Hospitals are sterile. The walls are colorless and lifeless, and everything smells of disinfectant. "Hello, how may I help you?" A rather young woman at the counter inquires, breaking me out of my dazed state.
"Hi, um, my father was admitted less than an hour ago due to an accident. His name is-"
"William Walker?"
"Yes ma'am," I mutter, downcasting my eyes.
"Follow me please," She guides, giving me an empathetic smile. "Now, normally visitors aren't allowed down here, but-"
"Since my father's dying you thought you would grace me with the pleasure," I answer sarcastically, feeling anger towards myself seize my bones. I shouldn't have given him the chance to get in that car. I should have driven him. If I had, he wouldn't be as good as dead. It's all my fault.
"Here we are," The woman states, opening the door for me. There he lies, all bloodied up and mangled, hardly living yet still somehow alive.
"Daddy," I whisper, finally allowing my dam to break harder than Katrina. My knees give from under me as I reach the bed, collapsing to the floor and waiting a few moments before I'm able to regain my strength to stand. "Daddy please don't leave me. You're all I have left."
"Sing to me, baby," He whispers, grabbing for my hand.
"Anything," I sob out.
"Constellations?" He asks, managing a faint smile that resembles more of a grimace.
"The light was leaving. In the west it was blue.The children's laughter sang, and skipping just like the stones they threw. Their voices echoed across the way. It's getting late. It was just another night with a sunset, and amoonrise not so far behind to give us justenough light to lay down underneath thestars. Listen to papa's translationsof the stories across the sky. We drew our own constellations. The west winds often last too long. The wind may calm down. Nothingever feels the-" His heart monitor falls flat, bringing a dull tone to ringthrough my ears and my heart falling through my chest. "Daddy," I sob, holdinghis hand, gripping on to it as my last connection to anything I love. The doctorswho swarm in to cover his body are unaware, but what they're covering isn'tonly my father, but the last of my sanity.
YOU ARE READING
Chasing Rainbows
Teen FictionLarkin Katherine Walker has lived a long, tragic life. At the age of twenty, the past five years have slipped by without her living them at all. So what is she going to do about it? After all, going after happiness is like chasing a fucking rainbow...
