I wondered what to do about David sitting in the hospital. I also knew that he would lose everything he had if I did not help him. His fiancee, Cara, walked in.
"How is he?"
"The doctor said he will be fine, but his legs might not recover."
A shocked silence filled the room.
"What? You mean... He will never walk again?"
"He lost both his legs. But he will live."
A prompt pause.
"No! This can't be true!"
"It is. I'm so sorry,"
I held out my hands to hug her.
Cara turned away.
"No, it is alright."
Cara shed a tear.
"I mean, the truth is that it is actually an arranged marriage, but I don't want David to die!"
Feeling overwhelmed, Cara started to release her tension.
I felt helpless. I watched as Cara let out her real feelings.
"I have a boyfriend, but all this was an arranged marriage! I cannot get rid of the marriage contract!"
I fidgeted a little. I wondered if there was a way to get rid of the marriage contract because I was slowly beginning to like David.
"Are you sure it is an accident?"
I looked at Cara cautiously.
She paused in shock. Slowly, she turned to me.
"What do you mean? He was knocked down because of me?"
Both of us were in dead silence.
"This can't be, Cara! You mean... my boyfriend killed him?"
"No!!! I cannot accept this!"
I patted Cara on her back.
"Calm down, Cara. There is no proof he did it. Maybe it is just bad luck."
Cara trembled. "Are you sure?"
I sighed. "I'm not going to rule out that possiblity, but anything can happen, Cara."
"I hope this is all a terrible misunderstanding."
Hands trembling, Cara put her hands to cover her face.
"Does that mean, my boyfriend is going to prison? Because of me?"
She stammered, trying to keep her voice from shaking.
"Hey, it's alright. It might not be a murder."
Another brief pause as I coughed out my words one by one.
"It might just be, a pure coincidence and it was an accident."
Cara shook her head hard.
"No, I don't think that it is a coincidence."
"I don't know about this... I really don't know about this...."
"Calm down. It's alright."
I tried to calm her down, but it didn't work. Cara was down on her knees, saying how sorry she was that David was in an accident because of her.
Now that she mentioned it, I felt that Cara and I both had an evil fate. Not to say David in the picture, I calmed down and listened to her story.
"My father was sick. My mother needed money, so she had to go out to have an affair with an older man."
She continued without pausing. With one long breath, she told me the whole story.
"My father was dying of cancer, and we had debts to pay. My mother had an affair with an older man, so that she could pay off his medical debts. My father found out that she had an affair."
"He divorced her. My mother broke off from the older man, then got killed by his family. I was all alone. That was when I met Thom."
Her eyes brightened a bit.
"He was my third boyfriend, but I could have sworn that he was my soul mate. He loved everything about me, and I really wanted to marry him. Alas, but this is fate...."
Cara shed tears as she continued her story.
"I was so shock to receive the news that I had an arranged marriage with David. I told Thom about it and he was really, very, upset."
"The worst part of it was, I thought that no one could force me to marry David because my parents were dead. But to think I still had to honour the marriage contract... I never thought it would end up like this. This is tragic."
Cara looked at me in the eye.
"Swear you won't tell anyone about it? Okay. I might probably have to go to court..." Cara's voice drifted off.
"I really hope it was just a random accident. I will rather die than to know that David ended up like this because of me."
Cara turned away and began to walk out of the hospital.
I lingered momentarily, then dived into the hospital room to talk to David.
* * *
The man on the bed was lying there motionless. Feeling somewhat reluctant, I walked to the bed slowly, then tried to wake him up.
His eyes opened slowly, and he slowly fixated his gaze on me.
"Who are you?"
"I am Rita."
"Oh. What happened?"
"I was the one that rescued you from the car accident."
"What? No! I can't feel my legs!"
The man screamed as he tried to feel his legs.
"It's alright David."
"What? No it isn't! How do you know my name?"
David turned to look at me in alarm.
"You gave me your name at the accident scene."
"What?" A look of shock was on his face.
"You had a shock. You don't remember what happened."
There was a bleak look on his face.
"But, if I can't walk anymore, won't my fiancee get rid of me?"
A short pause.
"You mean Cara? I already talked to her."
David's eyes sharpened.
"What did she say to you?"
I bit my lip. He couldn't figure it out. At least, not yet.
"Nothing..."
David narrowed his eyes.
"You're hiding something. There is a reason why I am here right?"
I turned away.
"The police is investigating the matter. Don't worry about it. Just get better first."
I looked at David again. I was pretty sure that he would find out the truth soon. After one conversation, I was convinced he was a sharp, intelligent man.
With one last glance, I bid him farewell.
"I'll be back in a day or two, David. Just get better first. I'll come to check on you again."
David watched me disappear and closed his eyes. It was a goodbye, at least, for now. The future would remain unknown.