Barely making any sound, Shikera tiptoed back into her room in the hospital, the sa way she went outside. The whispering voices were still behind the curtain, and that ant no one had noticed she went outside. Closing the distance between her and the bed, she laid on it and pulled the sheets over her head, closing her eyes.
"Sleep...sleep..." She chanted inwardly, trying to lull herself to sleep. After tossing and turning for a few minutes, she finally drifted off into a light nap, only to wake up not long after.
"...not a strong man, Dad!" She heard Noah’s voice right beside her, while feeling her hands which were lying on either sides of her, wrapped by two different hands on the two sides of the bed. Not wanting to alert them that she was awake, Shikera laid there with her eyes closed.
"It’s my fault, Noah! I was just so stupid that I didn’t think about you and Kera. What if you were not lucky?"
Shikera was quick to notice it was her father speaking then, but the sniffling sound accompanying his words was sothing she failed to associate with him. Was he... crying?! And because of her?
"I hate this! What if Kera wakes up now? She sees you as her father, a man who has all the ability and power he needs to protect her. Do you want her to see you as weak and vulnerable man?"
"It’s fake, Noah. If she really saw as soone really reliable, she wouldn’t be that sad or cheerless. You know how Kera was before it happened, right? She was cheerful! And was the light of the whole house, but now... Do I bear all this pain until she dies in fifteen years ti?"
"It’s alright! Don’t say all this when you are with her," Noah whispered. He looked down at his sister’s pale face and quivering eyelids, before signalling to his father that she was awake.
"Kera? You awake?" He squeezed her hand which he was holding, and her eyes opened slowly.
"Noah," she called, sitting up on the bed.
"Any problem?" her ever anxious brother was quick to ask.
"I am...hungry."
There was nothing else for her to say.
★★★
Music Rec: Into Your Arms by Witt Lowry.
She was at the rooftop again, and this ti, her hair was let loose and her eyes, wet with tears. It was only three days after she had eavesdropped on her brother and father, and it seed like she only just understood their discussion now.
Yes, Shikera Anderson had just fifteen years left to live. She had just lived for fifteen years which she couldn’t even rember, and now she has fifteen years left to live. Also, she would be causing pain to her family for every breath she took, and every second she lived more.
"Here again?"
She turned to see the boy she saw in a patient uniform the other day. The one who had annoyed her.
Cleaning her eyes with the sleeves of her dress, she answered him, "Yes. And before you ask anything again, it’s none of your business!"
"I know that," Kyle whispered, coming to sit beside her.
"Did you just find out you have a deadline too?" he asked, with a somber expression.
"Deadline?"
"Yeah. Or should I use death day instead?" He tilted his head as if he was really thinking about it.
"What?! How can you be so casual when saying that to ?"
"Because i want you to get used to it. Would you cry here and cause your family pain? Or would you instead be their source of light, so the only ti they would have to feel pain is when you die?"
"What are you saying..." Shikera stared at him like he had grown horns on his head.
"Why should you cause them pain when it’s your fate, and not their fault? A sick person is the light of the whole family, so you will only be neglecting your life mission if you fail to do that."
Though his words seed totally aningless, they struck a chord in Shikera’s heart and an idea suddenly popped into her head.
"Thanks!" She exclaid, running towards the elevator. As she pressed the button, she rembered sothing and turned back to Kyle.
"Which floor is Doctor Kohath’s office?!" she asked, shouting so he could hear her above the wind.
"The sa floor your ward is, it has his na placed on the door!" Kyle shouted back, watching as she stepped into the elevator which closed imdiately.
He sighed loudly, "Spoilt but smart. She was able to tell I have been here for long...enough to know all the doctors, nurses, wards, nook and crannies of this godforsaken hospital."
As soon as the elevator opened, Shikera ran out of it towards the nurses desk.
"Hi, Nurse Blake! Is Doctor Kohath’s office this way or that way?" She asked, pointing alternately at the two sides leading to the hallways.
"Right," the nurse in question answered, wondering what had possessed this girl today for her to smiling like this.
"Thank you!"
Imdiately, she took the right way and ran across the hallway, while checking the signs on each door until she ca to stand in front of her doctor’s door.
Opening the door, she put her head into the room first and smiled, "Doctor Kohath!"
She laughed when the man looked up in shock, before finally entering the room.
"I ca to see you," she inford him.
"Are you feeling uncomfortable in any way, Miss Anderson?"
"No, I wanted you to tell everything I need to know about...my health."
She noticed how the doctor’s eyes widened in shock at what she asked, so she quickly added,"I got approval from my father."
That seed to appease the doctor’s mind, though Shikera wasn’t sure why. Wasn’t he supposed to call her father at least? Discarding the thoughts to the back of her mind, she listened to what the doctor wanted to say.
Few minutes later, Shikera stood up from the chair, ready to leave the room. There was no new information in what the doctor had told her. She had fifteen years left to live, she needed to follow her an plan to live that long, and she was only allowed to eat sweets or junk foods in the weekend.
As she got to the door, her hand already placed on the knob as she pulled it open.
"Wait!"
She turned on her heels to see the man walking around his desk towards her.
"There’s sothing else that can shorten your lifespan drastically, and I think I should warn you against it."
"What is that?"
"Pregnancy," the doctor replied.
***
Without breaking her pace, she walked back to her own room, pausing at the door when she heard her brother and father’s loud voice inside.
"...you should adopt a lot of babies then!" That was Noah speaking, Shikera noticed, before hearing her father reply.
"It’s true I love babies but..."
The rest of his words went unheard by Shikera, as she had already tuned his voice out and her mind was already formulating another plan.
From today on, she would be cheerful, happy, and make sure she always put a smile on her family’s face...while watching out for the ti when she got a chance, to execute the most wonderful plan.
She would get pregnant!
That way, her family would feel the pain associated with losing her as fast as possible and forget about it. And she would also be leaving them a bundle of joy.
A baby...
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