Heavenly Refuge

Heavenly Refuge ~ Ch. 16

Luna wasn’t allowed to get up anymore, not that she had the energy now. The “supposed” deadline of her two month life-span passed a couple days ago, but Luna could tell she wouldn’t make it much longer. A constant IV and heart monitor were plugged into her, and only Simon and Dad were allowed to visit. The pneumonia still had her in it’s grips, her chest pains growing and growing every day. Nurses and doctors always kept a close eye on her, monitoring what she did, and if she’d go into a fit again.

      One thing was for sure: she had to get out of this hell hole. Luna refused to die in a place like this.

      Dad and Simon were sleeping in the chairs now, they refused to leave her presence, challenging anyone who tried to remind them that visitor hours were over long ago. But now, as Luna was awake, she saw the stress on both of them.

      Simon’s was subtle, a little paler, a little thinner, and small circles under his eyes. He hadn’t touched her in days, and she was always too tired to do anything about that. The thought amused her for some reason, that she’d die a virgin.

      Dad on the other hand, he was a wreck. His publisher came to the hospital, yelling and screaming, giving Luna a headache, that he hasn’t completed one chapter since she last saw him. Deep, dark bags hung under his eyes, showing his grief that he was already experiencing. His cheeks were like caves.

      Luna looked out the window, a crescent moon shone through. Distantly, she thought how long she had left. She closed her eyes against the mental pain at the thought of what might happen after she died.

      He would move on. He’d find someone else to fill that hole in him. Simon didn’t seem like the type of guy to grieve forever like Dad. He’d grow up, get a job, make a living. She believed that Simon would make a great guy one day. Luna just wouldn’t be there with him to see if it really happened or not. Hell, maybe he’d forget her, eventually.

      She stared at the ceiling, her paper cranes still in the moonlight. Shakily, she reached over and got a square piece of paper off her nightstand. She’d kept a stack there in case she got bored. Slowly, Luna made a crane. It looked crappy, but that was what she could manage right now.

      Nine hundred ninety-nine.

      That’s how many cranes she had.

      Blackness blurred her vision, but she wasn’t dead; not yet. Luna was just so tired that she passed out, the crane still laying on her lap, it’s wing crippled and it’s head bent at a funny angle.

      She had another one of those “out of body experiences”, watching people walk by in an unknown city. Luna wasn’t there for any particular reason, only to watch the people passing by. It was a bright city, neon signs blinking. But it wasn’t New York or Las Vegas, that was for sure. People were laughing, talking, and drinking. They were alive.

      Nothing made sense to Luna anymore. She’d been so confused the last couple of days that she just stopped questioning things. It must be a symptom for the pneumonia, that’s the only logical explanation that she heard the doctors say.

      Luna walked -more like floated- through the crowd, unseen. It wasn’t anything new, not anymore. The last dream like this one was when she passed out cold when they were trying to pry her mouth open to take medicine.

      She passed her night like this, watching with envy at the people and their long lives ahead of them.

      Simon had stayed by her as much as he could, considering school and all. She wouldn’t want him to miss school, that was the only reason he went. And for once, he actually tried his hand at studying. He made a low C, but that was better than failing she had said, happy that he’d tried. Now, she was practically a zombie.