The surgery took hours.
Too many hours.
The red light above the operation theatre door stayed on.
And Keifer never moved.
Not even once.
The hospital staff had cleaned the blood from his hands.
But his shirt still had faint stains on it.
He didn't care.
He sat on the cold metal chair outside the OT.
Leaning forward.
His elbows on his knees.
His eyes fixed on the door.
Waiting.
Just waiting.
Ella came near him after some time.
"Keifer…"
He didn't respond.
Freya brought a bottle of water.
"Drink something."
Keifer didn't even look at it.
Rakki sighed.
"You've been sitting like this for hours."
Still nothing.
Grace whispered softly,
"You should rest a little."
Keifer's voice finally came out.
Rough.
Quiet.
"I'm not moving."
His eyes were still on the OT door.
Percy frowned.
"You haven't eaten."
No reply.
Freya tried again.
"You haven't slept either."
Keifer finally spoke again.
"She's in there."
His voice sounded empty.
"How can I sleep?"
The group fell silent.
Because none of them had an answer to that.
Hours passed.
Morning slowly turned into afternoon.
Afternoon turned into evening.
And still…
Keifer didn't move.
He didn't eat.
He didn't drink.
He didn't sleep.
Nurses passed by occasionally.
Some of them whispered to each other.
Looking at him with sympathy.
Because he looked like a man who had lost his soul.
Ella sat beside him quietly.
"You're going to collapse like this."
Keifer shook his head slowly.
"I don't care."
His eyes were red.
Completely exhausted.
But he refused to close them.
"What if she wakes up…"
His voice cracked slightly.
"And I'm not here?"
Freya wiped her tears quietly.
Rakki muttered softly,
"This idiot."
Grace whispered,
"He loves her too much."
Keifer leaned back against the wall finally.
But his eyes still stayed on the OT door.
Waiting.
Like a man who had nothing else left in the world.
Just waiting for one door to open.
Waiting for one doctor to walk out.
Waiting to hear one sentence.
"She's alive."