Like Birds in the Sky

Reunion

I bounced on the heels of my feet, standing impatiently in the hallway with a styrofoam cup in my hand, the soft morning light shining from the snowy window, giving the whitewashed ward a golden, warm glow. My stomach grumbled and I was tired, but I didn't care. A pigeon flew up and landed on the windowsill, cooing gently. His black eyes glittered at me brightly, then blinked swiftly before he flew away into the concrete jungle of the city, startled by a doctor walking past the window. Her high heels clacked sharply against the tile floor.

"Francis?"

"Yes?" My heart began beating more quickly in anticipation for what she was going to say.

"Mattheiu is allowed visitors now, if you'd like to step in for a moment." She smiled.

"A-all right. Thank you... Thank you!" It took all of my willpower not to run to his room immediately. I controlled myself as she walked away, and after she was out of sight, I took off, sprinting at top speed down the hallway and around the corner, rocketing past startled-looking doctors and nurses in scrubs to the door at the end of the hall. When I reached it, I skidded to a stop and caught my breath for a few seconds, then straightened up and opened the door, stepping into the room, where Mattie lay, looking pale but most importantly, alive. I shut the door softly behind me, clicking it  into place. He started and quickly peered up at me, glasses glinting sharply on his nose.

I took a deep breath. I had not anticipated just how difficult this moment would be. "Mattie...?"

He smiled and simply said "Francis."

A dam inside me seemed to break. I began to cry and hurried over to him, wrapping him in a warm hug. "Mattie... Mattheiu, I was so worried!" My shoulders shook, tears of relief streaming down my face and wetting his hospital gown. He softly patted my back, whispering soft words into my hair, words that soothed me like no medicine ever could. "I'm all right. Shh... it's all right now. Everything's going to be okay. It is okay. I love you. I love you so much, Francis." 

 I drew back, my cheeks damp and one hand on his cheek. "I... I love you, too."

TWO WEEKS LATER

I pushed a wheelchair through the hospital, Mattie sitting silently in it, observing his former cage with a impatient gait. I rolled him down the hallway, the glass door at the end letting shining light into the lobby, making the tile floor glitter and gleam. I walked him up to the counter and checked him out of the hospital with the receptionist. He was silent for the duration of my short conversation with her, his eyes wide and waiting. Once I was finally done, I leaned down and smiled at him. He smiled, his eyebrows arched slightly. I ruffled his hair playfully, my smile breaking into a grin. "Mon Deiu, let's get out of here!" I jogged him to the door, flinging it open and pushing him outside,  stepping onto the pavement with him, the door jingling to a close behind me. "We're finally out..." He turned his face up to the sky and caught snowflakes on his face and laughed a bit, then turned and smiled at me. "Let's go home." I nodded and began wheeling him towards the parking lot, where my car was parked. "Yes, Mon Amour, let's go home."