Unexpected past

It was spring, and the flowers were blooming. Kaia was only four years old, then. She had been a sickly child, so she always stayed at the hospital. Kaia was about three feet tall with slightly more curls than she had when she was older, which went down to her shoulder blades. She was wearing her pajamas, which had a bunch of cats on them.

At this age, she was already used to being alone. Her sister had school, while her parents had to work. She sat on the nursery floor putting together a puzzle. She placed her tiny hands on the sides of the pieces, slowly putting it together one by one. That day it was a bit empty. The others kids had to stay in their rooms, so it was only a few of the nurses' kids running around. But there was one exception.

There was a boy just a few years older with pale, shaggy blonde hair. He stood at about four feet two and had icy blue eyes, which could be seen behind his black-rimmed glasses. He wore black pants and a button-up shirt. The boy noticed Kaia having a bit of trouble with her puzzle and walked over, kneeling down on his knees in front of her. "Let me do it," he commanded, reaching for a piece of the puzzle. Kaia frowned and smacked his hand. "No! I can do it myself! I'm a big kid now!" She picked up another piece of the puzzle, moving it around to try to find the match.

The boy frowned while looking at her. "Let me help, it'll get done quicker." Kaia sighed and looked up at him. "Who are you anyway? Are you even supposed to be in here?" she asked, crossing her arms. The boy gave her a huge grin. "My name is Zander. My father is a patient here, so I came to visit him."

Kaia sighed shaking her head."Don't you have school?" Zander looked at her with a scowl. "Why are you asking so many questions? Besides, what makes you so special?" he retorted huffily, crossing his arms. Kaia blinked. "What makes me so special? I'm here because I need to stay here. They say I'm sick. Very sick. Something about bone narrow. I don't know what it is, but I heard them say it wasn't good," she said proudly even though she knew she was sick and it was bad. Zander blinked. "What's a bone narrow?" he asked, tilting his head. Kaia shrugged in response.

Kaia returned to her puzzle. Then Zander grabbed her hand. "Puzzles are boring. Let's play!" He gave her a mischievous grin. Kaia looked at the boy as if he was insane, but in the end, she smiled and nodded. "Ok. Let's play."

And so they played all day. They finished the puzzle, drew, played hide and seek, and even tag. They were running around just the two of them before more kids joined in on the fun. Kaia was "it" and she ran around trying to catch all the kids. "Zander you're too fast!" she giggled while chasing after him. Her breath started getting ragged, and she stopped, her vision began to blur. She grabbed her head. "Z…" Before she could finish what she was saying, she blacked out. She landed on the floor, her head falling near a chair, snagging the skin behind her ear, which left a gash behind her ear. Zander stopped when he heard a thud and turned around. His eyes widened when he saw Kaia collapsed on the ground. "H--hey! Are you...are you ok?" he exclaimed, running over as panic overcame him. He shook her lightly, growing even more frantic. The other kids ran off to get a nurse and the supervisor.

The nurse ran over to Kaia, telling Zander to move away as a few other nurses brought in a stretcher. Zander was sobbing as he watched his new friend getting carried away.

"Alexander Sabor! There you are!" A harsh-sounding woman's voice called out. Zander turned his head to look at his mother. She glared at him in disgust. "Men Don't Cry! Go wash your face," she ordered, grabbing his hand and practically dragging him away.

Kaia ended up getting her second transfusion, which made her stats level out. She was able to go home two days later to rest properly.

Coincidentally, a few days later Zander returned to inquire about Kaia's condition. When he asked the nurse, she told him that she was gone. He thought she meant that Kaia had died. He didn't even know her name. When he was old enough to be a donor, he signed himself up to be a bone marrow donor and saved two lives already.

—Back to the present—

It was about three in the morning when Alex woke up from his sleep. He sat up, running his hand through his hair while staring at the wall. Why did I dream about that little girl again? He asked himself. He knew he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep after waking up from a nightmarish version of the memory of his past, where Kaia was running away under his gaze. He saw her drop onto the floor suddenly and was unable to run towards her and save her. He saw her carried away in a coffin instead of a stretcher and he watched it all happen, unable to do anything.