Keychains ✔

XIV

Vanilla. Apples. Sun.

Too much sun.

I shifted to wriggle out of the blanket that smothered me in heat. Morning sunlight blinked in and out of my vision, though it quickly faded as raindrops pattered the window. I never slept this late thanks to the throbbing headache that was sure to follow. And why were the windows closed? No wonder it was so stuffy here.

But it wasn't my room. What I'd thought was sunlight came from the glare of fluorescent lights above me. There were no windows, though fortunately the room had the illusion of spaciousness. Rain drummed on the rooftop from somewhere. My clothes had been changed into a hospital gown. None of my belongings were in sight. Next to my bed was a tray of porridge, a glass of water, apple slices, and a Levoxyl pill. I opted for the Levoxyl, as I wasn't in the mood for eating. The grogginess told me it was late in the morning; afternoon, even. There were also a couple of slips of paper.

One was from Hannah, her loopy cursive filled with question marks and an asterisk to stay right where I was until she could pick me up. I frowned and turned the paper over. Her message was awfully short for the rambling sentences I was used to.

The other was nearly unreadable. The most I could make out from the chicken scratch was the beginning ("Hey Ms. Whelan"), a bit of the middle ("I hope you're OK") and the signature ("Vihan").

The door squeaked open. A nurse came in. "Hi ma'am. I'm going to take your temperature and blood pressure. How are you feeling?

"Fine. What happened?"

He wrapped the inflatable cuff around my arm and checked his gadget. "A young man by the name of Vihan Moore found you unconscious on the sidewalk yesterday night. The mercury dipped below freezing. According to your medical records, you have hypothyroidism. Thanks to your sensitivity of the cold, your body nearly shut down."

He looked at me meaningfully. Invisible knives traced down my spine. I breathed in. "In short, that was stupid of me."

"I wouldn't disagree, but my job here is to make you feel comfortable. Now, how are you really feeling?"

"...Nothing out of the ordinary. What's wrong?" I said, noting his wandering gaze to the door.

He composed himself. "There's someone waiting to see you, but—"

A few quick knocks preceded Hannah's entrance. She beamed at us. "Great, I made it in time! Could we talk to Nora, please? We'll decide on whether she's ready."

After the nurse left, I tilted my head. Hannah was hiding something behind her back, and her slightly embarrassed grin contrasted how she usually would react. She rocked on her heels, looking at me expectantly.

"I don't get it," I said.

"Close your eyes."

I did. In the darkness, there were some shuffling feet. "I might fall asleep again—"

"Happy birthday Nora!"

I blinked open to see Hannah, Danielle and Tomas in their work clothes, waving jazz hands. The apparent lack of birthday supplies, asides from a small box tucked under Hannah's arm, caused me to descend into a light laugh.

Tomas groaned. "All of this cloak-and-dagger planning, and that's your reaction? You're hard to impress even outside of work."

Danielle nudged him. "Wait until we get to her condo."

"I'm sorry, you broke into my home?"

"You'll see," said Hannah mischievously. Knowing her, most likely only my front door would be infected with birthday joy. She pushed the wrapped box to me. "We had it planned differently. We didn't expect to celebrate your birthday in the hospital, but we thought you could use a little cheer. Here."