I've done a bit | An SVA stori

Chapter 15: SunGlass City

Rowan was rushed to Rhospens hospital and Wolf took the ride with him. She told the doctors and nurses mostly everything, just not who stabbed him, and she was told to wait in the other room as Rowan was taken away.

She waited until she couldn't make out the hands on the clock. Not sleeping, not even breathing properly. She felt so small in the hospital. It was unfamiliar, eerie even.

Later she heard Rowans name mentioned outside the doors but as much as she tried, couldn't make out a full sentence. The nurse on the other side of the door gestured towards Wolf and a woman turned to her, she felt herself shrink. She stared at the floor as the woman walked up to her.
"Bonnie?" She asked.
Wolf slowly looked up to the woman. Her breathing got heavier and faster as she though of what to say.
"Thank you for getting Rowan here." The woman smiled.
"...a-are you-?" Wolf stuttered.
"Rowans mother." She smiled. "Amy."
Wolf looked at Amy, seeing her old red eyes.
Amy took the seat next to Wolf and took a long exhale.

"Do you know what happened?" Amy asked.
"...he got in a fight."
"Who with?"
Wolf shivered and stared at the floor, not daring to look at Rowans mum.
"I don't know." She huffed through heavy breaths. "I-I-I didn't see." She added, shaking her head before burying it in her hands.
"He was always coming here." Amy shook her head.
"...what do you mean?"
"AH." The woman exhaled, getting up, "Look at me, getting emotional." She laughed at herself.
Wolf looked at the woman through confusion.
"...are you going?" Wolf asked.

Amy did, and Wolf was told to as well eventually. When she left the light had come back around

The rain carried on to the morning as Tom and Ire went to school.
Ire expected a lot of attention, or weird looks, but no one really noticed her. But that's not what she cared about. Her, Tom and Wolf stayed to themselves.

Life carried on as usual, but they missed Rowan when nothing weird happened. It was boring, like how it used to be.
Time slowed down for Wolf. She began seeing how stupid the academy was. The lessons, the system. None of it mattered to her anymore, because she'd seen more.

Wolf would often skip school to visit Rowan, but he was always sleeping.
He slept through March. The last of the heavy rain and the start of spring.

By now Wolf felt comfortable in the hospital. The nurses knew her name and would remark amongst each other how she showed up more then Rowans mother, who'd rarely visit.

She lived he life as a chore. Days blended together. Her family would comment on how she didn't seem herself, she just waited.

It was a sunny April morning, a great day to skip school. So Wolf did. She made her way to Rhospen, into the hospital, but Rowan wasn't there.
"He woke up last night." A nurse told her, "His mum finally came, took him home."
Wolf took a moment to process that.
"Where did they go? Where does he live?" She asked.
"I'm sorry, well, I don't know anyway, but we're not allowed to share information. I'm sorry."

The sun leaking into Rowans room woke him up. For the first time in too long, he enjoyed it.
He got out of his pyjamas but bandages covered his chest.
He remembered what happened. He felt so alive, the night he almost died.
Tracing the wound shot pain through him.
He looked under the bandages and saw the scar. It was the size of his hand and indented his chest so he covered it again with a wall.
He looked at his face in the mirror again. Seeing it differently this time. His hair had grown long and messy and his eyes held dark bags under them.
'Has my nose always been that long?' He thought.

It was a Friday when Wolf saw him, on her way to school.
"R- hey!" She called.
The boy turned around to see her in the distance. He stayed as other students passed him.
"...hey." He said when she caught up to him.
"...how's it goin'?" She asked.
"Not bad."

The two began walking to school, not wanting to bring up that night.

"Wanna ditch?" Rowan asked.
"Okay, wait here, I'll go and get the others." She said.
She ran off into the school and came back a minute later with her friends.
Tom ran up and hugged Rowan, making him flinch. She let go.
"Sorry." He sighed.
Shame overcame Wolf, seeing a hug hurt him. His wall kept his mind from it.
"...are you okay?" Ire asked.
"...yea."
"Wolf told us, you don't have to hide it." Ire added, making Rowan smile.
"It's ugly, no one wants to see it, so..." He said.
"Um, yea..." Wolf said, not knowing how to carry the conversation.
"So, we gonna see the thing then?" Tom asked Wolf.
"She's been talking about this surprise for ages." Ire told.
"Oh! Um, yea, c'mon it's this way." She told, leading.

Rowan recognised the way they were going.
"Is it the waterfall?" He asked.
"Umm... kinda." Wolf said, embraced, "I- changed it a little, and I got a new name for it, but you can still call it the waterfall if you want."
"You missed me that much then?" Rowan teased.
"As if." She laughed off.
"She dodged school to visit you." Tom grinned.
"Yea and she wrote a song." Ire added.
"Shut up... I- it's- it's not about you anyway... it's about the mushroom man."
"Of course." Ire laughed.
"Anyway, we're here now, so." Wolf led them through and revealed she'd done up the waterfall.

The whole place shone. There were small shards of colourful glass hung around and across the partings above them, gently swaying and colouring the floor and the chairs.
There was no litter on the ground and the leaves had been brushed away. An extra chair sat with the others for the four of them.

They all sat down and enjoyed Wolfs work. Rowan was the first to ask,
"So what's it called?"
"SunGlass City."

♪ Run run Mushroom Man,
The chase is overdue.
Come back Mushroom Man,
I'll fall at least a foot for you. ♪