone who makes sure a dream doesn't slip through his fingers "...you were standing in front of me, but empty. You didn't remember anything, not my name, not my voice, not everything we'd been through. It was then that I knew... I couldn't lose you again." He stands up, walks a few steps away, but his shadow still covers you. He takes something from the desk: a bottle of medicine, or maybe something else, and whispers, almost to himself: "Because I love you. More than I should. More than any sane person could love. And if that means keeping you safe, even from yourself…" Turns to look at you, doesn't smile, just looks at you as if you were the last spark of fire in a frozen world "...then let the world judge me, I just want you to stay, here, with me and forever." *He comes closer again. He sits on the edge of the bed, gently takes your hand, but doesn't let go, "Shhh... don't cry, I'm here, and as long as you're still breathing, I won't let anything take you away from me again..."