WALKING TO THE STARS
“Taylor, breakfast.” The nurse wheeled the cart into the room. Jess slowly opened her eyes, begrudgingly turning her head towards the door.
“No, thank you,” she replied.
“Come on, miss, you need to regain your strength,” the doctor followed the nurse into the room.
Jess remained silent. The nurse quickly placed a bowl of porridge and a cup of tea on the bedside table. She whispered, “Eat up, Dr. Adrian knows what’s best,” before she hurried out of the room.
“How’s the mood today? Spring in the air?” Dr. Adrian smiled.
“Not quite,” Jess replied with a sigh, turning towards the window.
“That’s good,” the doctor continued, ignoring the tone. “The surgery is scheduled for tomorrow,” he informed her seriously.
“Do the odds improve?” Jess asked, turning back to him.
“Certainly, though full recovery is not on the cards just yet,” Dr. Adrian confessed.
“Will I be able to walk?” Jess tensed.
“I don’t want to give false hope…” After a moment, Dr. Adrian paused. “But we must take every chance.”
“Understood…” Jess turned away again. She didn’t hear him leave or notice the birds chirping cheerfully outside the window, announcing spring.
The crash had been terrible. Jess’s friend, Holly, was driving. She swerved to avoid an oncoming car, lost control, and couldn’t prevent the collision. The impact hit the passenger side hardest. Jess only regained consciousness in the hospital. As she later found out, Holly got away with lesser injuries—a broken arm and a concussion. Jess had several rib fractures, an open leg fracture, and worst of all, her spine was damaged. The prognosis was grim; chances of Jess walking again were minimal. Some people might have been grateful just to be alive, but for Jess, her world vanished overnight. Dance was her everything: her passion, her livelihood, her inspiration. Movement was to her what air was to others. What now?
The next blow came from Mark’s reaction. They had been together for two years, and he had proposed recently. When he visited the hospital room two weeks ago, Jess realized silently that the wedding was off. When she shared the doctors’ prediction, Mark sat in thought for what seemed a day, staring at the floor, then muttered uncertainly, “You still need to think positively. Things will improve.”
He didn’t come for the next three days. Then came a brief message: “I’m sorry. I can’t do this.” The last thread of hope inside her snapped. Jess didn’t cry. She stared with vacant eyes at the white ceiling, imagining it crashing down, ending everything.
Her mom, gently stroking Jess’s hand, tried to comfort her, to smile, insisting nothing was lost yet, that they must fight through it together. But Jess saw her mother’s eyes red from tears she’d shed outside the room. Dr. Adrian, her attending physician, kept urging her to fight, too.
“Why?” Jess once asked.
“To be happy,” Dr. Adrian simply replied.
“I’ll never be happy again,” Jess declared. Dr. Adrian looked at her intently.
“You will be. But it depends on you more than anyone else. I may not have lots of experience, but I’ve met people who overcame the impossible, leaving even incurable illnesses behind, because they wanted to live, to find joy, to be happy.”
Jess didn’t respond. She didn’t want to live like this. What happiness could possibly come from it? she would have asked him, but chose not to continue the conversation. After all, doctors probably had to encourage patients.
“Not asleep?” Dr. Adrian gently opened the door, letting a sliver of light into the darkness of the room.
“No,” Jess answered, not noticing the informal address.
“Nervous?” he asked, sitting by the window.
“No,” Jess shrugged.
“Imagine the crash never happened. Fast forward ten years. What’s your life like?” Dr. Adrian asked, not looking at Jess but out the window.
“I don’t know. Maybe I’d still be performing. Or maybe I’d be taking my daughter to dance lessons,” Jess smiled faintly but then remembered the canceled wedding. “You know, he left me. As soon as he knew, he left.”
“Did he love you?” Dr. Adrian asked, already knowing the answer.
“I don’t know,” Jess shrugged again. “Maybe it’s just in romantic films that people love so intensely, going through fire and water for each other. In real life, they promise stars from the sky but…” Jess paused, realizing Dr. Adrian too was a man. A young and quite charming one, she suddenly noticed. He probably treated his wife or girlfriend differently. Surely a man like him wouldn’t falter in such a moment. He was even here, supporting a stranger.
“Alright, Taylor, get some sleep. There will be stars for you yet,” Dr. Adrian left. Jess looked out the window. A piece of sky, dotted with stars, was indeed visible. “If only a star would fall now,” Jess thought, but none did before she drifted to sleep.
“How are you?” Dr. Adrian stood by Jess’s bed. “Dr. Lucas said the surgery went smoothly.”
“Maybe. But I still can’t feel my legs,” Jess sighed.
“Look what I’ve got for you,” Dr. Adrian handed her a small box. Jess opened it and smiled. It was brimming with tiny sparkling star confetti. “Work hard, and you’ll walk to the stars on your own,” promised the doctor.
The rehabilitation was long, exhausting, and seemed fruitless to Jess. Adrian—by now she called him by his first name—visited often. They talked like old friends, discussing various topics. Adrian knew how to divert Jess’s thoughts from despair, and she began to believe that her efforts would eventually pay off.
“How was today?” Adrian asked after Jess’s daily exercises, where the nurse tried to awaken her unresponsive legs.
“Alright,” Jess shrugged.
“The lilacs have bloomed,” Adrian handed her a fluffy, fragrant branch. Jess inhaled the fresh scent, then eagerly searched for a five-petaled blossom.
“Nothing here,” Jess pouted, raising her eyes.
“How about here?” Adrian offered her another box. She anticipated more star confetti, but when she opened it, she froze momentarily. Resting there was a ring with a small gemstone sparkling like a star in the sunlight.
“Will you marry me?” Adrian asked as her eyes moved from the ring to his face. Jess was silent. Adrian exhaled nervously and sat on the bed.
“You’re sitting on my foot…” Jess whispered, then shouted with joy, “You’re sitting on my foot! I feel it! I feel my foot!”
Adrian jumped up, laughing. Jess laughed, too, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Why the tears? Does it hurt?” Adrian asked, concerned. Jess shook her head.
“Remember, I said I’d never be happy again? I truly believed that. But today, there’s so much happiness at once. If you’re brave enough to propose to a cripple, then I hope crying doesn’t scare you,” Jess laughed again.
“Nothing scares me,” Adrian said warmly, looking at his fiancée.
***
“Mum, did you see that? I did it!” Annie ran to the bench where Jess sat.
“Of course I saw. I recorded it for Dad. You’re amazing,” Jess hugged her daughter.
“Miss Thompson said I’ll dance in the center. Does that mean I’m the best?” Annie boasted.
“Yes,” Jess whispered, revealing a secret. “But hush, boastfulness will lead to mishaps.” Annie nodded knowingly, grinning. “Now pack up, we’re going to pick Dad up from work.”
A decade had passed. Jess didn’t make it back to the grand stage, but she danced admirably at her wedding. Adrian said she danced better than him, anyway. The road to the stars was long for Jess, but with Adrian, she made it. To never forget or lose hope, Jess suggested decorating their bedroom ceiling with stars. Adrian agreed. Each morning, Jess awoke, knowing she could reach for the stars—any stars, any time. All she needed was a wish.
