Emily could hear the gentle ticks of a clock in her ear. Though she knew, that no else could hear them, the gentle ticks always made her feel calm. This clock has always been around her ever since she was little, but she had no idea what the ticks meant, yet she had found them comforting to hear. At least she never had to hear the silence.
"Hey there sport!"
A man who's stature could have easily been mistaken for a frail woman, entered the room. It was Gregory Cork, Emily's father. Though Gregory was quite skinny, his height was the one that made him look like a giant toothpick.
"We've brought you some more books! "
An excited and much shorter man exclaimed from behind Gregory. It was Elfin Cork. Emily's second father. Elfin had quite a stark contrast with Gregory. With Gregory being 6'3 and Elfin being 5'9, Elfin also had a strong build compared to Gregory who was tall and lanky.
"Dads! Good morning! Did you bring me the new Elves Edition? " Emily asked excitedly.
For someone who could hardly walk or go outside, books were her way of adventuring without having to leave the comfort of her hospital bed.
"We sure did, quite a seller too, it was the last one on pile, luckily we were able to bargain with the other buyer to sell it to us. " Gregory explained, as he sat on his usual seat right next to Emily's feet.
Ever since Emily was diagnosed with cancer, Gregory made a habit of massaging the tips of her toes. Even though it tickled Emily, the warm feeling of her father's hands never failed to make her smile.
Elfin on the other hand sat next to Emily's head. And whenever he stays to sleep in the hospital, Emily rests her head on top of his, and they'd sleep soundly through the night. And every morning when Emily wakes up, she sees her father, sleeping right beside her.
"You didn't have to do this for me, I mean there's always going to be a new copy coming out next month. .. " Emily said shyly.
"It's no probs sweetie. We'd buy as many books as you want, just focus on getting better, kay? " Elfin said, in his usual calm and soothing voice.
Emily smiled, with a little tear coming out of her eyes, but she refused to let it out. She had to stay strong in order to comfort her parents, she had to look invincible, so that she could get out of this crappy hospital. She had to be happy, because she doesn't want her last moments to be sad and regretful.
As Emily and her fathers continued to talk, a warm feeling swept through Emily.
*I wish that I could talk to my dads like this in the park.* Emily thought deeply.
After a while of discussing about the new Elves movie that was to be released in reference to the first Elves book, the trio retreated to sleeping. Well the duo actually. Emily was wide awake, observing her parents as they rest.
She looked out of the hospital window and saw a deep blue sky that reminded her of the ocean. She realized how much she missed the hot sand that burnt her feet and the cool washing waters that touched her toes.
She closed her eyes, and listened...
tick.... tock...
.....tick... tock.....
tick....tock....
ticktock.....tiktok.....
TICKTOCK!
TICKTOCK!
TICKTOCK!
TICKTOCK!
TICKTOCK!
TICKTOCK!
TICKTOCK!
TICKTOCK!
TICKTOCK!
The sounds of the clocks became louder and louder and an incredible sharp pain came from inside her. She wanted to scream but even breathing felt like swallowing needles! All she could do was lay down and hope for the pain to go away.
She looked at the book she was holding in her hands. It was When the Light Shines through the Darkness. Hoping to distract herself from the loud ticks of the clock, she heavily raised her hand to turn the page.
Even lifting her hand was a lot of work, luckily, she was already in the last page.
"And When the Queen of Darkness and her Kingdom was banished to the Nether Realm, peace was finally in the Kingdom of Light.
But Prince Arroyo was still not satisfied. He knew his life wasn't complete without the woman he loved.
Aurora.
He turned to look for his princess and found her waiting for him by the lake they always hanged out in. He ran to her with wide open arms and hugged her tightly. Tears of relief overflowed the prince as he embraced his princess.
"I was so worried about you Aurora... I thought I was never going to see you again."
"I'm here now my prince, and I'm okay thanks to you. You saved my life."
Arroyo was surprised to hear such words, for it was the other way around. It was Aurora who saved him, because without her, he would've never found a way to escape the grasps of the Dark Kingdom. Without her, he would've never found love.
"Aurora, thank you for saving my life. I can't live without you, I can't even stand to breathe when you're not with me... Without you I don't know who I am. "
Arroyo bent down on one knee and said;
"Aurora.....will you marry me? "
Aurora's eyes filled with tears of joy and she jumped up and down in excitement!
"Of course I will Arroyo! I love you too! "
Then the two shared a true loves kiss by the lake.
It wasn't long until a wedding was held in honour of the two lovely couple. Prince Arroyo and Princess Aurora's wedding was like a gift from the heavens. With the Prince looking as handsome as ever, and the Princess looking as though she had been blessed by light itself.
When the two exchanged vows and kissed under the Holy sun, the Kingdom of Light was finally free from the dark! And they all lived happily ever after.
The End. "
Emily finally finished the book. Though she's read it twice now, the ending still does not fulfill her expectations. There were still a lot of questions unanswered, and the ending barely gave her any explanations.
But she didn't want to think about that, since her head still hurts from all the pain rushing into her body. The ticks didn't get any softer either, in fact, they got even louder.
With a sigh, she succumbed to the pain and looked at her parents one last time. She held Elfin's hand and said her final words.
"I wish I could change this terrible ending....."
Emily's eyes closed, her head stiffened and her hand became cold.
*beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep*