Chapter 8 - Hospital Visit

"Good afternoon mama,"

The door opened slightly, revealing an old, bed ridden lady.

"Good afternoon love." A much more cheery and motherly voice replied.

Emily walked to the bedside table and placed her bag filled with clothes and some stuff her mother wanted. Looking around, one could see that the room had almost been fully customised with paintings and decor. Knitting equipment could also be seen laying on the bed.

"What took you so long?" Ms Chloe asked.

"I was at the gym." Emily replied

""It seems that even my daughter has started to forget about me." The mother said, a crocodile tear going down her cheeks

"Tch, you're being dramatic"

"And even calling me 'dramatic', how mean."

Emily left out a small chuckle at her mothers antics. "So, how have you been?"

"I've been well, though it is extremely boring being in bed the whole day."

"I would guess as much. How's your health?"

"From the little info I could get from the doctor, I think it's alright."

"Lemme ask the nurse."

Emily got up from the chair and exited the room. Luckily a nurse had been standing outdoors so Emily took the initiative.

"Good afternoon. Are there any nurses currently occupying this room."

The nurse looked at the young woman and replied. "Those nurses are currently doing something else. I'll try and ask the doctor to come and see you"

"Thank you very much"

Emily promptly returned back to the room.

"So, how's your week been?" Her mother started.

"It's been well. I went out with Anna yesterday."

"Oh right, Anna. You should invite her one of these days. I would love to see her again."

"Shouldn't you be the one that invites her. It's your room after all."

Ms Chloe simply looked at Emily with puppy eyes until she caved in.

"Fine, fine. I'll tell her to come with me next week."

"This is why you're my favourite kid"

"I'm an only child"

"Let's not bother with the small details."

Before Emily could refute, a knock on the door could be heard.

"Come in" Ms Chloe screamed out

The door opened to reveal a short, black haired man. His hair was quite long and face looked stern. It was a face a face that Emily almost didn't recognised as

"Nathan?"

"Emily?"

Yes, it was in fact the same Nathan that Emily had met a couple of weeks ago.

"Do you know each other" Emily's mother spoke in her mothers tongue

Emily replied back "Not, really. We've just met before,"

"I see."

Meanwhile, Nathan was looking back and forth at the daughter and mother pair, not understanding a single word from their conversation.

"Ah, sorry." Emily apologised

"It's no problem, really." Nathan reassured.

"Anyways, how's this old lady's health?"

"Oi, just because I don't know english doesn't mean i couldn't understand that!"

Emily swiftly ignored her mother's pleas and continued, "so?"

"Umm, yeah. Miss Mikoto is as healthy as she could be with her condition. She is able to go out on a walk, albeit in a wheelchair and she is able to do all the basic movements"

"That's good. Is there any possibility for her to return home?"

"Unfortunately not. Sadly, her conditions spike up sporadically and it would be hard to arrive on time."

"Ah. Well, it's always worth a try." Emily replied with a soft sigh. "Thank you very much for your work."

Nathan's eyes widened with surprise before he started to stutter "U- u- umm. There is no need. I am only doing my job"

Emily gave a slight, thankful smile before turning to her mother who was looking at her inquisitively.

"What did he say?" she asked

"He said that you still won't be able to come back home" Emily said with a frown

Mikoto instead smiled at her daughter and said with a smile "Don't worry about it. Didn't expect to return home anyways" she then looked at the doctor and said "Thank you for your hard work"

Although Nathan didn't understand the language, he could still figure out the sentiments brought out. He had a slight blush on his face before leaving.

"Anyways, how have you been keeping up?" Mikoto continued, "It's already been 2 weeks, huh?"

Emily looked at her mother, this time with a much more sombre smile. "It has…"

"How have you been doing?" Mikoto asked as she looked at her daughter. She didn't ask this question before as she knew that Emily was still working things out on her own. The least she could do was give her time.

"I still can't believe that it's over. We had been together for 6 years and now its all gone."

"Emily…" Mikoto reached for the arm that was dangling by the side of her bed, and grasped it. "It wasn't all for nothing… Whether you like it or not, what happened will remain with you for the rest of your life. It's your choice to see how this will shape you."

"Hn~"

"You can take as long as you need to move on. You have all the time in the world after all. But just know, i'll always be there for you" She finished off with a smile

Emily wiped the tears that were threatening to fall before replying. "I didn't think I would get that from 'you', mama." emphasising the 'you'

"Oi. You have a knack at insulting your mother don't you."

Emily chuckled a bit before saying in a soft tone, "Thank you."

[Extra content:]

"Oh my god. How have you been, Mikoto?" Anna said as she opened the door.

"A- Anna. It's been so long." Emily's mother gasped with surprise looking at the person in front of her.

"I know right. We would've met sooner if your lovely daughter didn't keep your existence a secret"

Emily, who was following close behind, decided to intervene. "Both of you together is bad for my sanity, so I decided to at least delay the inevitable"

Mikoto replied. "What are you talking about? We would never do anything of the sort."

"Yeah, we would never." Anna added with sarcasm

Emily simply raised her eyebrow with doubt and shrugged her shoulders. "Suree… anyways, your accent has gotten better Anna."

"Really?"

"Now that you mention it, It has gotten better," Mikoto added.

"Thank you. I haven't been practising though, so that's weird… Anyways, how have you been for the last couple of years?"

…