The Patient, The Prisoner, & Their Paper Planes

Don't Have To Apollogize

On the next morning, Rin made sure to ask for extra papers from the nurse. She knew that if she wanted to communication with Len, it must be efficient.

On cue, her doctor walked in the room with his clip board. "Good morning, Rin. How are you feeling today?" he asked kindly.

"I'm feeling fine," she replied.

He flipped through the pages of notes and charts. "Your condition seems to be stabilizing... nothing out of the ordinary. Today we're going to try a new prescription." A nurse approached with a silver tray holding a medicine bottle and a glass of water.

"Oh," Rin said surprised.

"We think this might help lessen the pain and hold back the symptoms for you."

The nurse spun the cap off and a only shook out one white pill. "You only need to take one per day," she instructed.

"Okay." Rin was actually happy about this. She never liked swallowing pills. Now she had one less pill to worry about shoving down my throat. She lifted her chin, gulped the pill and washed it down with water.

"This is still a new product, so we're only monitoring if this will make any improvements. If not, then we'll have to switch to your original medication."

"Okay."

The doctor exited the room, but the nurse remained. She stayed behind to replace the fluid bag of Rin's PC monitor.

As Rin waited for the nurse to finish whatever work she needed to get done, she laid back on my pillow comfortably, slowly closing her eyes. She thought maybe if she pretended to go to sleep, the nurse would go away. Rin's breathing became smooth and rhythmic, the hospital room gradually hushing more quiet. Sleep eventually overpowered her.

When Rin woke up, she stretched her arms and legs like a cat, tasting her dry mouth. She looked out the window to see how far into the day it had already passed. She wondered how many hours she slept.

When she turned her head to the stack of papers sitting on her night stand, that was when she finally realized she forgot something important. That promise she made to Len. The pill made her oversleep. She was late.

"Oh my gosh!" Rin sprung out of her sheets, hastily but carefully removing the tube from her arm. How could she have been so careless? As soon as she properly dressed up, she grabbed a handful of papers, opened the window and dashed for the prison.

Even though she had time to beat the sunset, she still couldn't help but feel guilty that she might have made her friend wait for her when she said that she would meet him at noon. Completely irresponsible and inconsiderate to not keep a simple promise, she thought

When she reached the top of the hill, just as she expected, there was that boy again, sitting behind the fence. She ran down there as fast as she could, her heart arguing against it. Len stood up when he saw her, and Rin doubled over as soon as she made it to the base of the fence. Her heart was pounding hard uncontrollably, her lungs not receiving enough air.

"I'm so... so sorry... I came... late," she panted between breaths. Still bending over, she looked up to see Len watching her with concern. He bent down to write in the dirt.

Are you okay?

Rin nodded her head without thinking. "Hyeah. Just... a bit... tired. Just give me... a minute..." Rin intended on sitting down, but instead her body collapsed. Rin's senses began to alter. She could only hear the cries of birds as loud as a muffle. The ground shined twice as bright as day, too much for Rin to keep her eyes open. She shut her eyes, feeling like her mind was pouring out, feeling lightheaded. Her mind was a mush, she could barely tell how much time has passed.

As her senses slowly returned to normal, she could feel something soft smoothly stroking her cheek. When she finally opened her eyes, she saw Len crouching down, cupping her face, his arm through the fence. He looked so scared with those intensified eyes focused on her. As Rin tried to get up, Len tried as much as he could to carefully help her up.

Rin only sat on her knees, not feeling like she could stand up yet. Len quickly wrote in the dirt.

What happened?

Rin took a deep sigh. "Sorry, I just got really exhausted getting here, I guess." Rin brushed the dirt off her dress, arms and face, then started rubbing her eyes.

Len's face grew upset. He erased his previous message and made a new one.

Don't push yourself too hard!

Rin looked into Len's eyes. "Look, I'm sorry. I accidentally overslept so I wanted to come here as soon as I could so that you wouldn't feel stood up."

Len scratched off his message again, vigorously digging more words.

I don't care if you stood me up. It's not like I'm going anywhere. Your health is more important.

As soon as he finished, Len looked at her seriously. She felt bad for making him worry. Rin soon remembered the papers she had clutched in her hand. They were partially crumpled, but they would have to do.

"Oh, sorry. I almost forgot. Here." Rin only managed to grab three sheets of paper, but she figured it might be enough. She then realized that she didn't even bring anything to write with. "Oh man! I forgot to bring pencils. I am so sorry! I'm just the worst."

Len tilted his head at her sympathetically. He got up with the papers in his hand, then left to his cabin. Rin felt like she was going to cry. The first friend she has made in years and she ruined it. She thought he probably didn't want to see her again.

However, in less than minute, Len stepped out. He came back to the spot, holding a very old, filthy pen. He began writing on one of the blank pages. When he finished, he held it up for her to read.

You say sorry a lot. You don't have to apologize all the time. We all make mistakes.

Rin wiped a small tear away. Hopefully he didn't see it. When Len offered her a page and the pen, Rin accepted and started writing on her lap.

I'm just a huge mess, she wrote. When she held it up for Len to read, instantly he wrote his reply.

You and I both.

Rin got curious and wrote a question. Where did you get that pen?

Len replied,

A soldier dropped it without noticing. I picked it up without anyone looking, and I use it to doodle under my bed.

Oh, so you draw too!

Yeah, but not as half good as you.

Rin and Len both giggled. When Rin looked at the sun, she frowned.

I should probably get going now.

She returned the pen to Len. Len wrote again.

Are you sure you'll be alright?

Rin nodded. "Don't worry, I'm still healthy in spirit. I'll be fine. So I'll see you again tomorrow, right?"

Len smiled and nodded. Rin stood up and stretched her limbs. She sent off one last wave to Len, then started heading back to the hospital.

When Rin disappeared behind the hill, Len looked around, hoping no one was watching. As a precaution, he hid the papers under his shirt, then ran straight into his cabin. There, he hid the papers underneath his bed.