I stopped counting the number of days since you disappeared. The more I counted, the more it felt like you were not coming back. Time passed by so quickly whenever you were by my side. I remembered all of the stories that we shared and the jokes that you told me.
They were like puzzle pieces that you used to piece me up.
I sighed, closing my eyes.
Just then, the doors opened and closed. I remembered calling your name whenever the doors opened in the first few days. It was never you, so I stopped anticipating.
It was silent. I had memorised Stacey's routine by then. She would come in to check on me and adjust my blanket. If the podcast was still playing, she would turn it off and leave my phone to charge. She was never silent.
I opened my eyes. Was it you? Footsteps approached and my heart picked up speed.
"It's me," a voice said.
It was you.
I sat up immediately, fumbling my hands to find yours. You grabbed them tightly, and I was brought back to New Year's Eve when our fingers first intertwined.
"Where did you go?" I yelled. My eyes welled up with tears.
"I'm sorry," you replied, pulling me in into a hug. You no longer smelled like fresh laundry. You smelled like me, like the hospital and all of its patients.
YOU ARE READING
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Short StoryAt 00:00, Cinderella ran away from her prince, leaving a glass slipper on the marbled steps of the grand staircase. At 00:00, I ran away from him. Unlike Cinderella, I didn't leave a single thing behind. © sonderingly
