Canteen Meal

Even though Kaiden ran faster than ever before, there was no sound when his prosthetic hit the ground.

Half-naked and laughing, he kept running, first left, then right, right again, and then straight ahead. He passed the X-ray department and the physiotherapist's office, where he was supposed to go.

But that was no longer important; he had finally awakened!

Laughing and picking up speed, doctors, nurses, and patients, or just bewildered people, seemed to be shouting at him, even if it was in a normal tone.

They admonished him to be quiet because he was in the hospital. But Kaiden didn't want to listen, he just kept running.

The time had come when he entered an area he couldn't remember anymore. He knew the cafeteria should be here.

Filled with ravenous hunger, he sped up even more. It wasn't a sprint, but still a pretty fast jog.

The turns seemed to be no problem at all. Not a millimeter did he slip on the smooth floor at this fast pace.

The grip was almost too perfect, as if the joint couldn't possibly pop out.

But that couldn't and wouldn't happen because these were prosthetics. He moved his arms in rhythm with his legs.

When he lifted his right leg, he pulled his left arm to his chest and swung it back as he lifted his left leg.

At the same time, he pulled his right hand back. He felt reborn and stronger than ever.

Although he was still in a somewhat bony and thin body, he felt better and stronger than before the coma. How could this be, he wondered, but he didn't care.

All that mattered was that it was so, he thought, focusing on his path ahead. Once again, seemingly white steam followed by aromas seemed to linger in the air.

The scent was sucked up by Kaiden's nose as if by a vacuum cleaner. This encouraged him to pick up the pace even more on his way to the cafeteria.

Just a few meters on the slightly wider corridor to the roughly two-meter-wide door.

****

He pressed against it vigorously, the doors banged against the walls in a fraction of a second, creating a tremendous sound. But as he now gazed lovingly at the food, strange looks were directed at him once again.

However, the gaze of the confused people faded away as they returned to their conversations.

With big, eager strides, he now moved faster, still faster than a regular person would, towards the food counter.

The gray-white, seemingly monotonous tray would, however, be flooded with colors in a few seconds.

He handed the tray to an older lady with a hairnet and apron.

The spoon, about the size of a baseball, plunged into the white rice without hesitation. The distribution took place, but the tray was still monotonous. Another spoonful ended up on his tray, this time with fresh vegetables.

Red, green, and orange colors now filled the colorless plate with bell peppers, beans, carrots, and some salad.

But that wasn't all; the main course couldn't be missing. A skewer with two roughly eight-centimeter-long chicken breasts pierced the roughly 300-gram piece of meat.

Truly a feast, he thought with joyful anticipation. He finally thanked the old lady for the special dish. She too looked at him with a questioning look, but then she had to serve another person. But of course, he couldn't skip the drink.

However, he only saw water and juice far and wide. So he poured himself some plain water as he grabbed a roughly 250-milliliter cup.

The large and still quick steps generated a rushing noise in the room, created by the many conversations. There were only a few seats left, one about ten meters away from him and one to his right at the end of the room.

So he decided to go to the seat to his left, which was also less distant.

In just two to three seconds on his way, he already adjusted his chair. The wooden chair seemed to be light, so light that he could throw it dozens of meters, which he didn't do, of course.

He placed the now colorful tray on the also wooden table. He held the fork upright and stabbed lightly. Followed by cutting the meat, he stabbed into the large piece of chicken and literally savored it.

While he leaned over the feast to open his mouth, he also felt how the steam opened his pores. The fork with a piece of chicken breast got closer and closer to his mouth, which was craving for food.

Finally, it happened: the piece of breast settled on his reddish tongue and dissolved lightly. White foam appeared in his mouth and enveloped the breast, which was slowly chewed by his molars.

Greedily, he stuffed fork after fork into his mouth, until at some point, the taste turned salty.

But why, he wondered, until now, was it okay? He didn't think about it for long and just kept eating.

However, this taste of saltiness became stronger and stronger. Why, he wondered?

Eventually, he realized why: it was his uninterrupted tears flowing down his soft cheeks. Kaiden, who had only recently been fed through a tube, finally filled his stomach and could taste and enjoy the food, even if it was salty.

But that wasn't the reason for the outburst of tears.

The true reason was the memory of his friends, especially Leon. He had to think that they could no longer experience such moments.

Therefore, it seemed even more questionable to him why he was so desperate and depressed.

After all, he had the pleasure of being allowed to live for at least another year.

However, the sorrow overwhelmed his still happy face.

With his elbows resting on the table, he held his inclined head over the plate so that his face wouldn't fall into the food.

A solid yellow liquid flowed from his nose, but he pulled it back up by taking a deep breath.

The tears poured incessantly, flowing into the half-eaten dish. It was like a rain shower. While he stared at the dish, weeping with a scattered and twisted grimace, another loud bang sounded.

It was the nurse and the orderly, followed by the somewhat slower old doctor.

But Kaiden didn't notice. He was still wrestling with his emotions inside.

While the two looked at him and saw him crying, they wondered what was wrong.

But when the doctor finally arrived and saw him, he looked as grim as ever. His older-looking lips, slightly cracked, spoke regrettable words.

He explained that it was because of his tumor. After all, the symptoms were not just headaches, nausea, or dizziness, but also a change in personality, fluctuations from how one usually behaves to another.

The orderly understood the symptoms and asked what they would do now, how things would continue with Kaiden, whether he would stay in treatment or be discharged.

The nurse explained that it was his decision, and she had to ask him because of it.

The doctor confirmed this and also said that it was Kaiden's free choice. However, he feared that Kaiden would want to leave the hospital, or rather, that he might have to.

After all, he seemed to have recently turned 18, as stated in his documents.

On top of that, he had awakened and was now, due to his mobility, not restricted.

So he would be drafted into the Academy for the Awakened one way or another.

****