Through An Artist's Eyes - Book 1 - Raphael x OC x Leonardo

THE ADRENALINE BOOST || CHAPTER 12

I was in a deep black void. 'Where am I?' I thought to myself. The last thing I remembered was the old creeper injecting me with purple, glowing liquid goop. And I felt pain in my wrists. I stroked my wrists, but I did not see any wounds here in this void. I wondered how they could be in pain if I didn't have any visible injuries.

The deep black, velvety void then changed into a familiar setting. I did not like this. I never wanted to see this building again in my life. This building changed my and my family's lives forever. I started to panic and tried to move away from the building. I closed my eyes tightly. I tried to get away from this place.

'Oh no, this was the last time I saw my Mom before she passed,' I thought to myself and a tear streamed down my cheek.

I took a deep breath and knew all the actions that were going to play out in front of me. I had no control over my body and actions. As if I was in a sunken place and viewed everything through a camera lens.

When I opened my eyes again, I could see medical equipment and a bed in the cancer care department of the hospital. This room is too familiar. Everything in this room was colored white, grey, and a very pale powder blue. The over-intoxicating scent of cleaning detergents was everywhere. Typical clean hospital smell. That wanted to burn your nose off. There, I saw the familiar face looking at me with warm chocolate-brown eyes. Her burgundy hair was gone. All shaved off. She had a scarf that covered her head instead.

My Mom lay in the bed with a thin, pale powder blue sheet that covered her. She was in the hospital for typical blood tests and blood transfusions, but then the next moment she was admitted. A week's stay then changed to three months of ongoing treatments. I approached the bed to see my Mom, who looked so frail and vulnerable. I carefully took her hand. Her hand was so soft and thin. As if her bones were covered with a thin sheet of paper. My Mom lost a lot of weight due to her appetite loss. The chemotherapy to treat her leukemia did not help her appetite at all. There were also dark circles under her eyes. She fought her own demons within this room.

"Hi, Mom." I greeted my Mom as I usually do when I visited her. I took out some toiletries she needed, chocolates, treats and extra clothes. I also bought my laptop to show her some of the art pieces I did.

"Hi, my darling," my Mom said with a warm smile. But she was in pain, she tried to hide it from me. She knew it would bother me a lot.

I opened the laptop and showed her my collection of art pieces that are compiled in themes and colors.

My Mom smiled and you could see she beamed at me with pride. I could only be truly fully myself around her. She accepted me for how I looked and who I am. Gothic, music taste, books and my no social skills. All of it, she accepted. The atmosphere was calm — a bit too calm. As if something is going to happen. My Mom kept her eyes on me or the laptop screen. She gave her compliments on each art piece and her opinions. My Mom was creative, yes, but artistic, no. I inherited that gift from my grandmother on my Dad's side of the family. The grandmother I never had the chance to meet.

"Thank you, my girl, for showing this to me," My Mom said with a grateful expression. And she held my hand even tighter.

"I wanted to, Mom. Thank you." I was also so happy I was able to show a collection of the art pieces I could do while she was stuck here. After three months, my Mom thought of this room as her saving grace and also her own personal hell.

"So, Mom, you are coming home this weekend, right?" I expressed excitedly. I am so excited to have my Mom back home and I hoped she will recover quickly at home. To get out of this hell hole of a room. I looked forward to her home-cooked meals and company again. My Dad only knew how to make steak, eggs and fries. And we had that about every third day for the last three months.