As I was leaving the bathroom, I heard a  loud clatter coming from the first floor.

-God damn it! – an annoyed woman said.

That was probably Annie. She often comes here to help, since she was my sister‘s best friend.

I quickly put on some black pants and my favorite light blue shirt, and started heading towards the kitchen.

Our house was neither big nor pretty, but it was everything we had. There was only a kitchen and a living room on the first floor, which weren’t divided by anything. The kitchen was only a round table with four chairs, an old refrigerator in the right corner of the room near which we had a stove and an oven, working with divine energy. On the left side, near the border with the living room, we had a plot for preparing food, over which a couple of cupboards were placed. In the living room we had a small couch, in front of which stood an old TV. On the wall located on the left side of the couch, there was a door leading to the main entrance and a staircase towards the second floor. The second floor was also pretty modest. My room, Cathie‘s room and the bathroom were located there. We had a small courtyard outside the house. It was almost empty, aside from a single wooden bench, looking towards the street.

My sister bought the house eleven years ago. Until then we lived in a rented apartment on the other side of the city. She had already finished school and soon started working in a tailoring company. While she was gathering funds from her job, we were living with the money, left for us from our parents. I don‘t really want to remember them... I was ten when she got together with Charlie. He was a holy knight and five months later we found out he died in action. Holy knights are warriors, gifted with divine energy by our guardians – the angels, which fight against the dark forces. My sister never really told me anything about him... I don‘t even know how or where they met. It was at that time when we relocated here. At that moment she was already pregnant with Cathie. Cathie was the sun that shined upon this household. When she was born, even if it wasn‘t for long, we had a fantastic life...

-Annie, what happened? – I said loudly, as I was opening the living room door. When I got in, I saw small bits of glass and hot water on the floor.

-I‘m sorry Kil. I was carrying the teapot when it‘s handle broke. I‘ll clean right away – answered Annie with a hoarse voice.

-Don‘t worry, it happens. Let me help you.

I started gathering the bits of porcelain on the floor, while Annie was wiping the spilt water.

When we finished, we sat on the table. Annie had made scrambled eggs and there was sliced ham near the dish. I took a slice of bread and started eating. After around five minutes Cathie came running from the second floor, sat beside me and started talking.

-What are you gonna do today, Kil?

-I‘m called to the warehouse at 9:30 – I answered and clenched my teeth.

-Aww... – Cathie moaned and looked at me with a sad face – And I thought you were on a break today! You promised you would take me to that new amusement park!

My heart broke when I saw Cathie with teary eyes. She didn’t deserve to be unhappy. It‘s true I haven‘t spent a lot of time with her recently...

-I know, Cathie... I‘m sorry. Let‘s go some other time. This time I promise for real! – I said, but even I didn‘t believe it. They call me at work too often lately...

-You said that last time! – she said and gazed at her plate for five minutes. Then she grabbed the fork and started eating.

After about fifteen minutes I finished my breakfast and went to my room. I brushed my hair and sprayed myself with my favorite perfume – with lime and mint fragrance. Cathie loves that smell, maybe that‘s why it became my favorite. I took a black leather bag, which contains a couple of documents, mostly for my sister. I will need them later on... At the last moment I saw that I have a stain on my sleeve. Damn it! When did this happen? Well, whatever... I took the shirt off and put on another one, this time white. I have to look good today. I took my phone, wallet and keys and went to the front door.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Annie came to see me off.

-I‘ll visit the hospital on my way to work... How is she? Is there any news? – I asked.

-No... There‘s still no change... – she answered and looked aside. She didn’t have it easy either...

-Okay Annie, thanks.

I was about to leave when Cathie popped out from behind Annie and threw herself at me. I almost fell over.

-Bye, Kil! I love you! And… I’ll forgive you about the park! But this is the last time – she said while pouting, but that just made her cute instead of angry.

-I love you too Cathie. Take care of yourself and listen to Annie – I smiled and left.

I was already on the street when someone called me.

-Kil! Wait!

I turned around and saw Annie running towards me. When she arrived, she gave me some kind of lotion.

-Put this on. It’s imbued with divine energy and will relieve your sunburn until the end of the day.

I was touched by her action. She is very considerate. She notices even the smallest things. She could easily leave us by ourselves, but instead insists to help us with everything she can do. Some day I will repay my debt to her.

Annie stayed behind to care for the girl and I set off for the hospital. The building was approximately 20 minutes from home. The day was nice. There wasn’t even a trace of clouds and the sun was shining brightly. I guess the angels are in a good mood today. I was deep in thoughts and before I knew it, I was already there.

I entered from the front and went to the registration desk.

-I’m here for Irina Streiff.

-Just a moment, sir – answered the nurse from the other side of the desk. She checked the name in the database and continued right after. – Welcome to the third floor, room 322.

-Yes, thank you – I said.

I walked up the stairs to the third floor and stopped right in front of room number 322 to gather up some strength. Even though two years have passed since that day, I still can’t get used to this. Every time I come here I hope and pray to the almighty angels that when I open the door I’ll see her sitting on the hospital bed, waiting for us to come pick her up. But, alas, it was the usual scene. My sister was laying on the bed with no signs of vigor. The systems and the device for heart rate measurement were hooked to her body. She had become very pale and feeble. The doctors said that she could survive a year more, at most. But I still believe she will wake up. They also say that from time to time she has complex brain activity. For me this means there is still chance. I don‘t intend to leave her to die. She and Cathie are my only family. Unfortunately, I haven‘t found a solution yet. In my free time I read books for people, or relatives of people, which have woken up from a coma, doctors‘ articles, I call different hospitals, but haven‘t found anything valuable yet. I found out that my case is different from the others‘. My sister doesn‘t have any brain trauma. It shows healthy in every examination. She just can‘t wake up and nobody knows why. There‘s not even one case similar to hers...

I stood there, looking at her lifeless face for some time, when I stood up, kissed her on her forehead and said “I will find a way to wake you up, sis... Don‘t worry.“

As I was leaving the room, I saw the doctor assigned to our case. He was just about to come in for examination from the corridor on the right. He noticed me and stopped in front of me.

-Good morning, Mr. Streiff! – he said.

-Good morning, doctor. Is there something new? Did you find out what the cause is? – I asked him.

-I’m sorry, Mr. Streiff, but we haven’t yet… We are doing everything possible to find out why your sister isn’t in a condition to wake up. Her brain is functional and her divine energy is positive. If we find something, we will notify you immediately.

-Right… Thank you anyways, doctor – I answered and started heading towards the exit.

Weren’t the angels supposed to be omnipotent? Weren’t they able to cure every illness? Then why isn’t my sister waking up? I am gradually starting to lose my faith in the beings of the light…

They showed up on our planet 208 years ago. They introduced themselves as our gods and it didn’t take us much to recognize them as such, considering their powers. They seem to not age. When their newborns grow to a certain age, they remain like that forever. They all look in their twenties. Their bodies emit a faint gleam. The divine energy with which they gift us contains extraordinary properties. It could be used as fuel, it has a healing effect, it shines in the dark, gives some people unusual strength and intelligence and many more. But even the divine energy couldn’t save my sister…

After I left the hospital, I went to work. My day went on as usual. At the morning I carried merchandise to some stores in my neighborhood, in the afternoon I went to the brick factory and in the evening I was assisting the construction of the new apartment building near my house. I got lucky today, since I got released earlier. At 10 pm I finished and left.

“Today I can spend some time with Cathie. We can have a night walk, or maybe play on the playstation. I can help her with her homework. I’ll ask her how her day went.” – I thought to myself. I could do these things and many more… Yes, I could…