An explosive blast of wind slapped his face when his hand approached the white button.
He seemed to realise something he hadn't at that moment. Another question repeated itself in his mind, over and over, torturing him. Did he really want to meet the woman no matter what? What if their meeting ended with him losing what hope he had?
He wanted to keep the fire ablaze, the iron will to persevere and continue wishing, something he developed and honed over the course of several years. Will it end here? He pushed the button without realizing it, his heart skipping a beat.
The doctor entered the room asking, "are you sure?"
He still felt unsure, but nodded in response. He stretched and felt his whole body shiver at every movement. He inched towards the door with white fabric slippers on, they brushed against the floor as he dragged himself across.
The doctor lead the man out of the room. Along the way he explained to him about the other person who was involved in the crash.
"She was severely injured, though her injuries aren't nearly as bad as yours, we ran ultrasounds, they showed severe injuries to both her bone and muscle, though her organs weren't damaged too badly. There still isn't much we can do about it."
The man looked confused as he limped, "why are you telling me this?" He asked, "I thought you would like to know." The doctor replied with a smile, "by the way, my name's Izumi, you can refer to my name tag if you forget."
"Is this doctor always so friendly?" He mumbled under his breath.
Upon entering the other room, a familiar scene played in his head.
A woman gazed out a window at the horizon. Her posture indicated good health, but it was probably forced. Her small hands held onto bedsheets tightly and her face was hidden by long black hair. The hospital gown appeared to be slightly too large.
It reminded the man of his late mother who died from an illness several years ago. A nostalgic feeling sank in, but something was different.
The woman had a very soft and gentle voice unlike his mother, who's voice was somewhat raspy and fierce.
She turned towards the door saying. "Doctor... who is this?" She had the voice of someone the man felt important, not the voice of his mother or anyone he'd ever met. "This is him" The voice of one who he had waited to find his whole life, even though he didn't know what voice it truly was.
The man stood still, dumbfounded by what he saw. He'd found what he always sought out to find, but never did. Until this day... and in the worse possible circumstances.
"Go and have a chat with each other, I'll be in the other room so call me when you're done."
The doctor left the room and tightly shut the door behind him. A couple nurses on break sneaked up to the door to listen in on the conversation. But were subsequently dragged back to the break room by the doctor.
Silence befell the room and the two only stared at each other, they stayed silent for awhile before she spoke.
She bit her lip and tried to say something but failed and tried again. This time she managed and her small peach lips parted for words.
She sincerely apologized to the man, frantically saying. "I'm... sorry, I shouldn't have done that, I apologise I'm. I don't know what to say. I-I should've been more-" She nervously tucked her hands in between her legs, her body felt as if it were going to explode, all her muscles ached and her brain pounded against her skull.
She stayed silent, knowing that she was the one at fault. She had ruined his life.
'I have to make sure I do this correctly this time, I must...'
The man gently formed a polite smile.
He looked down while covering both his eyes in embarrassment, then looked up at her. Having held his breath the whole time he spoke. "It's fine, I don't really mind that much, I'm not very good at these things either." The man scratched the back of his head and his eyes quickly shot back to the ground. Did he sound too careless? Was this the end?
He started panicking while repeating a sentence in his head, 'I messed up!!' His head was throbbing, thinking of what else to say. His expectations for the situation were high but now it felt hopeless to assume the best and not the worse. Just then.
The woman said to the man something which went against all logic he thought he knew.
"Look at me."
Her words had an assertive tone, so he quickly looked up again as her mouth slowly opened... he could feel a warm emotion, waiting to erupt.
The sliver of hope left in him managed to come out on top.
"Why don't we try to have as much fun as we can in the days we have left then? I've never done much with other people before, not to mention anything outdoors, it's fine if you don't want to since..." Her voice slowly died as she spoke.
His face was expressionless when he heard her suggestion. She started to panic, while he was still thinking about what she had just said. "Uhh... I-I'm sorry." She mumbled.
The man smiled at the woman, he waved his hand repeatedly, "no, no! It's fine with me, I feel the same." Was he being too nonchalant? Questions quickly flooded his mind one after another, but he still couldn't bring himself to show any sense of emotion. 'Doesn't he hate me?' She questioned herself.
The woman's eyes lit up. An opportunity she wanted her whole life and gave up on, she felt bitter at the same time. 'Everything comes at a cost, I knew that. And I was willing to pay any price, but this isn't right.' They thought to themselves.
But did the man really know what price he was paying?
The woman's voice chippered. "Look at me, you haven't really looked at me once this whole time are you sure it's fine?" He looked straight at the woman. The image of the person he had always wanted to see and speak to. Speechless, he though to himself.
The woman had long black hair which made her bright emerald eyes shine brighter. Smooth white skin and peach colored lips. Suddenly the man saw the room light up a relaxing green, as if he were in the middle of a luscious forest. It brimmed with warmth, her face and posture expressed tranquility, a gentle and relaxing wind.
'Long black hair, green eyes, white skin and peach lips... green' he thought.
She was the very incarnation of the kind of person he always wanted to meet and more. And he jumped at the chance, the man smiled after quelling his silent anger. "We haven't introduced ourselves have we?"