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墨書 Inktalez
"Qiluo Ling, where are you? We've been going crazy looking for you," came Xu Xiaoya's anxious voice from the other end of the phone.
"Don't worry, I just had a little situation, but I'm safe now," Qiluo Ling said calmly.
"Thank God! We were all so worried."
"I just tried to call Cui Zai Shan, but I couldn't get through."
"President Cui..." Xu Xiaoya's words faltered.
"What happened to Cui Zai Shan?" Qiluo Ling tensed up.
"He got into a car accident on his way to find you," Xu Xiaoya whispered.
...
As Qiluo Ling looked through the glass window of the hospital room, she saw several doctors and nurses in green scrubs busy at the bedside. Choi Jae-sun, wearing a hospital gown, lay quietly asleep on the bed.
He looked as peaceful as ever. The sunlight fell on his chiseled features, casting a dark shadow that resembled a perfect classical Greek sculpture. Tears streamed down her face as she reached out her palm to touch his presence through the glass, feeling his warm body.
"How did he get into the accident?" Qiluo Ling asked tearfully.
"The driver was attacked and knocked unconscious. When he woke up, he called President Cui to tell him he was injured and that he had been robbed. President Cui sensed something was off and immediately tried to call you. When he found out your phone was unreachable, he panicked. He drove like mad to find you, but in his desperation, he drove too fast and ended up crashing; both the car and he went off the bridge. By the time help arrived, this is what had happened to him," Xu Xiaoya said softly from behind.
Tears silently streamed down Qiluo Ling's face.
The door to the hospital room opened, and a tall doctor stepped out. He removed his mask and said, "Who is the patient's family?"
Qiluo Ling rushed forward and said, "I am. How is the patient?"
"The patient has suffered brain damage due to the car accident. Although he has spontaneous breathing and normal pulse, blood pressure, and temperature, he has no speech, consciousness, or cognitive ability. In other words, he is currently in a special state of coma," the doctor explained.
"Do you mean to say he is in a vegetative state?" Xu Xiaoya asked.
"What?" Qiluo Ling's legs went weak, almost causing her to kneel on the ground.
"That's not how it should be understood. A person can only be defined as being in a vegetative state if they have been in a continuous coma for more than 12 months. Even if they are in a vegetative state, there is still a possibility of waking up successfully. So, you shouldn't be so pessimistic. He has only temporarily lost consciousness; the function of the neurons can be reversed. Once the neurons are activated, they will stimulate the brain and consciousness will emerge. Now you can come in and see him," the doctor comforted her.
Qiluo Ling followed the doctor into Choi Jae-sun's hospital room.
The white walls and white bed made her feel as if she were in another world as she looked at her pale lover.
He lay quietly with his eyes closed, seemingly unaware of her arrival. His body still looked as vibrant as before, but it had lost its vitality.
"Don't be sad; everything will be fine. I think he should be able to sense your presence," Xu Xiaoya said gently.
"Doctor, how long until he wakes up?" Qiluo Ling looked helplessly at the doctor.
"That's hard to say. It really varies from person to person," the doctor replied, shrugging his shoulders.
"Are there any good treatment measures?"
"There is no special method for waking someone from a vegetative state. For the patient, nothing is more important than the meticulous care and persistence of their loved ones. However, awakening someone from a vegetative state can involve stimulating the brain through five sensory pathways that receive external information: vision, hearing, touch, taste, smell, and physical interaction."
"What should I do?" Qiluo Ling asked.
"What did he usually like you to do for him?"
Suddenly, Qiluo Ling recalled moments from their past life together, remembering when she first met Choi Jae-sun at a bar. After pausing for a moment, she said, "He liked it when I played piano pieces for him."
"That's great! You can play the piano for him to stimulate his brain; who knows, maybe one day he will wake up," the doctor said with some excitement.
"Can music also be used as a therapeutic method?"
"Of course, I studied the effects of music on the Central Nervous System in my early years. More and more scientists are beginning to engage in research on music. They have found that music can evoke the ups and downs of people's thoughts and emotions, and it can effectively stimulate the Central Nervous System, thereby altering a person's mood."
"But can he perceive music while in a coma?"
"This is beyond doubt. Even individuals with severe brain injuries who have been in a vegetative state for a long time can still perceive the external world. Their neuronal communication is not at zero; it is simply slower than that of ordinary people."
The doctor continued, "Music therapy acts on the auditory nerves, providing auditory stimulation to patients, enhancing bioelectrical activity in the brain, and adjusting the potential capabilities of the cerebral cortex. It can also increase blood flow in most areas of the brain, thereby improving clinical symptoms. The melody and rhythm of music can regulate the brain's limbic system and reticular activating system, accelerating the recovery of consciousness. However, I believe that ultimately it is because music relies on the power of love to awaken the patient’s sleeping and closed heart. I hope you spend more time with him and possibly play some music he likes; this may help awaken him."
Qiluo Ling did not understand the doctor's technical terms, but she grasped the last two sentences and nodded.
After the doctor and Xu Xiaoya left, Qiluo Ling sat quietly in the chair beside the hospital bed, gazing at Choi Jae-sun for a while. After a moment, she gently clasped his left hand in her palm, closed her eyes, and recalled their first meeting.
Their acquaintance began with the sheet music of Devil's Sorrow; as if spoken by a demon in darkness, it was his love that guided her toward her life's mission, becoming the brightest star in her sky.
But would he wake up now? If I were to gather all the sheet music of Devil's Sorrow and play it for him, would he awaken? Perhaps he would be like the soul of that German Officer judged by demons, burned to death by flames?
She did not know any of this. However, she knew that compared to this moment's pain, the pain of death was trivial.
If only her soul could replace his; then her only wish would be to enter his world after death, to enter his soul and curl up inside, remaining there forever.
Midnight arrived, yet she remained dazedly seated in that chair.
A hollow and fragmented heart traversed this world; emptiness was the main theme of the night. A thin mist descended upon the earth, and all sounds seemed to merge into a long echo that ultimately formed a melody—a sorrowful and mournful melody. Everything on earth trembled within this melody.
A drop of icy tear slowly fell down; Qiluo Ling wiped it away with her hand, realizing she had silently shed tears. Even a demon hearing such mournful music and witnessing this desolate night would weep uncontrollably.
Suddenly, someone sighed softly in the darkness; clearly, it was neither her sigh nor Choi Jae-sun's.
Whose sigh could it be? She stood up and searched in the darkness; the room shrouded in night mist seemed to float. Dim moonlight streamed through the window; apart from her elongated shadow, there was no one else in the room.
But at that moment, she understood—it was a sigh from a demon.
She looked around, and everyone was asleep. Facing this sleeping world, she felt an unprecedented loneliness...
The next morning, Qiluo Ling came alone to the hospital garden, sitting on a chipped wooden bench.
The garden was filled with lush green grass, dotted with a few nameless small white flowers. The nearby dense leaves rustled in the breeze. A few small birds chirped on the branches.
The morning sunlight shone warmly on her right arm. She carefully rubbed the Butterfly Birthmark, lost in thought.
Xu Xiaoya walked out of the hospital's inpatient hall and came to her side.
"The hospital just conducted a full-body examination on President Cui. Everything is normal, but he still has no consciousness; he remains in a deep sleep."
A few sparrows flew down to the ground beside them, looking around curiously and strutting a few steps. Xu Xiaoya waved her hand impatiently, and the sparrows scattered, flying up to the nearby tree.
"Xiaoya, I have decided to leave. I hope you can take good care of him for me," Qiluo Ling said.
"Where are you going?" Xu Xiaoya asked in confusion.
"I want to search for the remaining sheet music," Qiluo Ling said, looking at her Butterfly Birthmark and softly adding, "to find the complete melody that can wake him up."
Xu Xiaoya gazed at her for a long time before silently nodding.
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