Tulip's Destiny

XXVI - mik-HAIL

Isn't coming home always the exciting part? So, when you think about home, do you think about each corner of your space graced with items you love? Or do you think about the sweet delicious scent that roams the house with mother's cooking? Isn't home also a place of haven to recharge and reset after a long tiring day? Maybe home is a person? But wherever it is, whoever home is, home is... home is where you are.

Raine kept everyone busy bugging them about who she is and what her life was like. After the doctors took the final MRI and CAT scans clearing her for a discharge, her parents immediately made preparations to bring her back home.

It has been an eventful morning for her, taking in all her medicine and going in for last minute checkups. After that, she was then left alone to mind her own. Her mother had left her to go to the billing and payment on the lower ground floor.

Staring into the empty space of white walls made her extremely bored, so she stretched out her hands to a magazine on the side table. "Hmm... I hope they don't mind a few pages off. What should I take out?" She tilted her head, swiftly turning the pages. "Aha! I'll just take out the table of contents! That way they'll actually read all of its contents to get to the exciting parts!" Raine chuckled with a grimace.

"Come in!" She replied to a subtle knock. Raine was already folding the paper in half before tearing it into a smaller rectangle.

"How are you feeling?" The man wearing a white coat, mask and a surgical cap asked. Presumably he must be a doctor, but he kinda looked weird.

"Great doc!" She chirped with a wide smile, holding each side of her square paper with two creases. "Are you going to be my new doctor? Did Doctor Cruz hate me for asking too many questions?" Raine pouted sadly, now folding the top point of the paper to meet the crease in the center.

"No! No! It's not that... uhmmm—- I'm just an intern!" The man reasoned. "He's just there doing rounds. Of course he's not annoyed at you for asking questions. If anything I think they like that because you're genuinely interested and you respect their line of work and knowledge. Asking questions to professionals can be a sign of respect." His drawling voice under the mask had a familiar softness that did little to make her smile with her eyes.

"Really?" She beamed, folding the bottom of the paper point to meet the top.

"Yes." He nodded softly. "Now, what are you doing? You doing some origami?"

"Yes, doc..." Raine said shyly, watching him walk beside her bed to look closer. She was now folding the side to meet the crease in the center.

"Oh! Wow! Is that a heart?"

"Yep. Just a few more corners... wait..." She stopped, flipping the paper over to the opposite side to fold the excess corners. "There!" Raine raised at him with pride.

"That's beautiful! You have to teach me how to make that some other time!" Although he was wearing a mask, it was enough for Raine to recognize a silhouette of a smile behind it.

"Thank you..." She blushed, biting her lower lip. "Here! You can take my first heart!"

"Really?!" The man asked ecstatically. "Are you sure?"

"Yes! You're now my doctor friend!" Raine mouthed joyfully, handing over the paper heart.

Just as she was giving it to him, the world had somehow stopped into a blur. She froze, feeling a wave of shivers rising inside. His eyes were the prettiest ocean blue crystals she had ever seen. More than that, it felt oddly inviting. Like she had known them for many years. Confusion swept across her face, having felt unfamiliar warmness in her whole system. She was panicking inside because she didn't know how to respond to these new feelings she's experiencing. But his eyes, his eyes were comforting her to slow the pace of her heart already beating rapidly. It was calling her home.