In light of her newly poor health, Ryuuko has become so melancholic, especially when she's in the hospital. She's mostly tied to her room, which was made nice to make her comfortable. She doesn't do or talk about much besides look at the machines and about what the doctors said. Fortunately, her illness isn't terminal but, given all the time she's spent in the hospital, I cannot help but to feel that the doctors are hiding something. I was told they weren't but I don't believe them.
It seemed like only yesterday that she was so boisterous and hotheaded, quick to piss off and every emotion that wasn't happiness or amusement coming out in anger. Underneath that, as Mom said, was a total baby and a sweetheart and that it was just that she was so used to being angry and sad. Of course, when Mom said that to her, she immediately had broken into tears, confirming it was true. That was a little while ago and now she is just a melancholic wreck mostly tied to a hospital room. She'd pretend things were fine but she would be terrible at holding up the ruse and would just let it fall. She'd stop doing that all together and just let it show, which made her more open to talking about it. Whenever she did talk about it, she would often ask, "Do you think I'm dying?" Whenever she did ask that, she would play it off like she was joking, be that halfheartedly, but I always knew she meant what she asked. She wanted to know if we really did think she was dying, thus she wanted to know if she herself was dying. Having spent a decent while in the hospital, I can see why and, to be honest, she may as well be. No one wants to spend their childhood mostly in the hospital, tied to their rooms, attached to machines, being pumped with medicines, and waiting to see if fate will roll the dice. I never did like that and neither does she.
As I think about her illness, I was to soon find my heart shattered beyond repair. It was pretty much like the day before. I was going to visit Ryuu in the hospital, except, as I was leaving, I heard Sunnie Rei mutter something about Ryuu and a wish, prompting me ask, to which she responded, "Oh crap. Anyway, don't tell Riley I told you this but, before she went to the hospital, she told me that she wished to be the sick one instead of you, thus trading her health and, possibly, life away so you wouldn't be the sick one anymore, which is to say, she wished to switch places with you so she'd suffer and possibly die of illness instead. She also stated she has no regrets about that. She told me not to tell you and, man, if she lives through this, she's gonna kick my ass and she will kick it bad but...you're gonna find out anyway." She then handed me an envelope, addressed: Don't open unless I'm dead. Something in me knew what the letter would say and I was in tears, so upset that I though my sadness would kill me right then and there. The force of it all caused me to faint.
I awoke to my hand being held and a gentle hand stroking my hair. Mom was holding my hand and Dad was stroking my hair. Both were confused and worried, not knowing how to make sense of what had occurred or what had me upset. I didn't have to answer, as Rei then handed them the envelope, saying, "Don't tell Ryuu I gave you this, although, you might not want to read it." Mako's chubby hands swiped it from them and her voice read what was written on it, prompting my parents' eyes to widen. Mom started to shake, as though she was in one of her epileptic fits, and Dad just look shocked. Of course, their shock was not just theirs, it was also Mako and Nui's. Mako had peed herself and Nui, well, she went to drink a bottle of cough syrup, with Sunnie Rei leading her to back to the room, saying, "Nui drank a bottle of cough syrup."
It was nightfall when things started to fall back together, be that haphazardly with pieces that don't fit too well together, and for Nui to come out of cough-syrup induced stupor. We avoided the letter inside envelope like the plague, as seeing the envelope labeled "Don't open unless I'm dead" had already did enough. She wished to suffer this and I remembered what was said about wishes. She got what she wished for and, to be honest, I am to be blame. I will have preferred death over having to see her suffer, especially like this. As I thought, I managed to must up enough composure to ask to use to the phone. They haven't questioned and let me go about my business. I got on the phone, dialed the hospital where Ryuu was staying, and they paged me the phone in her room.
She answered, to which I responded, "Hey, Ryuu, hey, would you like to sing a song? We can sing one you like, like the one from one of your favorite movies." She coughed a for a little bit, before sniffling, and answering, "Yeah, okay, let's sing the one from Tangled, that one." I found myself a chair, sat down, and wiped away my tears. "Flower, gleam and glow..." I sang, trying to fight back tears.
"....Let your power shine."
"Make the clock reverse...."
".....Bring back what once was mine...."
".....Heal what has been hurt."
"Change the fates' design...."
"....Save what has been lost."
"Bring back what once was mine...."
"....What once was mine."
She ended the phone call with a, "See you tomorrow, Sachuki." We hung up the phone at the same time and I vowed to visit the next day. As Soroi put us to bed, I asked him if he thought wishes come true, to which he replied, "Yes, little mistress, if you believe it so." When he left, I found myself gazing out of the window at the stars. Of course, as I looked at the stars, I remembered that Ryuuko was all alone in the hospital aside from the machines and the medicines, prompting me to make a wish...
I wish that I was in the same place Ryuu is, that way, we'll suffer the same and she won't be alone. Maybe it will come true.
