165 Hospital Room

I slid open the door to Luna's room in the hospital in a solemn silence, taking in the view of the room where she was confined in with a grave countenance. What appeared to be a comfortable hospital room with a television and flowers set on the bedside table was populated by a single girl that was seated upright on the hospital bed with its white bed sheets. She was facing away from the door with her long, white hair draping down her back as she was looking over at the window, taking in the view of the beautiful skyline of the Lumina district at night. The bright lights shined from the buildings and were reflected off of the surfaces of the dark waters of the Helliger river.

Slowly, she turned her head over to the doorway, displaying to me that same cheerful and dazzling smile as before when she saw me. Her face lacked the usual vitality as the days prior to the winter break and was somewhat paler in comparison as well. All in all, it was quite obvious that there has been a decline in her health, yet she still did her best to appear as if she was fine.

"Finally decided to show up?" she chuckled as I slid the door close behind me and sat down on the chair by the hospital bed that she was seated at.

I remained mute as I sat there, unsure as to what I was going to say. There was just a heavy feeling on my chest that I just can't get rid of myself that it made me quite gloomy and melancholy. It was quite difficult for me to even recover to my usual self as I knew the extent of the severity of her condition.

"I got you this..." I finally muttered after a period of silence and handed her the plastic bag containing the boxed cheesecake I purchased from the cafe that she had claimed to be her favorite place in Palisia.

"Wow!" Her face lit up when she saw the logo on the box within the plastic bag, allowing her to momentarily return to her usual self and gain back that sense of vitality and vigor. "You got this for me? Can you roll that over for me?"

I looked over in the direction she pointed her right hand and at the overbed table with wheels that was stored in the corner of the room. Without saying anything, I got up from my chair, walked over to the corner of the room, and rolled the overbed table over to her hospital bed and extended the wooden surface of the table over the bed so that she has a platform to set the box on.

With a joyful and excited expression on her face, Luna took out the styrofoam plates as well as the plastic forks and set them down beside the box. Then, she opened the box and placed a slice of cheesecake on both plates. She happily grabbed a fork and dug into the slice of cheesecake, breaking off a small piece before placing it into her mouth. Immediately, as the sweetness of the cheesecake made contact with the taste buds on her tongue, a countenance of happiness appeared on her face, making it appear as if she was about to melt from joy.

"Thank you, Alevian," she smiled.

Without saying anything, I simply sat there on the cushioned chair beside her bed and observed her. I didn't know what to say at the moment and was incapable of coming up with anything. Instead, the only thing my brain commanded me was to simply watch her and burn her image into my memories, carve everything about her into my identity.

"Why aren't you eating?"

She looked over with a piece of cake in her mouth while still holding the fork in her mouth with her hand. On her face was a genuinely confused expression, and upon seeing this, I looked down at the overbed table and at the second plate containing the second piece of cheesecake.

"It's...for you," I muttered in a melancholic voice.

"Then I give it to you," she smiled and pushed the plate over in my direction. "Come on. Eating alone isn't fun at all."

With a bit of reluctance, I picked up the styrofoam plate with my left hand and the plastic fork with my right. Then, I looked up at her face and discovered that she had paused her eating and was staring at me while maintaining a smile on her face. With a suppressed sigh, I dug the fork down the soft cake and placed it into my mouth slowly. It was only then that her countenance became even more relaxed and continued to enjoy and savor the cheesecake.

"Ah," Luna smiled happily as she finished the cake. "I haven't had anything sweet for a few days now. Thank you, Alevian."

"How long have you been hospitalized?" I asked as I also finished my cake and placed the styrofoam plate down on the overbed table.

"For three days already," she responded. "It was so boring the first two days since I didn't have my phone with me. It was only this morning that my mom brought me it."

"..."

Without saying anything, I merely observed her with a half-frown. I wasn't sure as to how she was able to remain so positive in situations like this. A normal person would've been way more reserved and way less optimistic. But... I guess that's just a secret that I will never know the answer to as it was just something about Luna's personality that made it possible for her to feel energetic even while facing a certain future of death mixed with the uncertainty of how much longer she'll live.

"Hm?" She looked over at me and noticed my silence and gloomy countenance. "Don't worry," she laughed. "This is simply a checkup on my conditions. You know, the doctors have to check to see if all the numbers have stayed unchanged and stuff."

But does that need you to stay hospitalized for over three days?

I wanted to inquire her about that. However, I was unable to muster up the courage to ask the question as I was afraid of the answer. I realized that I was afraid of learning about the truth about her condition. I didn't want to know whether or not she's dying soon or what. I want to forget about it all. But... her fate has been carved into my bones and it's just not something that one could easily forget.

"Did something happen between you and Irina?" Luna then asked as the facial expression on her face transformed into a more serious one. "She seems a bit... I don't know, different."

"It's that live stream," I answered.

"The one you were on?" Luna smiled as she recalled that episode.

"Something um... happened at the end when the cameras weren't on us."

"..."

She simply stared at me with her large, amber eyes as I remained silent. Her intense gaze made me quite nervous and look away to the side to avoid a confrontation, but... it would appear that she wasn't after that as I heard her release a sigh.

"You don't have to say anything about it and I'm not going to ask you to. It's just..." She paused and when I looked over, I saw that she was looking down at the bed while having what appeared to be a sad expression on her face. "Irina's a good person. You should try and fix things with her."

"I know," I nodded. "I've been thinking of apologizing to her but just didn't have the right opportunity to do so yet."

"That's good to hear," she smiled and nodded as she stared blankly at the white bed sheet that her legs were underneath as she sat there on the hospital bed.

A period of awkward silence then followed. There was an absolute silence aside from the gentle humming of the air conditioner as it pumped in warm air into the room to counter the cold winter temperatures outside the hospital. I kept my eyes trained on her and struggled with that mysterious and alien feeling I had felt yesterday.

"So," I started speaking.

"Hm?" Luna turned her head and looked attentively at me.

"So...um..." I let out a sigh as I struggled to piece together my sentence. "The thing about you dating Loyd..."

"It's real," she quickly answered before I was able to finish my question. However, by the smile on her face, it would appear that there's no point for me to finish my question.

"Right..." I softly whispered. "I—"

A soft and gentle sound sourcing from the hospital's broadcasting system interfered with what I was about to say, cutting me off as it gathered the attention of everyone in the hospital for the announcement that was going to be made.

"Dear visitors and patients," a nurse's voice said from the concealed speakers in the ceiling. "The visiting hours have come to an end. Visitors, please make your way to the ground floor of the hospital and return home for the day. Thank you for your cooperation."

"I guess that's all the time we'll have for the day," Luna smiled in a somewhat sad manner as she looked over at me.

"Right..." I nodded and slowly got up from my seat after having decided that what I had wanted to say could wait for another time. "I'll um... head home then."

I then reached over to the overbed table to place the used plates and forks into the box and the box back into the plastic bag to be disposed of on my way out. I grabbed the plastic bag by the loops that were the handle and slowly started making my way over to the door.

" Life here is so boring," Luna stretched her arms and back and said from behind me, causing me to stop in my steps and turn slightly to look at her just in case she had wanted to say anything else to me. "And when did you become such a bore?"

She looked at me with a half blaming and half mocking smile on her face. However, I know from just looking that it was simply a playful and teasing gesture from her end. I could just feel it in my heart when I saw that look in her eyes.

"But even then." She leaned back on the raised backrest of her bed with her hands crossed and placed beneath her head like a pillow while smiling in a smug manner with her eyes closed. "Talking to you is still better than sitting in this room alone. So stop by again, would you?"

She opened one eye and looked over at me in a playful manner. Upon seeing this gesture from her, a soft chuckle escaped me as a smile finally broke through my grim frown and lightened my mood.

"Of course," I nodded as I stepped out of her room and closed the door behind me, leaving her once again alone in her lonely hospital room.