Project: Socialize (Chapters 1-197)

165. Hospital Room

I slid open the door to Luna's room in the hospital in a solemn silence, taking in the view of the room where she was confined in with a grave countenance. What appeared to be a comfortable hospital room with a television and flowers set on the bedside table was populated by a single girl that was seated upright on the hospital bed with its white bed sheets. She was facing away from the door with her long, white hair draping down her back as she was looking over at the window, taking in the view of the beautiful skyline of the Lumina district at night. The bright lights shined from the buildings and were reflected off of the surfaces of the dark waters of the Helliger river.

Slowly, she turned her head over to the doorway, displaying to me that same cheerful and dazzling smile as before when she saw me. Her face lacked the usual vitality as the days prior to the winter break and was somewhat paler in comparison as well. All in all, it was quite obvious that there has been a decline in her health, yet she still did her best to appear as if she was fine.

"Finally decided to show up?" she chuckled as I slid the door close behind me and sat down on the chair by the hospital bed that she was seated at.

I remained mute as I sat there, unsure as to what I was going to say. There was just a heavy feeling on my chest that I just can't get rid of myself that it made me quite gloomy and melancholy. It was quite difficult for me to even recover to my usual self as I knew the extent of the severity of her condition.

"I got you this..." I finally muttered after a period of silence and handed her the plastic bag containing the boxed cheesecake I purchased from the cafe that she had claimed to be her favorite place in Palisia.

"Wow!" Her face lit up when she saw the logo on the box within the plastic bag, allowing her to momentarily return to her usual self and gain back that sense of vitality and vigor. "You got this for me? Can you roll that over for me?"

I looked over in the direction she pointed her right hand and at the overbed table with wheels that was stored in the corner of the room. Without saying anything, I got up from my chair, walked over to the corner of the room, and rolled the overbed table over to her hospital bed and extended the wooden surface of the table over the bed so that she has a platform to set the box on.

With a joyful and excited expression on her face, Luna took out the styrofoam plates as well as the plastic forks and set them down beside the box. Then, she opened the box and placed a slice of cheesecake on both plates. She happily grabbed a fork and dug into the slice of cheesecake, breaking off a small piece before placing it into her mouth. Immediately, as the sweetness of the cheesecake made contact with the taste buds on her tongue, a countenance of happiness appeared on her face, making it appear as if she was about to melt from joy.

"Thank you, Alevian," she smiled.

Without saying anything, I simply sat there on the cushioned chair beside her bed and observed her. I didn't know what to say at the moment and was incapable of coming up with anything. Instead, the only thing my brain commanded me was to simply watch her and burn her image into my memories, carve everything about her into my identity.

"Why aren't you eating?" 

She looked over with a piece of cake in her mouth while still holding the fork in her mouth with her hand. On her face was a genuinely confused expression, and upon seeing this, I looked down at the overbed table and at the second plate containing the second piece of cheesecake.

"It's...for you," I muttered in a melancholic voice.

"Then I give it to you," she smiled and pushed the plate over in my direction. "Come on. Eating alone isn't fun at all."

With a bit of reluctance, I picked up the styrofoam plate with my left hand and the plastic fork with my right. Then, I looked up at her face and discovered that she had paused her eating and was staring at me while maintaining a smile on her face. With a suppressed sigh, I dug the fork down the soft cake and placed it into my mouth slowly. It was only then that her countenance became even more relaxed and continued to enjoy and savor the cheesecake.