Something Beautiful

6•something curious

The white ceiling of the hospital room greeted Umi. The afternoon glow glare penetrated the glass windows to the green curtains, giving the room a unique color. She wiggled her hands, uncomfortable at the needle attached to the IV drip by her bedside. James was sleeping next to her bed, the crease on his forehead added to the worry on his face. Careful not to wake him, she reached for the bottled water on her bedside, yet with just a little movement, he was awakened from sleep.

"Let me," he half-whispered, with his hoarse voice, pouring water on the cup. Now his eyes open, the dark rims under his eyes were more evident.

Umi mumbled thanks and drank. "Why are you here?"

He received the glass and returned it to the side table. "Shouldn't you ask, 'Where am I?', 'What happened?', 'Who are you?', 'Who am I?'" He frowned. "You know, drama stuff?"

"I don't have amnesia."

"Too bad! I'd say we're married, with two kids and we adopted two snobby cats and one blind dog."

Umi forced a weak smile as James squinted at her in suspicion, "You sure you have no amnesia?"

"What happened?" she asked instead.

He then enthusiastically recounted the events. "They said you had an infection. When I heard, of course, I left my superhero duties and saved you!"

Umi was too tired to ignore him and he was too unstoppable, with his overdramatic voice and facial expressions, opposite to the macabre print of a death metal band on his shirt.

"Really, why are you here?"

He shrugged. "I'm bored. And I told you, I'm here to save you."

It is not impossible for him to do so, however, it was too far to be possible as well. Still, Umi conceded to his lies. "Thank you."

His smile faltered that it was almost unnoticed. In the prevailing silence, his face remained clear, with a brighter smile that could melt frozen hearts.

"And why do you look so happy?"

James leaned, with his wiggle brows. "You just thought I looked cool, didn't you?"

She blinked at his serious declaration, tilted her head and finally, grinned at his arrogance.

Only then he pulled away. "It suits you."

"What?" she asked between giggles.

"That smile, it suits you."

She shut her mouth. A mocking voice in her head called her out. He's breaking your walls. But as time went on, it was harder for her to do so.

He stood up and declared, "And since I'm so cool, I couldn't stand to see you eating hospital meals. So I bought a lot of food with all the things the doctor prohibited!" He pointed to the side table full of various takeouts.

Umi thanked him, as he bid goodbye and promised to return after class.

"I told you, I'll make you happy." The door closed for a second and opened again. His face popped. "Don't miss me right away, I'll be back!"

In the afternoon, Professor Tiu visited her as well. Umi apologized for the inconvenience. The teacher, after a short sermon, sighed and wished for her to get better, also informing her that the school will pay the bills. "Submit the field report. You should also thank Mr. Arnullo."

"He carried you back to the entry point," Professor Tiu added before Umi could ask. "He did that for almost an hour. When I suggested he take a rest and let others carry you, he didn't agree. I guess ... he took your partnership seriously."

The visitor already left but Umi still thought about Ethan. There were things she must be thankful for. Even with no recollection of the event, she smiled and used her imagination.

She felt better the next day and would be discharged the day after. Unwillingly, she admitted that James filled the boredom with his short visits. She would ignore him initially, yet in the end, she'd blame it on the medicine as to why she would answer his random questions or be goaded to keep the conversation going.

Sometimes they were just filled with silence, and it didn't choke her. Sometimes he'd babble about the Butterfly Effect or what their ancestors were thinking when they drank cow's milk for the first time. "Can you imagine how they stared at the horned animal and thought, 'Oh, I could have its milk. Let me just..." She threw a tissue at him before he could finish. He was laughing when he left.

Alone, Umi's plan to sleep for that afternoon was interrupted by a call.

[I didn't know you were in the hospital.]

"I didn't want to tell you."

[Sweetheart, don't be like that. I'm worried about you.]

[Can I visit] the man added after her silence.

"Are you stupid? What if someone saw you? Your wife? Pauline? What would you say?"

[Just once, let me visit you once. Please.]

Despite recovering her strength, the grip on her phone tightened. "No." Then she ended the call. She remained awake for a long time, until I finally fell asleep, lost in the world of dreams.

A pair of hands caressed her cheek, yet she was not terrified nor disgusted.

Who are you? Asked the person shrouded in darkness. What's your secret?

Before she could answer, she awoke to the sound of the door closing.