Mark was in an accident that left him comatose for six years. During this time, his wife, Sally, never gave up hope of him waking up. She took care of him and visited him every day, talking to him and telling him stories. One day, to Sally’s amazement, Mark opened his eyes and looked around. Sally was overjoyed, but before she could even speak, Mark’s gaze shifted to her and he looked absolutely furious. Sally was taken aback and asked what was wrong. When Mark finally woke up and was able to move and talk again, he looked at the doctors, but especially at his wife. Wasn’t she supposed to always stay by his side, even at the hardest times? He couldn’t believe his eyes, when he finally saw her and the doctors, after listening to them for six months. Mark is sick to his stomach to see them, behaving relieved and happy now that he’s woken up from his coma. What a terrible act! He knew of their true intentions and wasn’t able to forgive them, no matter how happy he was to be fully functioning again. And he was right to feel this way. After Mark told them he heard everything, the doctors and his wife kept up their act. But the expression on Mark’s face told them everything they needed to know. What followed was a painful silence, not to mention a broken marriage… But what did his wife and the doctors talk about? What were they planning to do, and why was it so upsetting to Mark? Mark started feeling signs of waking up! He could feel his fingers again, even without moving them. He also wasn’t able to move anything else yet, and only his eyes and brain were back to functioning. Mark couldn’t believe it! What a blessing! Then, the doctors and his wife walked in. Terrific timing, Mark naively thought…  But they don’t seem to be interested in Mark. He wants to catch their attention but has no way of doing so. He just has to be patient. He figures they must be too busy to discuss his condition for them to notice the awakening of Mark. But then, he hears them talking…  Mark isn’t really used to hearing again and tries his best to hear what they’re saying. It doesn’t take him long to notice that they’re whispering with their backs turned to him. Then, his wife changes her stance, causing Mark to hear something. ‘’Are you sure they can’t trace that back to us?’’  Although Mark is aware of their unusual and mysterious behavior, he isn’t suspecting anything just yet. He still sleeps a lot and the moments he’s awake, usually don’t line up with the presence of his wife and doctors. Then, one morning, the perfect moment arrives. Mark wakes up and sees his wife sitting next to his bed. She’s watching television, looking bored and somewhat annoyed. Mark tries to grab her attention by looking at her and winking at her, as those are the only things he can really do. But she doesn’t notice; she thinks she’s alone, like she was for the past 5,5 years. And for that reason, she wasn’t careful at all…  Then, she says to herself: ‘’Isn’t that nice? Dressing up, getting my hair done, just to be stood up!’’ Stood up? Mark thinks. Stood up by who? It becomes more and more apparent that she wasn’t here for him. She didn’t look at him once, and yet she had been in his room for over more than forty minutes by now.  Mark can feel himself getting tired at this point, no matter how determined he is to see who his wife is waiting for. He can feel his eyes closing again and again until he’s finally rewarded for his patience. Someone’s at the door and his wife immediately stands up. She walks toward the door and seems to hug the person. Mark can clearly hear a man’s voice.  Mark, hurt and feeling betrayed, then allows himself to fall asleep. But when he wakes up, there’s only one thought on his mind: this man must be the lover of his wife. At this point, he still didn’t know for long he’d been in a coma, but her actions were unacceptable nevertheless. Looking back, Mark wished his wife had just cheated on him…  Mark decided to give up trying to reach his wife and the doctors. After all, he already gave up on his wife, and his body still didn’t function as it should. What was there to fight for? During the following days, the doctors came by many times, but never to take care of Mark. They just ignored him. Then, one day, the suspected lover of his wife came in, and not alone.  He came in, holding hands with a woman. Mark looked at the woman. It wasn’t his wife! Besides, he called her ‘’sweetheart’’ and ‘’dear’’. Mark had made a mistake and still had everything to hope for! The couple, with their backs turned to him, were talking to a doctor. They seemed to be negotiating, and it was the doctor who disturbed Mark…  ‘’Time is running out. You know we could ask for even more in return, you know that, right?’’ says the doctor firmly. Mark can’t help but feel frightened. Where was his wife? Who were these people? Why were they negotiating, in his room? Too many coincidences, according to Mark, and he wasn’t wrong….  Mark’s days since waking up had been intense, and unfortunately, this caused a setback in his recovery. He slept for six days straight. He woke up in a completely different room. The room was lit poorly and seemed to be in an abandoned part of the hospital. Mark felt uneasy here, knowing that something was going on. But there was an upside to his setback.  The six days of sleep did wonders. He felt better than the days after waking up and noticed that he could move his lips and tongue again. He was hoping to talk again soon, but realized he needed the help of the doctors to obtain that ability again. Would he dare to alert them?  Later that day, one of the doctors came in, and Mark was ready to risk it, despite knowing that the doctors were not to be trusted. He tried making noise with his lips and tried to wink at much as he could. But the doctor is occupied with different things. To be more specific: he was occupied with Mark’s wife…  Mark must have missed it, because his wife is there! They seemed to be fighting: she picked up a note from the desk and threw it at the doctor! He laughs it off before screaming at her: ‘’You need us! Stop being stubborn and do as you told!’’ His wife responded obediently and became calm shortly afterward. She then hugs the doctor. What in God’s name was going on?  Over the next few days, the doctors and Mark’s wife became careless and didn’t watch their step anymore, taking away the little doubts that Mark still had. No longer were their backs turned to Mark, and no longer had Mark to doubt about the secrets they were keeping from him. Today was Monday, and before noon on Friday, Mark would confront them.  ‘’Don’t you think it’s too risky?’’ his wife asked one of the doctors on Tuesday, while grabbing him by the forearm. They seemed terribly attached to each other, considering she was the wife of a patient and he was a doctor. But things would get even more ridiculous.  ‘’Let’s turn him on his back. We have to test it one more time, just to be sure!’’ one of the doctors said, while Mark’s wife and the couple from before were standing in the back. Luckily for Mark, the oldest doctor disagreed. Although his reasoning wasn’t hopeful at all for Mark.  ‘’God, no! That will be a waste of time. We have all we want, and it’s time to make his Missus the happiest girl on the planet!’’ said the doctor. He then looks at Mark’s wife: ‘’Don’t we, love?’’ She winks at him. Mark is heartbroken and can’t stop tears from rolling down. This wasn’t going unnoticed.  One of the doctors sees Mark crying and alerts the others! When Mark sees how everyone is looking at him, he speaks the first words in 6 years: ‘’I heard everything! To hell with you all. You won’t touch me with one finger again!’’ Everyone in the room is completely stunned and looking for the right words. After a while, they speak up…  They act as if Mark doesn’t know what he’s saying! They try to make it seem as if he’s confused, as a result of his coma! One of the doctors loudly tells everyone in the room, that Mark isn’t neurologically back to functioning. It’s clearly an act, and Mark feels powerless.  But Mark isn’t planning on letting them get away with it. He starts demanding the doctors and his wife a lawyer. He ignores their false reassurances, especially after seeing their anxious expressions just now, after telling them he wants to see a lawyer. They knew they were in the wrong.  Mark’s wife takes a step back; she’s shocked! Her man was back, fully awake after all these years! And she couldn’t even enjoy it, as his awakening jeopardized her own well-being! She planned so many things, and to see him back and even defend himself was something truly threatening to her.  Because Mark’s wife, Lisa, knows a lot has to happen to avoid trouble. Not Mark, nor a lawyer could find out about her true intentions. She knew she had to do whatever it took, and started right away. She takes the eldest doctor apart, her partner in crime, to discuss their next move. Well, they had a lot to discuss. As soon as they enter a private room, Lisa looks the doctor in the eyes and starts talking. ‘’What now? You guys assured me he couldn’t hear a thing! What if he’s on to us? Are you still a genius, then?’’ This was clearly a cornered wife, knowing she was wrong!  But the doctor keeps his calm. He starts reassuring Lisa once more. He says: ‘’As long as we move him to another room by the end of the day, we’ll be fine! He can’t prove anything as long as we manage to be on time!’’ Lisa feels a bit better but still demands the doctor to work clean and fast. Little did they know, they needed a lot more than that…  The doctor agrees and proposes to go back inside right away. The pair walk back to Mark’s room, still with bad intentions in their minds. They wanted to start covering their tracks right after coming in, but were unpleasantly surprised by what they saw….  Because when they come in, they see how Mark’s talking to one of the nurses. A nurse, who wasn’t part of the complot of Lisa and the doctors! Lisa realizes she underestimated Mark, as he’s asking the nurse for a phone. She seems to be willing to meet his demands.  Lisa feels worried but manages to act right away, by using her charm. She wants to change the nurse’s mind. She approaches her, lays her hand on her shoulder, and then tells her with an innocent voice: ‘’I’ll make sure Mark can make a call. He can use my phone. After all, I’m his wife, aren’t I?’’  The nurse is satisfied with this proposal and nods her head. She turns around to Mark, and tells him he can call with his wife’s phone. She leaves right after. Mark and Lisa look at each other. Lisa retreats, as seeing her husband like this after all these years is quite confronting to her. But she’d soon return…  Shortly after, Lisa and the doctors start covering their tracks in Mark’s room. They all seem to have their own task and responsibilities, as there is a lot to cover. Lisa takes responsibility for the paperwork, which has to be shredded to pieces. The clock is ticking, as Mark is working on a plan.  Lisa and the doctors are making serious progress and are getting ready to move Mark to another hospital room. One of the doctors stands by Mark’s bed, to unlock it and prepare it to move. But their plans were to be interrupted, as the door opened and an unexpected guest came in.  It’s Mark’s lawyer! Lisa doesn’t know what she’s seeing and has to control herself not to panic! She looks at Mark. There is a minimal smile on his face. She hadn’t seen him like that for years, especially now that they were going head against head. What would his lawyer be able to reveal about Lisa?  The lawyer gets started right away! He says: ‘’Why don’t we let Mr. Mark right where he is?’’ The doctors turn pale. Then, the lawyer asks everyone to leave the room, as he wants some privacy with his client. Lisa and the doctors look each other fearfully in the eyes. Their eyes seem to say: “What to do?’’  They soon realize that they don’t have a choice. If they don’t cooperate and demand to stay with Mark, they will look even more suspicious. The lawyer repeats his question. He’d get a reaction this time. Lisa and the doctors leave the room, and their cooperation would have many consequences…  Just five minutes had passed since they left Mark’s room, and Lisa started to feel restless already. She asked the doctors whether there was a side entrance or a spot to listen to Mark and the lawyer without being spotted, but they told her there was no way. Lisa had to take a risk if she wanted to go eavesdropping…  Lisa walks to Mark’s room, as silent as she can. She loses another minute, because there are some doctors close to Mark’s room, walking slowly and exchanging ideas about a patient. Finally, she can move on. She pretends to tie her shoes in front of Mark’s door and puts her ear against the door. She doesn’t believe what she’s hearing.  She hears how Mark and his lawyer are laughing! They are having the time of their lives. Were they this confident about their case?! What did Mark hear in these last few months of his coma? Or did Lisa and the doctors leave some evidence in Mark’s room, allowing the lawyer to make an easy case in court? This time, Lisa panics for real! She tries to make up her mind about her next move. As far as she’s concerned, she had to break her pact with the doctors to save herself. This would lead to two options, the first being: turning in the doctors to the police, so she could make a deal with them. The second option was even riskier.  Her second option was to play the innocent wife with Mark and his lawyer. She’d tell them that she was forced by the doctors, who blackmailed her. They threatened her with consequences that would endanger Mark’s and her own life, so she HAD to cooperate with them. But very soon after contemplating, Lisa didn’t have to make a decision anymore…  Her choice would be much easier now, as there were two police officers walking in her direction! She greets them, even shakes their hand asks them to talk to her in private, as she has something to share. They look at her. She was surprised by their reaction.  ‘’We’re here for you, madam,’’ says one of the officers. But the officers are very calm, they don’t seem too eager to arrest her. Lisa sees her chance. She pretends to be naive and innocent, by saying: ‘’But what could I know? I’m just happy Mark is awake again!’’ Looking back, she shouldn’t have done that…  Because they arrest her right away! The police officers were planning on giving her a fair chance, which is why they were so polite. But since she tried to take advantage of their friendly approach, they showed no mercy! She gets taken away, and sees the doctors being taken away too…  As it turned out, the doctors and his wife were close to giving up on Mark while he was in his coma and were planning to sell his body to science. As he was a healthy man when he got into a coma, his body would cost a lot. The lawyer had found proof in the hospital room of Mark. He files for divorce with his wife and gets to live in his house again. Mark was a happy man from then on.