Fantasia

LXXIX

"Belle! It was crazy! We got into a giant changing room with thousands of suits and chose some for us. There wasn't one before, you know? No door, nothing in that hallway!"
"Hold on, Eddy. I have no idea what you're talking about! What hallway?"
"A deserted one. There's a giant staircase in Brett's world or my dream or whatever, which had an infinite amount of floors as far as Brett could tell. And each one was just like the other. Only the light was always different. This time, we went to search for a concert hall or something to perform our piece and we encountered this room in one of the corridors. And another room, like a backstage changing room where we practiced our piece! I woke up before we got somewhere though..."
"Eddy!", Belle exclaimed, her voice on the other line firm, more authoritative. A tone she'd often used when she'd wanted Eddy to follow her will when they were younger.
Eddy flinched a bit.
"Calm down, okay? Where are you now?"
"At the hospital, in Brett's room."
"And is anyone else there?"
Eddy shook his head to himself. "Nah. Only me. And Brett, obviously."
"Have you told his parents? About your dreams I mean."
"I have. And they believe me."
"Okay. Tell them what you've told me. There's a chance Brett will wake up soon and they have to be prepared."
"Don't you think they are? They've been waiting for this moment for the past six months", Eddy frowned, not following what his sister was keeping in the back of her mind.
She explained, "They have. But it can still be overwhelming for loved ones if someone in a coma wakes up after such a long time. If Brett remembers everything from your dreams, it's gonna be fine, I think. If not, his parents and you have to be prepared to tell him in a guiding, kind way. Maybe talk to a doctor? See if they have any tips."

Good point. Of course, his beloved big sister had a good point. If Brett really was going to wake up, he certainly had no intentions whatsoever to put him in a state of shock again.
"I'll talk to the Yangs. See what they think about it."
"Good call!"
"Of course! I'm following your advice. It can only be good, no?"
She laughed.
"Sure, sure."
"So, you think we're close too?", Eddy had to ask.
"Hmmm", she hummed. "As I said, there's a chance. Maybe even a high one. It does sound like you're getting closer to whatever has to be fullfilled."
"I really hope so", Eddy stated, clenching his free hand to a fist.
"I hope so too, little brother. For Brett, but also for you."

What did she mean with that last comment? Eddy wondered when they hung up and he returned to Brett's room. Of course, it would be a huge relieve for him too if Brett would wake up. He'd be able to talk to Brett, rebuild a strong relationship with him, so he hoped. But other than that, what would change for him?
Eddy looked at Brett with soft eyes.
"What SHOULD I change, you reckon?", he asked the patient.
He'd told Belle that what he wanted was to play the violin. They had briefly talked about him leaving his job, and even though it had felt quite definite, he hadn't called his boss yet, hadn't handed in his resignation. Figured, since he was in Sydney spending his time in a hospital...
However, between the hours he spent with Brett's family and the stories he shared with the unconscious, he did have a lot of time to think. Was he stalling? Was he looking for reasons not to quit just yet? What about his mum? Her reaction would certainly not be of the excited kind, if she'd knew about the not yet concrete plans floating around in his brain.
Eddy sighed heavily while he let himself fall down on the stool next to Brett's bed. He had taken his laptop along because he had to be available for calls or important mails. Since Singapore was still sound asleep, there was no urgency to start his device. Hence, there would be time to set up his resignation, technically...

Should he? Should he really? Was it smart? Probably not. Not at all! It was bad timing too. He should at least wait for after his holidays, so he could speak to his boss in person.

And yet... and yet...

"Argh! Fuck it!", Eddy exclaimed into the silence of the hospital room, his fingers digging into his mop of hair and ruffling it almost brutaly.

And then, a quiet, almost silent "Eddy".

Eddy rose his head and blinked at the one who'd just said his name.
"You think I should go for it?", he asked Brett blatantly. Had Brett sensed his unease, heard him groaning swear words? Was he encouraging him to take the leap? Suddenly, Eddy wished he could talk to dream-Brett right now, share his thoughts to someone who was able to give consistent answers. There was a whole day of spending time with Brett and his folks in this room ahead of him though before he'd get to that.

Luckily (or unluckily?) for Eddy, Mr. and Mrs. Yang arrived the next minute and thus provided Eddy with a good enough excuse to not think of his future. It was a bit too early to play the violin, but they had more urgent questions to ask anyway. What happened during the night? How was Brett doing? What, did Eddy think, was going to happen?
He told them about the rehearsal, about their idea, or inkling rather, that the Adagio had to be performed. That they'd looked for a stage or hall or something, but then encountered a huge dressing room with thousands of suits to choose from. And ultimately, he said that maybe, maybe Brett was going to come back soon.

"If the performance is succesfull, whatever that means, Brett might wake up."
"And you think, next night..."
"I mean, Brett and I were in a dressing room when I woke up. That's normally the last stage before entering, well, a stage. I do think we'll find our place to perform very soon."
"Jesus", Mrs. Yang muttered, and immediately, Belle popped up in Eddy's mind, advicing him to prepare them.
"Would you like to talk to someone? A medic or nurse about what to do when it happens?", Eddy asked carefully.
"We were briefed in the very beginning", Brett's dad informed. Made sense, Eddy guessed.
"They told us if Brett wakes up, he might only show little to no movement at first, since he hasn't used his muscles for such a long time. He also might not know where he is or what happened to him. His short-term or even long-term memory might be severly affected, so we should tell him calmly, what happened, who he is, where he is and that we're here for him. Things like that..."
"I see."
"But still, I'd like to talk to a doctor, see if he or she has other recommendations. Maybe they found out something new we should take to account", Brett's mum meant.

They agreed that all three of them should be informed about what to do in case of The Event happening. A doctor was informed about their wish after the nurses morning round and a younger and very Aussie looking man came in after breakfast, opening his speech with the following:
"It's wonderful that you haven't lost hope yet. Most people do after such a long time, you know. And it's very understandable. With the recent developments concerning Mr. Brett Yangs vitals and brain functions, things do look promising. I still have a duty to tell you, that the chances of a patient waking up after such a long time without suffering from any side or long term effects are very slim."
All three of them bobbed their heads, signaling their understanding despite the storm raging in Eddy's heart. Long term effects... he'd never even thought of those!
"If Mr. Yang does wake up, he most likely will be unable to move, let alone speak. However, he's not intubated, so technically, he would be able to talk. Give him small doses of the most important information. Do not overload him, simply show him that you're here for him. And most importantly, call us when he wakes up."
"Of course", Eric said.
The doc continued, "Everyone reacts a bit different when they waking up. We will do all the tests to see the status of his brain function and with which long term effects we might have to deal with. Some things only time can reveal."

He's going to be fine! Eddy told his own soul with a firmness, which had the designated purpose to drive those new bunch of worries away.
And if it meant for Eddy to lose his soul in this life changing performance ahead so Brett could come back, he would happily, very willingly present it to any entity responsible.