Paper Cranes

“Ta-da!” I showed the jar to the still unconscious Jared. I grinned proudly at them and set it on the table next to the bed. I had finally folded a thousand paper cranes, all in a variety of colours. There was another addition to the family of stuffed toys today; a blue coloured teddy bear. I took Jared’s hand. “I have finally finished with making the cranes. Aren’t they beautiful?” I asked, stroking the jar. I made another wish in my head, the same wish that I had been asking for the past month.

“Hi, Ro!” Shannon appeared into the room with a smile. “How are you?” he asked as he walked closer. He seemed brighter today for some strange reason and he even had a clean shave. His hair was styled and he was wearing a black hoodie with a pair of faded jeans.

“I’m okay,” I replied, returning the smile. “You look good today,” I commented. He shrugged and took a long gaze at his brother. Before turning his attention back to me. “I see you’re finished with the cranes,” he said, gesturing to the jar on the table. I nodded. “They look great,” he said.

“Thanks.”

He checked his watch and immediately took the remote control of the television, switching on the machine. He flicked through the channels before settling down with a channel which was broadcasting a TV series advertisement. He took a seat opposite mine. “Check this out,” he nodded towards the tv screen.

The commercial ended and a female reporter came into sight. “This is Tanya, reporting from Times Square, New York City,” she started. “I am here for a very special event. Right behind me is a crowd of at least five hundred people.” The camera zoomed into the crowd behind the reporter and it seemed as if there were more, all dressed in black and white. “This is no ordinary crowd folks. This is a part of the community known as the Echelon which is the rock band, 30 Seconds to Mars’ fan base or usually known as their dysfunctional family. They have gathered here today to pray for the lead singer, Jared Leto who is currently in a coma. Just about a month ago, Jared was involved in a car accident right after a dinner with a legal clerk, Rowena Harris. The famous Hollywood actor was also reported to have suffered from a broken neck and a fractured skull,” the reporter said.

Shannon and I were watching intently as the reporter continued. “After a month of suffering in a coma, Jared still hasn’t gain consciousness and so, the fans around the world have decided to gather and say a one minute prayer to the talented Mr. Leto. Let’s go to Claire in England to see how the atmosphere in London is.” The camera was switched to another lady with brunette hair who was listening into an earpiece, nodding before she started to speak. There were more than three hundred people gathered at Trafalgar Square for the upcoming moment. One country after another, fans was gathered together for the prayer. I couldn’t even believe what was happening. It all seemed so surreal. I turned to Shannon.

“Is this for real?” I asked, still dumbfounded by the event.

Shannon nodded. “I know. These people really took the idea of Echelon seriously.” A small smile curled at the corner of his lips. I turned to Jared. “Look at all these people. They are all here for you, Jared.”

After a few more minutes of interviews with a few of the people in the crowd. They had proceeded to show a brief biography of Jared’s career. And then it was time. Everyone was quiet; the television screen had divided into six different frames, constantly rotating between the countries. As the countdown was made, I squeezed Jared’s hand and closed my eyes, praying with the rest of the world for the one person whom all of us adored.

At the end of the one minute silence, I opened my eyes again and saw Shannon was still praying. I looked at Jared. He was still unconscious. Still the same as a minute ago. I turned to the television screen, the growing chatters from the crowd was getting more and more evident. The camera was panned back to the reporter and she ended it with a good luck to Jared and a smile before another advert came on.

I sighed. Shannon looked at me, tears gleaming in his eyes. I didn’t know what to say. I knew how he felt. A moment ago, it seemed like anything was possible. It was like Jared would wake up from this long sleep any moment. But he didn’t. And we were back to square one. I buried my face onto the side of the bed, still holding Jared’s hand. Tears slowly trickled down my cheeks and onto the bed sheets as the pain from the sudden hope was crushed into a ball and thrown into a dumpster. Even the cranes didn’t work.

“Why? Why does this have to happen?” I sobbed. I felt a pair of hands on my shoulders. “Don’t cry, Ro,” said the cracked voice.

I shook my head and wiped my tears onto the long sleeves of my blouse before glancing at Shannon. It was then when I realized his face was tear-stained as well. I guess it had all been too overwhelming for the both of us. I let go of Jared’s hand and gave Shannon a hug. His arms wrapped around mine as I felt my tears resurfacing.

“This is just…” I started but my voice was muffled as I buried my face onto his hoodie. Shannon just let me be as I could feel his tears dampening my blouse. This was the first time that both of us had such a connection. It was one which felt like a longing for something or in this case someone. I think it was also the first time Shannon had truly revealed who he really was and it was also my first time to see a grown man cry. It was nice to see I wasn’t the only one who had all these bottled-up feelings.

I didn’t know how long we were there in that position. But none of us made any complaints or attempts to pull away because it just felt good. It felt good to have somebody you could lean onto once in a while and at the same time the feeling of you being equally needed was there as well.

My sobs slowly quiet down and I started to hiccough. Shannon pulled away. His brown eyes were radiating with a warm sense of friendliness. “Thank you,” he whispered, wiping his eyes furiously. I shook my head, still hiccoughing. He sent me a weak smile and went to pour a glass of water and handed it to me.

“Thanks,” I said, taking it and gulping it down. When I was done, the pain in my throat disappeared and so did the hiccoughing. Shannon was leaning against the window, staring blankly out into the pitch black sky. I set the glass aside and glanced over to Jared once again. The sound of his heartbeat seemed to reverberate in my head suddenly. I leaned in to give him a peck on the lips. I didn’t bother about feeling embarrassed in front of Shannon anymore. It was also the first time my lips came in contact with his after the first night we met.

I sat back down and took his hand, closing my eyes, I said another silent prayer. This time a longer one. ‘Dear God, it’s me again, Rowena Harris. I’m sorry to bother you so many times a day. But I really need to ask you to help me with a big favour. I wish that Jared here will wake up as soon as possible. If it’s now, it’ll be even better. You most likely had received millions of prayers relating to Jared today. But you see, that’s the amount of people which wanted him to wake up from this nightmare. Please help him and guide him out of wherever he is right now. Please God. Please help him.’

I remained in that position, repeating the same prayer over and over again. Hoping that it would be heard by someone up there. Until…

The fingers of the hand I was clenching onto moved. Immediately I glanced up. It was real. Jared’s fingers moved and slowly it held onto my hand tightly. His eyes fluttered and opened. Those clear ocean blue eyes had finally revealed itself after such a long time. “JARED!!!!” I yelled, staring in disbelief.

Shannon spun around. He was as shocked as I was as Jared groaned. “I’ll get the doctor!” Shannon said, dashing out of the room. He came back in with Dr. Morrison behind him.

I had to let go of Jared’s hand and got out of the seat to let the doctor in to examine him. “Jared?” Dr. Morrison called; waving his hand in front of Jared’s blinking eyes. “Jared Leto? Can you hear me?” he asked. Jared groaned. “Y-yes,” he said in a hoarse voice.

“Okay. Good.” Dr. Morrison took out a small torchlight from his pocket and shone it into each of Jared’s eyes. “How are you feeling?” he asked, placing the torchlight back into his pocket.

“D-dizzy,” Jared replied, rubbing his eyes before holding onto his forehead. “Where am I?” he asked.

“You’re in a hospital now, Mr. Leto. You were in a car accident,” Dr Morrison explained.

Jared seemed to be totally oblivious as to what had happened. He was still holding onto his head before his eyes widened suddenly. “Where’s Rowena?! How is she?!” he asked.

“I’m here, Jared,” I said, going nearer to his bed now with Shannon beside me. “I’m fine, Jared. I’m okay.” I smiled.

He heaved a sigh. “What happened? I feel like I have been sleeping for a long time and my body feels so stiff.”

“You were in a coma for a month, Mr. Leto,” Dr. Morrison said. “But don’t worry. Your condition seems fine right now. I’ll let you rest now. But later we have to run some tests to make sure you are not suffering from anything else.” Jared nodded and with that Dr. Morrison smiled at the three of us and left.