Chapter - 4

                                    

                                          
A lonely figure lying on the bed stirred his sleep. His pupils were dilating rapidly, indicating his uneasiness. His fingers began to mercilessly scratch the sheet with their nails. If they were sharp then even that weak person could easily tear it with the force applied on the sheet. But despite the enormous amount of force exerted by the pale looking man, the blunt claws could do nothing. 
The drops of sweat on his forehead slid to one side and were lost in the locks of his soft and disheveled hair from the constant shaking of his head. 
It was as if he was seeing a nightmare. 
He slowly tried to lift his hand but it fell with a thud. He again tried hard to raise it and it fell again. More harshly this time. Sweat broke out profusely all over his body, and soon his hospital gown clung to his body like a second skin. 
He was panting like a choked lamb that was about to die at the hands of the butcher any moment. His lips moved violently but nothing came out of them except a few rapid breaths and a few coherent sounds. 
Tears flowed from his eyes and with the passing moments, his sobbing increased and so did his hand movements. He clenched his fists several times, wringing his hand aimlessly over the bed sheet. 
Seemed he was looking for something. It could have been anything, any person or thing. It didn't matter to him. For the time being, he just wanted to hold a rein for reassurance. Reassurance that can distract him and snap him out of the nightmare. Which can console him and tell that the reality is different from this. He was searching for something similar even unconsciously. 
But….nobody was there to comfort him or help him end his sufferings. 
However, after struggling for a while, he jerked open his eyes and blinked them rapidly in sync with the light coming in from the window of the room. His breath was trembling. When the light of the room greeted him, his head throbbed with a sharp pain. Although the light in the room was dim, it was bright for his eyes which were still blinking. He raised his hand and covered his eyes with his hand for a while. 
As soon as he realized where he is and why, what had happened to him before, a void immediately filled his eyes and his whole being turned into lifeless. He rolled his face to his left, staring at the curtains that still covered the window, which obstructed the orange hue with red glint coming in and filling the room with its glow. 
The glow from the dimly lit room filled him with pain and heaviness filled his chest. He hates that color. 
The color that once was his favorite. The color that once filled him with emotions and enthusiasm, now only gave him traumas, nothing else. 
He gazed at the window without blinking like a statue for a long time, perhaps for an eternity. He wanted to rip them apart for not doing their job properly. 
His staring contest with the poor curtains might have lasted longer if he didn't feel itchy and dry. He looked around in the hope of finding something to quell his thirst and soothe the itching but there was nothing within his reach. 
He closed his eyes, frustrated with his condition, where he couldn't even sit and did nothing to ease the itch in his throat.  Dependent on others for everything has become his life now. His eyes went moist, but he blinked immediately when he heard the creaking sound of the door opening and saw his mother enter. 
“You woke up A-Zhan.” She said softly coming towards him. She had a bottle of water and some packets in her hand. Putting those things on the bedside table, she turned and looked at him. 
Xiao Zhan, who had been watching her intently till now, turned away from her as soon as she came face to face. He didn't want her to see the moisture in his eyes. He knew how much it hurt to see him in his worst moments, but he couldn't help whenever he lost control of himself, as he had the day before.