A Valentine's Day Special Update dedicated to Whitney Houston
Music:
And I...........................................................................................
Now I'm going to die, sprawled out just meters from an airport, with a crowd of babbling people surrounding me and with Lilly leaving for Scotland just a little distance ahead.
Li-lly...
That last words extinguishes the last of my energy. The world falls into a deep, inescapable blackness as every muscle in my body shuts down.
I'm sorry, Lilly. I was too late.
What's... going on...?
As I slowly open my eyes, white light assaults my retinas. For minutes I just lay where I am, mindlessly staring ahead while my scattered thoughts coalesce in my waking mind.
It's only then the light fixture comes into view that my mind clicks that this is the ceiling above me.
A flying skull appears next to you, cheerfully greeting my awakening with a 'What's up, Chief.'
ED: God, I wish it happened.
The smell and taste of strong bleach hang in the air, lending the impression of a place just slightly too clean to be natural. Inoffensive pale peach-colored walls, all perfectly painted with a crack, stain or imperfection. A single framed painting hangs on the wall, perfectly straightened. Like the walls, it's as boring and inoffensive as can be. My attention's grabbed by the translucent curtain waving across my vision, my eyes following it to the open window it covers. When I move my right arm to try to lift myself up and look through it, I feel the catherer dig in uncomfortably. It's only now too, that I notice the cannula tubes winding around my cheeks and into my nose.
After some fidgeting, I settle for just looking around the corner of the window.
Judging by the sun outside, it's noon. Of which day, though, I'm not sure. So... I'm in a hospital once again. I let out a long, tired breath as I try to collect my scattered thoughts, my mind seemingly cast in a dozen directions all at once with as many emotions running through me. After slowly lying back down, I decide to start at the beginning; why I'm here. I cast my mind back, but I can't work out a smooth recollection of what happened. The events of last night... or whichever night it was... come back more as a series of snapshots than any cohesive memory.
I fell...then....
...
The silence of the private room suddenly feels overwhelming.
The weight of my eyelids closes my eyes, my physical and mental exhaustion letting me offer no resistance.
A sterile, clean white for a sterile, clean room. My eyes open, and I simply stare at the ceiling for some time. It's abou as interesting as the television would be, mounted on its metal rack hanging off the ceiling ahead of the bed. Indeed, the television saw its entire use during the time my parents were here. Left on quietly as they waited for me to wake, it was about as banal (and shit) as it had been the first time I'd ended up in the hospital. Earlier today an attending nurse had offered to turn off the EKG's speakers. I refused simply because the sound is so entirely normal to me now.
It's almost comforting, in a way. The metronome-like regularity gives at least some feeling that time is moving, even in a place such as this. After some time of listening to its beeping while I fully awaken, though, I realize there's another sound in the room. Concentrating all my efforts on listening, a task made rather easy by the lack of distractions, a tiny tinny melody can be heard. Light and quiet, the music sounds almost fragile as it's dwarfed by the EKG's pulse. Tilting my head just slightly to the side in an effort to see the source of the melody without dislodging any of the sensors and pipes stuck onto me, I notice a little wooden box sitting on the nightstand next to the bed.
ED: !
This music box... it's the one I gave...
ED: Let the rage commence.
The creaking of the door breaks me out of my reverie, my head and heart remaining still as my eyes turn to see who comes through. Long tan skirt... peach off-the-shoulder sweater... pale, almost porcelain skin... blue clouded eyes and long, yellow hair...All I can do is stare as Lilly slowly walks into the room, her fingers lightly running over the wall for orientation, and my mind comes to a shuddering halt.
L... Lilly...?
ED:
She stops mid-stride, her entire body tensing.
Hisao? Was that you?
Her voice is quiet and pensive, echoing her expression.
I thought you were...
Lilly takes one tentative step forward, then another, as if she were holding herself back. Her control over her composure is for naught though, and she finally rushes over to where I lay as the last of her resistance falls.