Waking up every single morning was such a disappointment.
So she wasn’t dead yet.
“You should be glad that you’ve been given another day to live.” The morning nurse would always waltz into her room near breakfast time. “Yet you look so unhappy, why?”
“Why should I be happy? It just means another day of having to deal with...this.”
Laeli gestured to the tubes hanging off of the needles in her arms. They were connected to the multiple machines in the room, beeping and flashing their lights, as if they were putting on some sort of twisted light show for her.
After the morning nurse came and left, Laeli would be left to ponder on her own. She had all the time in the world, figuratively speaking. Laeli really only had the time left that ‘God’ was willing to give her. A time bomb, no... her life was a time bomb without the countdown screen. She had no idea how much longer she would live.
Not that she had much left to live for anyways.
The only thing keeping her alive now were the machines. Her lungs were pretty much gone. Her liver had imploded, and her heart was a few beats away from becoming dysfunctional. Even now, she could sometimes feel the beats struggling to maintain a steady rhythm. All that was left of her was her brain. Her cherished brain with the 190 IQ score. If a brain could somehow live on its own, Laeli had no doubt that her parents would immediately take hers and install it in a robot so that it could still show off its intelligence. That’s all her parents had ever been proud of, anyways, her brain. Why would they care if the rest of her body died, as long as the brain was alive?
It had been day 12 of her stay in the hospital. The doctors had said that she probably had three weeks to live. Which meant, tentatively, that there were 19 days left.
The day had been a Wednesday, when the clown usually arrived at the hospital to cheer up all the despondent kids bound to their beds. However, this Wednesday, the clown didn’t arrive.
Matt did. He arrived in a flurry of commotion and excitement. Laeli had been listening to the nurses gossip as they prepared for the new arrival. Matt was a star athlete, but had contracted some sort of fatal virus. Since there were no other accommodations ready for him, he and Laeli would be sharing the same hospital room. Hearing that plan, Laeli couldn’t help but giggle. If her parents knew that she was rooming with a boy...
The smile disappeared.
If her parents knew... what would they care? They were busy attending expositions in Venice, and speaking at conferences in Paris. She was the middle child in a family of five, all equally intelligent and talented. Her absence would most likely only be felt by the maids that took care of her day to night, for her parents never had the time to attend to such trivialities themselves. After the accident... her parents hadn’t even visited her once...
Yet, Matt walked into the hospital flanked by his mother, his father, and a little sister. They all chattered like excited magpies, only in sad, worried tones.
“...be alright...”
“Be sure to...”
“...I’ll miss you!”
Various words flew throughout the room as Matt settled in. His parents fretted over him, and had even bought a basket of fruits so Matt wouldn’t be ‘malnourished.’ All the while, Laeli sat in her adjoining bed, silent. She had recently managed to convince the nurse to let her sit up and read. At that moment, she was currently enjoying a tense confrontation with Mercutio and Tybalt. The noise gradually subsided, and eventually the two patients were alone. Laeli glanced up quickly to check what her ‘room mate’ looked like.
He was a tall, blond boy with a complexion too happy for someone admitted to the hospital. It was incredible, how optimistic, and utterly oblivious he was to the over-reaching mood that permeated the place. Matt apparently caught her quick glance, and mistook it to be interest.
“Hiya! My name is--”
“Matt. I know.” Laeli replied, not looking up from the book that was placed in her lap. She had begun to read Shakespeare, she found his works strangely calming. But, Matt, the new boy, was the exact opposite.
“Oh, wow, I guess that means I’m famous around here then!” He grinned, “Since you already know my name, you should tell me yours!”
“I’m Laeli.”
“Nice to meet you, Laeli. I hope we can become good friends. We’ll be rooming together for who knows how long!”
She didn’t respond. There was no point in making new friends anyways, since she was going to be dead in a matter of days. Silence fell.
So ended Day 19.
So she wasn’t dead yet.
“You should be glad that you’ve been given another day to live.” The morning nurse would always waltz into her room near breakfast time. “Yet you look so unhappy, why?”
“Why should I be happy? It just means another day of having to deal with...this.”
Laeli gestured to the tubes hanging off of the needles in her arms. They were connected to the multiple machines in the room, beeping and flashing their lights, as if they were putting on some sort of twisted light show for her.
After the morning nurse came and left, Laeli would be left to ponder on her own. She had all the time in the world, figuratively speaking. Laeli really only had the time left that ‘God’ was willing to give her. A time bomb, no... her life was a time bomb without the countdown screen. She had no idea how much longer she would live.
Not that she had much left to live for anyways.
The only thing keeping her alive now were the machines. Her lungs were pretty much gone. Her liver had imploded, and her heart was a few beats away from becoming dysfunctional. Even now, she could sometimes feel the beats struggling to maintain a steady rhythm. All that was left of her was her brain. Her cherished brain with the 190 IQ score. If a brain could somehow live on its own, Laeli had no doubt that her parents would immediately take hers and install it in a robot so that it could still show off its intelligence. That’s all her parents had ever been proud of, anyways, her brain. Why would they care if the rest of her body died, as long as the brain was alive?
It had been day 12 of her stay in the hospital. The doctors had said that she probably had three weeks to live. Which meant, tentatively, that there were 19 days left.
The day had been a Wednesday, when the clown usually arrived at the hospital to cheer up all the despondent kids bound to their beds. However, this Wednesday, the clown didn’t arrive.
Matt did. He arrived in a flurry of commotion and excitement. Laeli had been listening to the nurses gossip as they prepared for the new arrival. Matt was a star athlete, but had contracted some sort of fatal virus. Since there were no other accommodations ready for him, he and Laeli would be sharing the same hospital room. Hearing that plan, Laeli couldn’t help but giggle. If her parents knew that she was rooming with a boy...
The smile disappeared.
If her parents knew... what would they care? They were busy attending expositions in Venice, and speaking at conferences in Paris. She was the middle child in a family of five, all equally intelligent and talented. Her absence would most likely only be felt by the maids that took care of her day to night, for her parents never had the time to attend to such trivialities themselves. After the accident... her parents hadn’t even visited her once...
Yet, Matt walked into the hospital flanked by his mother, his father, and a little sister. They all chattered like excited magpies, only in sad, worried tones.
“...be alright...”
“Be sure to...”
“...I’ll miss you!”
Various words flew throughout the room as Matt settled in. His parents fretted over him, and had even bought a basket of fruits so Matt wouldn’t be ‘malnourished.’ All the while, Laeli sat in her adjoining bed, silent. She had recently managed to convince the nurse to let her sit up and read. At that moment, she was currently enjoying a tense confrontation with Mercutio and Tybalt. The noise gradually subsided, and eventually the two patients were alone. Laeli glanced up quickly to check what her ‘room mate’ looked like.
He was a tall, blond boy with a complexion too happy for someone admitted to the hospital. It was incredible, how optimistic, and utterly oblivious he was to the over-reaching mood that permeated the place. Matt apparently caught her quick glance, and mistook it to be interest.
“Hiya! My name is--”
“Matt. I know.” Laeli replied, not looking up from the book that was placed in her lap. She had begun to read Shakespeare, she found his works strangely calming. But, Matt, the new boy, was the exact opposite.
“Oh, wow, I guess that means I’m famous around here then!” He grinned, “Since you already know my name, you should tell me yours!”
“I’m Laeli.”
“Nice to meet you, Laeli. I hope we can become good friends. We’ll be rooming together for who knows how long!”
She didn’t respond. There was no point in making new friends anyways, since she was going to be dead in a matter of days. Silence fell.
So ended Day 19.
