As the sun came into view, Ezra could hear several male voices gasping, the boat drew closer to him, Ezra's eyes moved weakly, reading the name written on the boat. The rescue team. They lifted Ezra's body, covered him with a thick towel, Ezra could only lower his head. Unable to hear what the three men were talking about, they seemed relieved to have saved him, but the hole in his heart grew bigger and bigger.
Ezra felt empty.
There was no relief in him like the expressions of the people who saved him, he tightened the towel around his body, the scorching sun made Ezra look down. Is this real or an illusion? The voice in his head hurt his ears.
The screams he heard on the ship grew louder and louder.
Instantly his eyes widened, one of the men sitting beside him offered a glass of warm water, Ezra took the glass carefully. The warmth on his hand felt real, so it was not an illusion.
'How about the others?'
Ezra tried to speak even though his voice was low and hoarse.
Hearing the question, one of the man answered, 'We'll see, now we'll take you to a safe place, so you don't need to worry.' The man's smile was clearly trying to soothe him, however there was no way Ezra would not be worried.
How could he? The voice in his head kept ringing, he tried to close his eyes tight, hoping the voice would go away but instead he heard it clearer— stronger.
As time passed so quickly, he didn't even know when and how he got in this place. Ezra opened his eyes staring at the white ceiling, his eyes narrowed because of the bright lights, he felt his body stiffen, even his hands were hard to move.
'Ah,' he winced when he felt several IV lines get caught tugging at his wrist, 'Ezra!'
A familiar voice calling out made Ezra tilted his head to see someone sitting beside his bed, the man's facial expression looked relieved but there was still the color of worry, his complexion was slightly pale, the man's eye bags clearly indicated that he was sleep deprived.
How long? how long had he been here and how long had he been unconscious?
'I'm glad you're finally awake, Ezra...'
'Raphael?' Ezra blinked, his head still throbbing, causing him to wince.
Raphael nodded, he put his hand on Ezra's forehead to check his temperature.
Warm— Raphael's hand felt warm, Ezra closed his eyes, taking in the warmth that transferred to his skin. A pleasant warm feeling. He wanted to always feel this.
'....'
The screams ringing in his head strengthened again, Ezra's eyes shot open, staring at Raphael in disbelief, brushing his hand away. Ezra suddenly straightened his body to sit up, though it hurt so much it felt like his bones were about to be crushed.
'Is there something wrong, Ezra? Are you in pain?'
'No .... no, stop it.'
Ezra covered his ears, the scream grew louder, he covered his ears tightly with both hands, but the sound did not disappear.
'Stop! it's noisy.'
'Ezra?'
'Noisy. Don't scream. My ears hurt.'
'Ezra, I'm not screaming, there's no one else here. Only me.'
Raphael cupped his cheeks with both hands, lifting Ezra's head to look directly into his face.
Ezra stared into those pale blue eyes that almost looked gray, the eye color of a familiar man, his friend— Raphael.
'Look at me, it's just you and me here, no one else is talking, only me.'
'Only you?'
At Raphael who nodded, Ezra's breathing began to regulate, he sat back, closing his eyes.
'Ezra.'
He heard his name called in a low voice, but Ezra ignored the source of the sound.
'Ezra.'
He heard his name being called again and again, but Ezra was still closing his eyes, unmoving. His clouded brain prevented him from hearing clearly, but he could tell the man was still insistently calling out his name.
Ezra. Ezra. Ezra— calling his name in a desperate tone, Ezra opened his eyes to make direct eye contact with the man.
Seeing Raphael's expression that looked miserable, Ezra's chest tightened. Why did Raphael look so miserable as if he wanted to cry? Ezra blinked as if he couldn't believe it.
Their eyes exchanged glances, Raphael opened his mouth while looking at every side of Ezra's face.
'Can I hug you?'
Ezra was silent, still staring at Raphael who looked very miserable, like he had also been hit by a disaster, Ezra thought that kind of expression didn't suit to be on Raphael's face at all.
'I want to make sure that you are here right now, in front of me, you are still here.'
It was strange, even Ezra still couldn't process his own existence, maybe Raphael also thought the same, both wanted to know if what happened today was reality, or it could be a nightmare.
Ezra stretched out his hands, the moment Raphael saw his hands, he quickly drew closer, gently pulling Ezra's body towards him, hugging him carefully, the hug gradually became stronger, who knew whose heartbeat was pounding strongly at this time, whether it was from Ezra or from Raphael, the loud thump was a sign that this wasn't a dream, Raphael's body temperature and scent were real.
Closing his eyes, absorbing the warmth that was increasingly spreading to his body, a comfortable warmth— something he wanted to feel because he had been cold.
Raphael's temperature, body scent, and the strong arms wrapped around him brought Ezra completely to his senses.
This was not a dream— suddenly a harsh chill ran down his spine, he quickly pushed Raphael's body away. Ezra lowered his head and stared blankly at his trembling hands.
I'm alive, but what about the other people on the ship?
What about father and mother? Are they all safe?
'The ship, the other people there, what happened to them?' he asked softly, Raphael didn't answer, as if pretending to not hear.
'Raphael, what about the others?'
He asked again, waiting for an answer but Raphael still didn't say a word so he turned his head weakly to look at Raphael with a slight frown.
As Raphael's eyes fell on Ezra's trembling lips, he sighed, holding back whatever emotion was building up within him.
'You will find out later, the most important thing right now is that you are safe.'
'Raphael!' Staring at the man in disbelief, Ezra decided to remove the drip tube attached to his hand, he wanted to know, did his mother and father survive? but before Ezra could get off the bed, Raphael's hand gripped his shoulders tightly.
'Are you crazy?! Where do you want to go?'
Raphael growled, he stared at Ezra like he was going crazy, the frown on his forehead looked terrifying, ignoring the way Ezra tried to push his hand away.
'Ezra you ... do you know how I felt when I first heard this terrible news? Do you know that my heartbeat almost stopped? Don't try to stay out of my sight again! I don't know what to do if I can't see you anymore, so listen to me ... stay here...'
The words that pouring out of his mouth were cold, slightly vulnerable— fragility evident in the voice, though his voice gradually weakening at the end.
Ezra closed his mouth, he eventually stopped trying to escape Raphael's grip, staring straight into those cold blue eyes, those eyes never blink, as if not wanting to miss a single moment, as if trying to convince himself— Yes he is here, right in front of me, he is here with me.—
Ezra then noticed that the man in front of him was stricken with anxiety, the nervousness was evident in the man who never looked afraid, for the first time he saw Raphael Winchens, a man who never trembled with fear— looked so weak with pale bluish lips.
He could feel the hands holding his shoulder faintly tremble.
Raising his hand and slowly touched the man's cheek. Warm. His skin was warm.
'It's okay... Raphael, I'm here,' he whispered, Raphael's eyes carefully following the movement of his lips. 'It's okay ... I'm okay ...'
Saying it hesitantly, he wasn't even sure if he was okay, but somehow he wanted to make this man feel better, he did not want to see Raphael feel unsure.
A few moments later, the sound of a door opening revealed a doctor, distracting the two of them. The doctor walked over to Ezra's bed. Raphael stood up, giving room for the doctor to check Ezra's condition.
The examination was carried out very quickly, the doctor smiled with relief. Ezra's condition was not so bad, he said that Ezra would be able to go home in about three days, but when Ezra asked what happened to other people in the ship, his eyes immediately turned white after hearing the information from the doctor.
In the list of names of the ship's passengers who survived the shipwreck, Ezra did not see the names of his parents.