Heartstrings on Fire novel Chapter 1241

Agnes was taken aback. "You heard everything?"

Ryder had been in a coma for so long.

Agnes had heard stories about coma patients—how some of them could hear the world around them despite their motionless state.

Ryder continued, "All this time, my mind was fully awake. I could hear every word you guys said and see everything happening around me. But it felt like my body was locked away. I tried to open my eyes, tried to move a finger, but I just couldn't."

Agnes felt a pang of sorrow in her heart.

For someone with no awareness, it might not be so painful. But for Ryder, it was a different story—aware, yet unable to move or respond.

"You must have suffered a lot," Agnes said gently.

"It was unbearable at times," Ryder replied. "There were moments I wished I could just say, 'Let me go,' and have you pull the plug. As a doctor, I always thought I'd know what to do in any situation. But lying there, in a sterile room, unable to communicate... it was beyond words."

"But it's all behind you now, Ryder," Agnes reassured him. "You're awake, and you're going to get better. Those dark days are over."

Ryder nodded slowly. "Those three months and twenty-five days were all I had to think. I feel like I lived a lifetime in my head. I found answers to questions I didn't even know I had. Uncle Jared, Aunt Agnes, I'm sorry for everything I've done in the past."

His use of "Uncle" and "Aunt" was a sign to Agnes that Ryder had truly let go of the past.

Agnes was overwhelmed with a mix of emotions she couldn't quite put into words. Relief, perhaps, and happiness for Ryder—not just because he was awake, but because he had been reborn, ready to live life on his own terms.