Sell Some Lives

Stitches

Inside Léontine's hospital room, the reek of urine, vomit and shit made my nose prickle and my eyes sting. The nurse taking care of Léontine had a bloodied handkerchief pressed to her own nose and her eyes were running.

"Can we come in, nurse?" Mr. Harvey asked tentatively.

"Shh! She's asleep. She couldn't sleep for the pain." The nurse said muffledly, retching. I saw her throw up a little in her already bloody apron. The vomit was watery and bloody too. Perhaps she had tuberculosis.

I looked away, and saw Léontine staring at me. She was restrained with leather straps, feet and hands. I felt a stab of guilt in my stomach... or maybe it was a stab of hunger. I saw that Léontine hadn't taken not one bite of her congealed fish custard and frumenty or a sip of her pint of beer.

"Nurse can I please have some of Lee's food?" I asked before Mr. Harvey could stop me.

The Nurse sniffed. "Well... alright then."

As soon as I was given the ok I started wolfing the plate down, knowing I would only get gruel for my dinner. I wasn't sure there would be lunch at the factory either.

"Tali! You'll be eating the plate next!" Mr Harvey said crossly, tucking his white hair behind his ears and giving the nurse an embarrassed smile. "I'm so sorry Nurse, I know it's not visiting hours yet but we just had to see Léontine urgently."

"I'll turn a blind eye this time, monsieur." The Nurse walked out leaving us with Léontine.

I got up slowly and walked up to the edge of her bed. I saw she was convulsing. She had her eyes open a crack. They were big and dark with long sooty lashes. She might have been beautiful if her face wasn't so badly stitched up. It had pus coming out of the wounds which were everywhere on her face, long and gruesome.

"You... butchered... my face." She whispered painfully.

I took a deep breath.

"I didn't mean to Léontine... you provoked me and-"

"BE QUIET! YOU DISTORTED MY FACE! YOU MADE ME UGLY... Who will want me now? You took away... everything I had left." She sobbed.

I felt a lump in my throat. She looked so broken.

"I'm sorry... I think you're much more than just your beauty." I whispered and I leaned over her and kissed her soft pink lips. They tasted metallic. My lip began to sting suddenly. She'd bit me!

"Ow!" I jumped back, as she tried to get up. 

"NOoo! DON'T KISS ME! MY MAMA WAS ONLY ALLOWED TO KISS MY LIPS! NOOOOOO!" She screamed, trashing around on the bed. One of her hands came free and she started flailing it at me.

"I'm sorry!" I felt stunned and shocked as Mr. Harvey dragged me out of the room and away from Léontine's loud screams. We could still hear her outside on the hospital grounds though. 

"What did you do to her, Taleah?!" Mr. Harvey gasped, his hands on his knees.

"I- Nothing, I just kissed her to say sorry."

"You're not supposed to kiss someone you almost killed!" He said, shaking me roughly. Then he spat on the ground by my feet.

"Oh." So she didn't want kisses because she was mad at me. I decided to make it up to her and then I could kiss her all I wanted. She had such soft, amazing lips...