Manesa

Chapter One: Manesa

                                             

''How long till I get discharged?'' I asked the short, pale-looking nurse. I had been admitted for nearly three weeks now and I was hoping to be discharged as soon as possible. For one, hospital food was getting extremely dreary and I wanted the feeling of going to stores to get myself proper food.

Almost as if the nurse heard my thoughts, she looked up at me and smiled.

''Don't worry Miss Manesa, you will be discharged soon. The doctor will be coming to do his last check up on you and then you're a free woman.'' Her head tilted as she examined a scratch on my arm. ''I didn't see this before. When did you get this?'' my eyes dropped from the window to my arm where her eyes were boring into. I shook my head in ignorance and lied that I had scratched it on the radiator in the bathroom last night. I can't let her know. She won't believe me. She'll just refer me to a psychiatrist and I will surely never leave here. Her eyes reverted to my head to examine for any scratches there too. I turned quickly to my IV plaster and made a show of trying to get it off. It distracted her. She smiled and turned to me.

''Okay Miss Manesa, there appears to be no immediate need to keep you back, let me just confirm with the doctor and you can leave.'' The nurse appeared very thoughtful as she left the room. As soon as she left, I took the opportunity to start getting ready to leave. I switched my phone on, half expecting to receive a million texts from my best friend, Mila and the others, Lee and Rose. As the familiar starting tune rang in my ears, anticipation filled my heart and I couldn't fight the giddiness. I saw the familiar background picture of the four of us standing outside a train station with silly poses. Then I waited for the familiar notification sound. Silence. I tried to open up my inbox to check if there were any there but that too was empty. Where were the messages? Why did no one call? Was there some problem with my network?

I scrolled down my contact list and found Lee's phone number. I rang it and waited patiently. A familiar voice answered and I nearly cried with joy. It's good to be leaving here. Can't wait to meet my friends.

''Hello?" It wasn't Lee that answered; this was a woman's voice, not unfamiliar to me at all though. This I remember from various sleepovers at Lee's. It was his mother.

''Hello Mrs Kuno! It's Manesa. How are you? I am calling to tell Lee that I am discharged this evening. '' I was so excited that my words were rolling out without pause and I had exclaimed so loudly and was laughing too that I didn't hear the soft sighs from Mrs Kuno.

''Mrs Kuno, is everything ok? I actually wanted to tell Lee to ask if you could pick me up. I have no one to take me back home.'' There was a loud cough in the background but it wasn't from Mrs Kuno, someone else was there. Someone I had known for three years. My lips twitched as I grinned. ''LEE! Mrs Kuno, Lee's there isn't he? Can I talk with him please?'' I asked cheerily. There was a pause followed by a sigh. My grin slowly faded. I could sense that something was wrong.

''I am so sorry Manesa. But I cannot come to pick you up. Lee doesn't want to talk to you either. So can you get a taxi to get home?'' Her voice didn't sound as sorry as I thought it would. I sighed and asked to know what had happened while I was in the hospital and also if my mother was doing well. She made a click sound- the sound she made when she was annoyed with Lee. There was no further reply. The phone clicked shut and the call ended.

I stared blankly at my phone, unsure of what was going on. I tried to call back again. No one answered, except the common voicemail so I stopped trying to call. While I sat in silence, deeply pondering on Mrs Kuno and Lee's attitude, I hadn't noticed the doctor and nurse's presence in the room.

''Are you ok?'' the doctor asked, sincerely looking concerned. ''Is everything alright?'' I nodded. ''Good, because I have examined the reports and tests and it is all negative for anything serious so all is well, I presume. Therefore, you can go home as soon as you are ready.'' My face lit up with happiness. FINALLY! ''Have you called up your family to inform them?'' I shook my head and muttered.

''I don't have anyone else but my mother and she is bed-ridden at home'' I replied, my eyes fluttering to my maroon converses. The nurse gave out a soft sigh and whispered something to the doctor.

''Alright, Nurse Taylor here would like to take you home now. Will that be ok Manesa?'' the doctor stood in front of the door as if guarding it. His tall well-built frame reminded me of a warrior not a doctor and I suddenly became curious about his hobbies. I nodded slowly, looking at the nurse and trying to smile. I muttered a soft thank you and she too smiled at me. ''Alright, I will leave you to just get your things together and you can meet Nurse Taylor at the entrance of the hospital, ok?'' I smiled faintly.

''Good, alright enjoy yourself. You will be fine Manesa. Take care of yourself and your mother, ok? Don't stress too much though because you might collapse again and you don't want to spend another three weeks under blood transfusion drips. Or do you?'' I shook my head then walked up to him to hug him. ''I will come to check up on your mother during the week. Be strong, ok?'' I nodded fighting the sudden urge to cry. He gave me a quick glance, smiled reassuringly and turned to leave.

I got my things and started to leave. But in my mind, I couldn't help thinking how unfortunate I was. I wondered why Lee had suddenly rejected me too and why no one called or sent a text to find out how I was doing. Where did everyone go so suddenly?

I waited patiently as Nurse Taylor walked slowly with her car keys and some patient's documents towards me. She enquired about my general feelings, what I was looking forward to doing now that I was discharged and I nodded or gave short responses. That was all I could do right now and maybe smile occasionally. I just want to get home to rest and see mama. For the rest of the journey from the hospital to my house, Nurse Taylor did not speak to me or ask me any more questions. I guess it was clear to her that I needed some space and quiet. Rather than pester me the way I know mama would have, she played around with the radio stations until frustrated, she put in a CD. It was really mellow so it made me relax.