Spiderman From the Ashes : Volume One

Chapter Fourteen - Please Don't Close Your Eyelids

Don't stay awake for too long, don't go to bed. I'll make a cup of coffee for your head. It'll get you up and going out of bed...

Arisu's heart raced as she felt her cell phone vibrating in her pocket while walking home. She fished it out and answered the call, a sense of dread creeping over her as she saw that it was the doctor on the line.

He had said it was an emergency and mumbled a few words until she hesitated when Haru was mentioned. The worry and chill in her stomach intensified, sending her rushing to the nearest subway station. Her shoes tapped loudly against the pavement as she tried to distract herself as her anxiety was getting bigger.

The wait for the train was excruciating, each passing minute feeling like an eternity. Finally stepping inside the crowded subway car, Arisu struggled to keep her nerves at bay amidst the sea of people lost in their own thoughts and problems. As she crossed the avenue, she refused to look around or make eye contact with anyone.

The light poles was flickered on one by one, casting a dim glow over the surrounding area as night descended. The sky was painted in soft hues of orange and pink, signaling the beginning of evening. But Arisu couldn't appreciate its beauty, her mind consumed by for what news awaited her at the hospital.

As her feet made contact with the sterile, white marble floor of the hospital, a wave of pungent medicine assaulted her senses. The constant shuffling of stretchers and the sound of machines beeped in the background, reminding her of the urgency and fragility of life.Her mind was plagued with one thought: "I hope it's not too late." The plea for a second chance at life hung heavy in the air, a desperate bargain made on the thin line between survival and death.

The doctor emerged from behind the blindingly white door with a weary sigh. His icy blue eyes met Arisu's gaze, but she could sense her hidden scarlet red irises, a telltale sign of his true identity. With hesitant steps, she entered the stark white room expecting to find no one but her son. But as she looked up through tear-filled eyes, she saw Aunt Bierce, sitting silently by the bed. Amidst sobs and heart-wrenching cries, she laid eyes on her son - pale and frail as she had never seen him before. Dark circles lined his sunken face, making him look like a mere shadow of himself.

"Hey... can you hear me?" Arisu choked out between sobs. "I shouldn't have left you alone..."A raspy voice responded "....mom?... I don't like that feeling..... I don't like seeing you cry."

Hearing those words only added to Arisu's inner struggle. She knew her son was suffering, both physically and emotionally.

"I know, I know." she wept. "Dad will be there? I want to see him again." the boy asked.

"Don't say that... It'll be all right. Just-" Arisu tried to comfort them both.

But before he could finish a word, the little boy's eyes became dim and he lost his grip on Arisu's hand. His head fell lifelessly to his side.

Arisu repeated his name over and over again, willing him to wake up. But he didn't move. He lay there on the cold hospital bed, his warm body turning numb.
She hold up her anguish, her inner scream follwing a few tears running out her face as she held onto her son's hand. The nurses rushed in to calm her, but she continued to whimper, unable to believe what had just happened.

She had a superpower, the ability to save lives. But she couldn't save her own son. Arisu collapsed onto the hospital gurney, burying her face into the soft mattress as she wept feeling powerless in that moment. She couldn't hold it up anymore.

It was a painful contradiction - having extraordinary abilities but not being able to use them when it mattered most. She felt like a failure, yet again.

Once a failure, always a failure.