Survivin' - [B.C.]

Chapter 18: Wake Me Up

"You came back..." I just barely whispered.

"Thank you."

========= SURVIVIN' =========

Being a hospital's personal cheer-up musician is pretty fun. Gotta say, though -- it's tough seeing so many people in such bad situations. And we had to go in there and act like all the blood and misfortune didn't rub off on us.

It started to get harder and harder to find good songs to play. Ones that would lighten up the atmosphere a bit. We did the same song for every person we visited on a particular day, but we did this every. single. day.

There was this one day, though, that I will never forget...

Chloe and I walked into the room of our third audience member of the day. At first, we didn't see anyone in the room. But off to the side, the light was on and seeping underneath the bathroom door.

Okay, we thought. They're in the bathroom. We'll just wait.

But when the door to the room clicked closed, a little mound of blankets on the bed wiggled in response. Chloe and I paused. We glanced at each other. The pile on the bed was only so big. What could possibly be underneath it that moved?

The bathroom door swung open and a woman stepped out. She was rather tall, middle-aged, with dirty blonde hair and a tired face that displayed an age much older than her real one. She wore a leopard print blouse and black leggings, her veiny feet placed in black pointed-toe flats. What looked like a wave of relief visibly washed over her as she scanned us with her dark eyes. But then she tensed up once more.

"Who are you?" She asked, her voice quiet but her tone firm.

Too scared to do anything like a deer in headlights, Chloe stepped in for me.

"We just wanted to come in and play a song like we've been doing for other patients." Chloe said.

"What are you, the Happy Time Bandwagon?" The woman asked. She was still standing in place just in front of the bathroom.

I tried to give a look to Chloe, one of those "lets-hightail-it-out-of-here-right-now" kind of looks. But she wasn't budging. What could have possibly been calling to her for her to remain adamant in playing here?

Just then, the little mound of blankets on the bed squirmed. All three of us  looked over at it. From that little pile arose a little girl, no older than three, her head of black hair pulled up into two pigtails. She was gnawing on the ear of a small dog plushie. A nasal cannula was settled into her tiny nose. She had bright blue eyes that stared at me and Chloe curiously. She wasn't wearing a hospital gown. Instead, she was wearing a tiny pair of jeans and a pink shirt that rode up above her belly button to reveal a feeding tube.

The woman rushed over to the little girl and started performing a physical check-up on her. She touched and felt everywhere, gently examining the little girl's body. When she finished, she stood straight and looked at us once more.

"Why are you still here?" She asked. I turned around to leave, but Chloe grabbed me by the hood of my jacket and spun me around to face forward. She placed the tray table down on the floor and took my keyboard out of my hands.

"Sit back and be flabbergasted," Chloe said to the woman.

Basically pouting, the woman sat down next to the kid and pulled her close. She nodded her head towards us as if to give us the go ahead.

I started to play, hoping that my shaking hands didn't fuck this up. I hadn't played a single song correctly in two years, especially not while in this hospital. Not even now that my bones had been corrected. But yes, only three seconds into the song, I messed up. I started over, not bearing to glance up at the woman or the little girl.