The Human Heart [COMPLETED]

Kaleidoscope (Final Chapter)

The dreams begin after the first major surgery. During that time, Chishiya blames it on the pain medication and the fact that he nearly died multiple times in the process, since suffering such severe internal damage can indeed cause traumata or similar effects.

While asleep, Chishiya can clearly see her: the face, the color of her eyes, her smile and the sound she makes when laughing. He knows her name and so much more, but as soon as he wakes up, everything's gone. Except the shadow of a memory, the hint of a face that he couldn't describe no matter how hard he tried. All he knows is that it is the same woman night after night, talking to him, reaching out her hands to touch him. And every morning, she disappears, leaving only fragments of those dreams, turning around like dozens of little shards, like a kaleidoscope.

It must be the injury. Fever, antibiotics, painkillers. He's barely responsive for two whole weeks, always slipping in and out of a restless, exhausting sleep while his body tries to recover from the comet's aftermath. Chishiya doesn't even question the sudden appearance of that woman. She will leave his mind as soon as he recovers, and it's nothing but a figment. A reflection of his mother, maybe, that a pathetic and childish part deep inside of him longs to see, just like back in those days where he had been sick as a child. She didn't come back then, and she won't come now.

The best thing will be to make her disappear, to chase her out of his thoughts while he's conscious, hoping that she will leave the deeper parts of his mind as well. Not being able to see her face or to recall her name... it hurts, for some reason. This pain is different than the physical ache caused by his injuries. It goes deeper, and it can't be cured with medication.

More reason to make it leave.

Time passes by, and with every day of recovery, the mysterious woman fades more. As Chishiya's condition becomes more stable, the nurses move him from the critical care unit to a normal room, away from this annoying Niragi. He has also been severely injured during the comet incident, with most parts of his body heavily burnt and internal damage as well, but he has not been the most pleasant to talk to. Annoying even, with all his coughing and complaining.

Chishiya has quickly gotten the impression that they both are quite similar; lost souls in a world they don't fit in, but it is like glimpsing into a mirror. He doesn't like it.

As soon as he is able to get out of bed and wear something else than just the plain and uncomfortable hospital gowns, Chishiya finds a note, hidden in the hoodie he had been wearing when the ambulance brought him into the hospital. Just a tiny piece of paper with a name on it, one that Chishiya has never heard before in his life. He would remember if it was a former classmate or coworker, but he has not the slightest explanation of who it could be. All he knows is that this is undoubtedly his handwriting, although it's peculiar that he apparently added a tiny heart to the end of the name.

He even considers if this name might belong to the woman of his dreams, however there's no moment of recognition or anything. Just more pieces gathering in the kaleidoscope, twisting and turning so fast it's impossible to see the clear image of it all.

However, he doesn't feel able to throw it away just now. Something about it feels too important to let go, although he can't grasp what it is. So the note disappears in a dark corner, where it eventually slips out of Chishiya's mind, just like the stranger face eventually stays away from his dreams. Once in a while, he hears her voice or glimpses her face in a night, but as soon as morning comes, nothing of it remains, allowing him to move on with his life from a ghost he wasn't ready to haunt in the first place.

No one comes for a visit during his long stay in the hospital. The only person he really talks to turns out to be Niragi, who is a pest with no doubt but at least intelligent enough to keep a good conversation running, although it's clear to both of them that they will never become friends. It is more a means to an end to overcome tiring weeks and months of rehabilitation.