A Path Through the Woods(A RiaEgg Story)

CHAPTER 15: "Let's Go Home."

It was the middle of the afternoon, exactly two weeks after MrEgg had been awakened from his coma. He'd already been visited by Player, Veteran, Ria and Mother earlier that morning, and now he was waiting for someone else to come into his room, be it a doctor or one of his other friends...His attention was focused on a Whitethroat perched on a branch outside the window, singing to its heart's content. The bird's song was slightly muffled by the glass pane separating it and its watcher, but it was still heard, and it was still beautiful.

"...You're a cheerful little thing, aren't you?" he remarked. The Whitethroat paused its singing and looked at him through the window curiously.

"You certainly know how to spread your cheer...I've been rather depressed by the helpless state I find myself in, and I must say, you have my gratitude."

The bird twittered another snippet of a song again, then stopped and looked at the bedridden crewmate once more, tilting its head slightly.

"...But I have a lot to look forward to. When I finally leave this place, I'll be able to get back to my home, and my job, and my friends...well...I suppose I should stop referring to Ria as my 'girlfriend' and start calling her my 'fiancée," he corrected himself. "We've plans to marry this fall, should we have found the funds for it by then...If I'm lucky, I might have some of the money I saved up for my love's wedding ring leftover, so I won't have to earn it all back. Though I wonder how I'll be able to do THAT without having to be away from Ria all day, everyday. as I had done before...She told me last week that she had an idea regarding this whole ordeal. But we've yet to further discuss things...I wonder what she has in mind?"

The bird stayed silent for a few seconds after MrEgg had finished speaking, then began to sing again as it hopped a bit further down the branch it was sat on.

"You're a lucky thing, you," he remarked. "So happy, and carefree...and able to ride the breeze to get where you want to go...It must be nice. Isn't it?"

...He could have sworn he saw the Whitethroat nod as it sang. He smiled contently as he leaned back into his pillow; it seemed like the small things in life were always able to lift his spirits, even when it seemed all hope was lost.

The sound of his door opening caught his attention, and he looked up to see the familiar masked figure of Dr. Doktor entering his room.

"Good afternoon, MrEgg," he greeted him. "How might you be feeling?"

"Oh, quite good, Doctor. You?"

"Amused...I just got done scaring the daylights out of two of my colleagues with a bit of a ghost story."

They both chuckled for a moment before continuing moving on.

"So, nothing is amiss, as far as you can tell?"

"I don't think so. My congestion seems to be completely gone, and the wound in my side doesn't really give off much pain anymore. I know the stitches were removed the other day, so I'm assuming that it's healing nicely?"

"Quite so. And your liver is faring quite well, considering the damage done to it; it hasn't appeared to have suffered any permanent damage. Though I do still recommend going easy on trans fats for the next month or so."

"That's good news," MrEgg smiled. "Um...When do you think I'll be able to go back home?"

"That's exactly what I wanted to discuss," the doctor told him. "You'll be happy to know that the breaks in your bones healed rather quickly during your 17-day coma, due to the body spending most of its energy on repairing itself, and according to the X-ray we took yesterday, the fracture in your left femur has healed to the point at which we can replace that cast with a brace, which will allow you to move it."