Emily fretted through the night and the day. Or the day and the night. No real difference lying on a hospital bed wearing eye bandages. The hallways had grown quiet for a long time, then louder for a brief time, but not much. Nurses and food came and went. Then the silence had clamped down. The longest night of her life stretched out forever.
Daniel had come in briefly and done his best to be funny. But it was a quieter, more somber Daniel. After a particularly long and awkward silence, he finally whispered to her, “Never knew what being close to death meant.”
Emily knew. Had faced it for the first time as her pilot had bled out in her lap while they lay hidden in the godforsaken Thai jungle. She’d had to keep his mouth clamped shut against his groans of pain so he couldn’t say any last
