*Please play the music while reading the story*
After spending 128 days in coma at Heyston Hospital, Caren suddenly opened her eyes. Twinkling her eyes slowly while she struggled to see. Then her mind felt so blank as she couldn’t remember anything. She has no idea who she was and why she was there in the room.
Then a woman came in and hugged her so tight and murmured that Toby was dead and cried on her shoulder. Caren was shocked and speechless as she has no idea who that woman was. It was actually Pamela Tanning, Toby’s girlfriend since a year ago. Pamela recognized Caren and she knew who Caren was. Pamela had seen Caren's picture that was secretly hidden by Toby in one of his drawer in his study table.
While responding to Pamela’s sudden passionate hug, Caren saw a music box displayed on a side table next to her bed. Pamela realized Caren was staring at the music box. So she gently held the said music box and forwarded it to Caren. Caren held it closely and stared at it tentatively before lifting the music box cover that turned on a Titanic music tune. Suddenly the music box exploded with a loud bang and Caren was reaching out both her hands in the air and called "Toby" several times and there was a bright light that lit up the entire room with echoes of Caren calling Toby's nick name, "Honey! Honey! Honey!".
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Toby woke up with perspiration. As he opened his eyes, he saw Caren caressing his face and calling his nick name softly while smiling at him.
Caren: Honey!…..Honey!……Honey!....Wake up! Wake up! It’s time.
Toby: Caren?
Caren: Honey! HAPPY VALENTINE DAY!!!!
(Caren kissed Toby softly and Toby was still surprised looking at her.)
Caren: Hey! Are you still sleeping? Wake up! Honey!
Toby: Happy Valentine????
Caren: Yeah! Today’s February the 14th. It’s our second valentine celebration, honey!
Toby: Second Valentine?
Caren: Yeah!! ….Mmmmm are you alright, honey? You seem a bit blur.
Toby: ….?????? (looked very blur.)
Caren: Hey!......Are you playing one of your tricks on me again? I told you….
(Before Caren could continue, Toby quickly interrupted.)
Toby: Caren! You are not mad at me anymore!!!!!
Caren: Mad at you!!!!! Why???
(Then Toby realized that he just had a terrible bad dream of having divorced Caren for 10 years and how he died and how Caren met an accident and went into coma.)
Toby: Oh! My God! I just had the most terrifying and saddest dream of my life.
Caren: Huh?????
Toby: Sweetie, I am so glad that you are still here with me.
(Then Toby started to sob and then cried and this caught Caren by surprise.)
Caren: Hey, honey! Why are you crying? Huh?
(Caren gently wiped Toby’s tears away but Toby just couldn’t stop crying as he was speechless. Overwhelmed by the fact that all the saddest things that he felt was actually a dream. While looking at Toby getting emotional, Caren quickly passed her gift that she was hiding underneath the bed to Toby. Hoping that it will at least cheer him up.)
Caren: Ta da! Here’s your present! Happy Valentine Day, Honey! Don’t cry ya!
(Toby looked at his present from Caren and ended having even more tears in his eyes and he cried so loud.)
Caren: Huhhhh, honey!! What’s wrong? Why are you crying?
Toby: HHHUUuuhhh.........I ..I …..know …..wh…what is in your present.
Caren: ….You do?
Toby: ..It’s a tie, isn’t it?.....huhhhhuhhhhhhhhH........
Caren: …Oh!!!! How do you know?
Toby: (cried profusely)
Caren: Hey! Honey! What’s wrong? Are you touched by my present? Or..or …. If you forgot to get me my present ….it’s okay? I am not mad.
Toby: Huuhhhuhhh….. I am so sorry, Caren. So so so ..sorry ……huhhuhhhhh!!!!
(Caren hugged Toby quickly and pacified him.)
Caren: It’s okay, honey don’t cry ya. You know already. My present from you is….
(Before Caren could finish what she wanted to say, Toby quickly interrupted.)
Toby: It’s for me to love you forever. ……. (cried profusely and emotionally even more.)
Caren: Hey! How do you know? You are so clever!
Toby: huhuhhhhh!!!!!!!! (continued crying.)
(When Caren saw Toby so emotional, she started to sob and hugged him tightly.)
Caren: Hey! Honey! Whatever your dream was and whatever is in your mind now, I am here now ya and I love you okay. Please don’t cry.
Toby: Huhhuhuhhh….. (sobbed) ….. okay….huhhhhuhh.....huhuhuh.......okay........(sobbed)
(Both Toby and Caren hugged passionately for awhile. Then Toby composed himself and sat up. He then walked towards his study table and drew out a drawer. Inside the drawer he took out a present and passed it to Caren. Caren was surprised to see her present and jumped with ecstasy.)
Caren: Oh! My God! You remembered!
(Caren quickly opened her present and found a little brown box. She lifted the box cover and saw a heart shaped coral rock in it and she was so awed by it.)
Caren: Oh! My God! You found it! This was something that you promised me last year! Oh! Honey! I love you so much! Thank you!
(Caren hugged Toby tightly and they kissed passionately. Suddenly the whole room was filled with total brightness again.)
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A nurse was attending to Caren on her hospital bed. While the nurse was scribbing something on a paper board hanging at the end of Caren's bed, she noticed Caren suddenly has tears flowing down on her cheeks while her eyes were still closed. The nurse was so surprised and happy until she quickly ran out from the room calling the doctor from the other side. Everyone, the nurses and doctors, all rushed into the room to look at Caren's first movement after so long. At first they were all happy to see Caren's tears but later on when it became clear that it was actually tears of sadness in her heart, a gloomy expression filled the entire room.
For Caren, after being in coma for months at the hospital, she finally had a movement. Sadly, her only movement was her tears of her happy dream. Dreaming how she loved Toby again on that special day. Her second Valentine with Toby where Toby remembered and fulfilled his promise to her after finding and giving her the heart shaped coral rock.
At 5.56 am on the 21st March 2002, Caren succumbed to her injury and died. Doctor said her tears were still flowing down on her cheeks when she passed away and the news broke the hearts of everyone.
The Music Box, till today, remain hidden somewhere in Maya Bay, Phi Phi Island.
The End.
Scene 7 - Tears From The Heart
