Blue Summer

Chapter 10: A choice to make

"He was like the gatekeeper of my dreams. Dreams I had freely and joyfully. But when he left, he took the key with him or maybe hid it away from where I could not retrieve it. Now, my dreams are stuck within me, pushing me from within. It hurts. It is like the chest will burst open."

Ibuki was being taken through the corridors in a trance state. All he could hear was his mother's panicking voice and his heavy breath. He slowly began to feel nothing, such as if his senses had left him. He dwelled in his subconscious, not realising what was happening to him or how he was being treated. He could hear but did not realise it. The very language he was used to begin feeling alien. Its words were incomprehensible, and its sound was foreign. He asked himself where he was and what time it was. Was he still young and carefree, playing in the woods with his father, or was he stuck in a maze that his father had put him in and left him there? Where was he?

Had it been hours or minutes or even days, he did not know. He struggled to open his eyes as they felt heavy. Through his barely open lids, he saw white walls, or at least that was what he could manage to see. Sight in weakness can be deceptive. He could not move his head. Even doing that was a tremendous task that he lacked energy for. He moved his finger slightly before speaking meekly in a low voice, "Where am I?"

"Hospital."

Ibuki smiled. The one thing he wanted to do, one thing he would die for. He knew the voice. He knew who it was, and he smiled for them. He could not see yet who it was, but within, he knew whose sound had touched his ears, whose voice he could recognise when he could not make sense of anything around him.

"Misao?" he responded, strained and hard to hear.

Misao placed her hand on his, "Yes."

"How am I?" he asked.

"You are better. How do you feel?" Misao asked, placing her hand on Ibuki's head.

"I don't know. Maybe I am fine, or maybe not. I don't feel anything." A tear fell down his cheek as Ibuki spoke.

Misao wiped it and replied, "I know you are fine. You will be fine."

Ibuki gave a sight smiled and then finally opened his eyes wide. He looked at Misao and said, "I like looking at you."

Misao grinned, trying to stop tears, "I will let you look at me when you wish to smile."

"What happened to me?" Finally, Ibuki asked the question Misao wished he hadn't. How was she going to tell him that drugs had been found inside him?

"Don't worry about it. Let my mom take care of it," Misao replied.

Ibuki slowly lifted his hand and touched Misao's face, "Why are you crying?"

"I am not."

"I can feel your tears, Misao. Please don't cry."

Right then, Heechul, Seo-Yun and Mrs Cho came in. While the women had a grave look, Heechul looked furious.

Mrs Cho went to her son and hugged him. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she embraced Ibuki.

Seo-Yun felt sad and looked at Heechul. He gave her a slight nod, and Seo-Yun turned to Ibuki. She hesitated before asking but went ahead, "Ibuki, did you have drugs?"

Ibuki was startled by the question. He immediately denied taking drugs. He had no idea why this question came up, to begin with.

"Don't lie! You have brought your mother a greater misery, for none of your actions speak responsible!" Heechul yelled. Seo-Yun held him back and asked him not to speak. She then explained to Ibuki that drugs were found inside his blood, more specifically meth.