Apodidraskinda

I Love You <3

I was the one crying, not Willow.

Willow, despite having had her eye clawed out, was comforting me. I tried to clean the blood from her eye with the dirty rag with no real progress. I occasionally rinsed the cloth in a nearby thin stream of water. Willow kept insisting she'd be fine, and she'd care for it herself. A patient healing themself? I never heard of it

Eventually I gave up and rid the rag of all the filth I could manage, using it as a substitute bandage for her eye. Willow insisted on checking me for injury which I complied with. I, of course, was unharmed for the most part. Willow was on the contrary obviously. I was never great at medicine so I do hope what I did do would at least keep her alive and healthy.

"Where are we going?" She asked me.

"Back to the hospital." I say with as much enthusiasm I can manage, which simply sounds sarcastic.

"What for...?"

"They'll probably have a med kit where I can treat your wounds better."

"Oh, okay," she said.

"Ivory?"

My name? Nothing to follow?

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for caring for me. I know you'll be like 'it's no big deal,' but it really is. I love you, best friend." She smiled, tears in her eyes...or, eye.

"Oh Willow, I love you too. That's what people who love you do. They take care of you."

Saying 'I love you' back made my stomach flutter. It hurts how hers is meant as a friend and mine meant so much more. I do, really, love her. I'm in love with her.

"Thanks." She replied.

The rest of the walk was silent, Willow seemed happy, I was flustered. The light of the moment brought us to forget the situation. We reached the hospital which no longer seemed to be guarded by the "General". We walked inside. A rotting corpse laid in the middle of the hallway, stopped in front of a door. The same one from our previous visit. Still there. Willow and I walked up, mutually understanding the meaning of the body, we wanted to pay respects. 

We both closed our eyes and gave a moment of silence. Once we opened our eyes, I could help but look down. Mistake. It was still alive. Barely, but still alive. It was twitching and slowly moving its arm to move, despite the insects having already gotten to it. Surviving for a baby that was dead. If it had died too, it'd finally meet its baby again but no, it survived on.

Would it ever reach its peace?