One week went by, and Juliette was still in a coma. AJ dropped by everyday to see if she was doing better, if her appearance was getting more presentable, but nothing changed. Her breathing still heavy and her face still pale and dead-looking.
For two days, AJ had been bringing Juliette's favorite book with him, The Secret Garden. He read to her each day, three chapters a day. He had come to that conclusion, but it never worked. He would always stop for a while and start crying, and then he never continued. He just sat down next to her with her hand in his, and he rubbed it gently.
"Chapter four, Martha," he began reading. "When she opened her eyes in the morning it was because a young housemaid had come into her room to light fire and was kneeling on the hearth rug raking out the cinders noisily. Mary lay and watched her for a few moment and then began to look about the room. She had never seen a room at all like it and thought it curious and gloomy. The walls were covered with tapestry with a forest scene embroidered on it. There were fantastically dressed people under the trees and in the distance there was a glimpse of the turrets of a castle. there were hunters and horses and dogs and ladies. Mary felt as if she were in the forest with them. Out of a deep window she could see a great climbing stretch of land which seemed to have no trees on it, and to look rather like an endless, dull purplish sea." AJ looked at her closely, trying to see if she would stir in her bed, give a sign of life. But, she didn't. She just lay still, looking like she wasn't even paying attention. She wasn't, but AJ kept on reading.
"'What is that?' she said, pointing out of the window. Martha, the young housemaid, who had just risen to her feet, looked and pointed also. 'That there?' she said. 'Yes.' 'That's th' moor,' with a good-natured grin. 'Does tha' like it?' 'No,' answered Mary. 'I hate it.'" By this point AJ had paused. He was pacing around the room, the book in his hands. His hands were shaking, though, and he was trying to keep from crying. Just the thought of his best friend in a coma�would he be able to go on? It was a question he often asked himself. Yes, he would. Because he knew that she would be all right once she was out of the coma. And with that, he continued to read to her.
"'That's because tha'rt not used to it,' Martha said, going back to her heart. 'That' think it's too big an' bare now. But tha' will like it.' 'Do you?' inquired Mary. 'Aye, that I do,' answered Martha, cheerfully polishing away at the grate. 'I just love it. It's none bare. It's covered wi' growin' things as smells sweet. It's fair lovely in spring an' summer when th' gorse an' broom an' heather's in flower. It smells o' honey an' there's such a lot o' fresh air-an' th' sky looks so high an' th' bees an' skylarks makes such a nice noise hummin' an' singin'. Eh! I wouldn't live away from th' moor for anythin'.'" AJ opened his mouth to read some more, but he wasn't interrupted by the door opening. It was Juliette's parents.
"Oh, Alexander, how is Juliette?" her mother cried, giving AJ a hug.
"She's in a coma�I've been reading this to her." He held up the book.
"That's the book you gave her in fourth grade�it's her favorite book. She's read it about fifty times in the past years," she said. AJ nodded, looking over at Juliette. Her father had already gone over there and took her hand.
"My baby, my only baby," he whispered, giving her a kiss on the forehead.
"She been in a coma for about a week, now," AJ informed them. "I've been coming here everyday since then. I don't know how it happened. She was coming to my house when it happened."
Juliette's mother had been crying, her hand covering her mouth. AJ couldn't imagine anyone being any more upset than he was. He loved that girl with all his heart and soul�how would he let her go?