Often [COMPLETED]

Day One

"Why are you afraid?"

"It's only natural to be afraid."

"But we're not natural." 

"And what could that possibly mean?"

More than fifteen minutes in and Lukas was amazed at how cryptic she had turned out to be. He laid down on the bed, body facing towards the ceiling. He had his hands on his stomach, tapping his fingers and tried not to pay attention to his breathing. Jesse was on the bed to his side, a little ways away.

"I mean that we're not natural. We shouldn't see things as everyone else does." She pondered, thinking. "Listen. You're on the way to an amusement park, right? You're excited, you've got the biggest, cheesiest smile the world's ever seen. And then, as you're walking towards the entrance, it starts to rain. You have no umbrella, nothing. What do you do?"

He was utterly confused. How had it gotten to the topic of the amusement park again? Never mind, he remembered. Or rather, he couldn't stop listening to her.

"I would...run back to the car and get out of the rain. And then I'd go home because you can't go to an amusement park in-"

"Wrong." Jesse interrupted suddenly, surprising him. "You're excited for this amusement park. You've been planning to go for ages. You have all the rides you're gonna ride all planned out in your head and all the expensive food you're gonna buy. You go in the rain."

Lukas bit his lip, tilting his head. He imagined himself trudging through the amusement park, clothes soaked and skin cold, using his hands to shade his eyes from the heavy droplets. His feet sloshing in muddy puddles and staining his jeans. The sky looming over him.

"If you stay in the rain, you could get sick. The rides would be all wet and the food would be too." He pointed out, huffing.

"No." She exclaimed again bluntly. "What did I say earlier?"

"That we're not natural?" He shrugged absently, trying to make his way through her words.

"Correct my friend." She popped the words out of her mouth. "Natural people would go home because of the weather. We head inside with our heads held high. Drenched inside until we get sick."

"Where did the 'we' come from?"

"Come on," she teased, lingering on the word, "we're friends, aren't we?"

"It's been half an hour." Lukas stated bluntly. "I don't even know why you're here yet."

She replied without a second thought, "Hmm, take a guess."

And at that, his train of thought had lost its tracks. There was a long, enduring pause. He was climbing up a ladder of ideas, but none of them seemed to fit.

"I have absolutely no clue." He murmured, realizing she didn't plan on telling him anytime soon. "But going back to the amusement park-"

"Uh huh."

"-the result of the scenario seems pretty unrealistic. There are too many loopholes."

"Just jump through them."

Once again he was vaguely confused. He groaned, suddenly a tad frustrated as he used his arms and lifted himself up into a sitting position, gripping the bar at his side. He turned to her regardless of his blindness.

"I mean that there's an inconsistency. A flaw in your point. A loophole."

"So? Jump."

"You're not making any sense."

"Making sense requires too much effort. And sometimes, none at all. Tell me Lukas, what do you see?"

He let out a long breath, defeated, slumping into his pillow. He couldn't get across anything with this girl. Was she playing dumb?

"In case you haven't noticed," he gestured blatantly to his bandages wrapped around the top half of his head, "I can't see anything."

"That's because you're stuck."

"What?"

"You're stuck in that dark little box of yours. You sit and you don't feel the sides of the box for openings because you assume there's no way out. You choose to be stuck. And so what do I say? Jump."

She said this so simply, so easily, the words smooth as if they were riding on a nice breeze. She held no worries, no anger, no deep ended frustration. No, she said this simply. As if it were merely a suggestion.

Knock, knock.

"Lukas sweetie, I'm here to change your bandages." The nurse called gently.

He stayed quiet for most of the remainder of the day, listening to Jesse ramble off about who knows what, switching topics ever so suddenly. Sometimes going off into something completely random. But he found that completely entertaining.

She never stopped either. There was always something new in her mind ready to come out through her mouth. Whether it was a story or a song stuck in her head. She hummed, mimicking the instruments. Lukas could hear the bangs on the plastic table.

And when it was night, as Jesse murmured too quiet of lyrics to hear, the light beat ringing in his ears, Lukas imagined stars. Glowing, bright, shining stars.

That night, he wasn't all in the dark.