"No," I said, even as I could feel my legs give way. I simply slumped on the chair and hid my face in my hands.

"Phoebe," my mother put an arm around me, drawing me closer. I let go of my emotions, and all the pretence of strength as I broke down completely. I cried inconsolably and my mother made no attempts to stop me.

When I stopped to catch my breath, she looked into my eyes and said, "I know how you feel at this moment. Believe me, I had been through this situation some twenty years back. I was of your age then and my dad, your grandpa was the one in there."

"I never knew that," I was surprised. "What did you do? How did you keep calm?"

She looked away before answering, "I prayed."

"And that worked?" I raised my eyebrows.

"He came out alive but I can't tell if it's because of the doctors' effort, his own strength or my faith and prayers," she admitted.

"So you say if I pray then..."

"No," she asserted. "I won't tell you a lie. You may pray but it may or may not help."

"Okay," I closed my eyes, drawing up a picture of Jesus in my mind. I clearly remembered seeing the white marble statue at the church that had always seemed to glow with an ethereal light.
And I found myself praying, a thing I hadn't done in years.

"God," I said honestly, "If you exist somewhere, you know how I had always called you in my distress. If you're watching me, you must know that I stopped believing in you and you know it was for a reason. And now that I'm praying again, you know the reason. Everyone says you're omnipresent. Then if you really are there somewhere, bring back Daniel safe and sound. You know how I can't live without him."

"That wasn't a prayer, rather a demand," my mother gave a sad smile.

"I spoke my heart out," I mumbled, feeling feverish again. "If He is really what people claim Him to be, He'll be glad that there is someone who can speak the truth fearlessly.

"I can never argue against a Phoebe reasoning," she shrugged, placing her hand on my forehead. "You should really go home. I'll call a cab."

"Wait," I grabbed her hand suddenly remembering. "I forgot to call Daniel's mom in all the confusion."

"Oh no!" she snatched Daniel's phone from my hand and moved away to speak to his mother. I never got to hear what she said but she returned, her face a lot calmer.

"She's coming in ten minutes and I'll get to take you home," she glared at me in a no-nonsense way when I started to shake my head again. "You're coming with me and that's final. Daniel will have his family here."

A!/N Circumstances can sometimes make unbelievers pray in the hope of recovery too.