Can you hear me?

Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

It started as a slow process - the surgery - but then ended up finishing her part as quickly as it began.

Not actually, but it felt like it.

She stayed at the hospital after her work was done. She couldn't risk hearing it at home and then crying where everyone saw. But here, at least she would not even shed a single tear.

So, she sat down on one of the lined, cushioned green chairs, outside of the surgery room - Dr. Hirose was still attending to the baby - and took a deep breath.

It felt good to take one. She hadn't had one, in a long time. No time to catch her breath at all. She took out the earphones she had placed inside the pockets of her black jacket.

Soft, slow, music filled the air - and the breeze from down the hall came flowing towards her. The smell of someone's lunch - meatballs and spaghetti, by the smell of it - wafted towards her from across the room, synchronizing with the breeze.

The golden hour of the sun setting streamed through the half-open windows. She looked right at it. Her brown eyes turned light brown with a hint of gold flecks against the sun.

Thank you.

To whom she was saying, thank you to, she did not know. But why - well, she was quite at peace and all the settings that had somehow just been set at the right moment, helped so much.

She closed her eyes and her soft music surrounding her, caused her to feel sleepy.

And she slept soundly, waiting until Dr. Hirose finished and would update her on how the surgery went and her report on her task.