H a l o s and F e a t h e r s

Lesson 12

The moon was high in the sky, illuminating the city as best as it could with the borrowed light from the sun. It shone through the window of the hospital room where Leanne finally found herself, feeling guilty and shameful as she glanced at Daniel's prone form. It had been nearly two and a half weeks since the car accident and yet Daniel was still in care of the hospital staffing for a coma. They had diagnosed him with a traumatic brain injury as the cause due to the truck that had run into him. The driver had been going far too fast on that section of road, attempting to beat the stop light before it turned red.

Leanne had felt so guilty over the boy's accident, in not being able to stop it that she hadn't been able to bring herself to visit her ward. Instead she had remained around his home, watching his mother as she broke down at the state of her only son. It was then that Leanne began to realize that Mrs. Noll cared for her son. Why she didn't show it Leanne didn't know but she figured that it may have something to do with lacking a connection to how emotions and the expression of them functioned.

Now the woman visited her son everyday while her husband, a burly man with leathery skin that worked as in masonry did his best to pick up the odd jobs here and there for extra money. They had no insurance and thus they had to scrounge up any and all money they could to pay for Daniel's hospital costs. This eventually had driven Leanne out of the Noll's household to avoid the sorrowful scene.

However she had put off facing Daniel for herself for far too long. She could only imagine the disappointed looks on Maika and Annabelle's faces from up above if they had witnessed this. So it was that she had steeled herself and come to check on the boy that was so much like herself. It broke her heart to see the boy motionless in the shadows of the room. Doctors were beginning to believe he may have slipped into a persistent vegetative coma.

Biting her lip Leanne took a seat next to the boy's bed, clasping her hands and averting her gaze to them. She fought to find the words she wanted and needed to say to him. Even if he couldn't hear her, wouldn't be able to recall them wouldn't it still mean something? Leanne thought so. Several minutes passed, a nearby clock ticking away and the heart monitor resounding just as steadily negated any true silence that could have befallen in the room.

Finally the wingless angel sucked in a shaky breath before she began. "Hey, Daniel... I don't think you can hear me but... hey, no point in not trying, right?" She paused, biting her lip, eyes averting from his face. He looked too peaceful. "You need to wake up, you know that right? Your mom's real worried and your dad's workin' his ass off tryin' to pay your bills."

Leanne stopped again, running a hand over her face. Her heart thudded painfully against her chest in those moments. How could talking to someone who remained unresponsive be so difficult? Leanne wondered.

"I should'a done a better job helpin' you, kid.... I should'a paid more attention. Maybe then this wouldn't have happened and you'd be a little happier."

The sounds of the clock and the heart monitor filled the room again. Out in the hallway Leanne could hear a pair of doctors walking, on their way to the on-call room to catch a few Z's until they were needed no doubt. Leanne forced herself to suck in another breath even as she felt the tears start to prick her eyes.

"When ya wake up, kid, we'll make sure you find a place you belong," she promised. "You'll have good friends who like you for who you are. You'll find a way to bond with your parents. They really are worryin', y'know.... I guess... I'm just kinda beatin' around the bush now. Funny, I usually hate people who do that. I think I understand why they do now.

"I'm sorry you got hurt, Daniel."

Leanne remained in that seat throughout the night, staring at her hands and reflecting on herself and her life and how she could have prevented Daniel's accident from happening. She didn't know when she fell asleep but when she jerked out of her sleep temporarily the sun was shining brightly and a doctor was checking on Daniel's vitals. Leanne wasn't sure if they were still giving him medications for any intracranial pressure as she had heard Mrs. Noll telling Mr. Noll one night on that first week. Once he was finished he was out the door and on his way to his next patient. Leanne dozed off again after that. After spending so much time avoiding Daniel she wasn't willing to leave the boy's side now. She had to make up for her avoidance, even if he wasn't awake to bear witness to it.

The second time she awoke was due to a strange jolt. Memories that weren't hers had flooded into her and she jerked awake again with a gasp. She was up on her feet in a moment, breathing hard at the onslaught of recollections and familiarity that she now felt for the person they belonged to. Her widened eyes landed on the boy that had sat in the seat she had been sleeping in.

Jake was seated there, biting his lip and bobbing his leg up and down anxiously. His eyes darted around the room as if afraid to rest his gaze on the comatose Daniel. Leanne was surprised to see him there. She had expected Daniel would have put him off all those weeks ago with his behavior towards the boy. Running a hand through his hair Jake spoke up after a moment.

"I don't know if you'd really want me here," he began, finally looking at Daniel's face. There was a breathing apparatus strapped to his face and Jake's eyes flickered to it as he bit his lip. "But I figure you must be lonely... I think I would be. I guess. I don't really know much about comas though so I guess I sound kinda stupid."

Jake leaned over in the chair, rummaging through his bag pack for something or other. As he did so he spoke.

"The doctors say there's not much we can do but wait for you to wake up. Your ma's real broken up about this." From the bag Jake produced a book, brightly colored in red with the black outlining of black of some demonic figure. He began to stare at its cover tapping his hands upon it in some rhythm only he knew. "I don't know how much good I've been doin', but when I heard I tried raising some money for your parents. We've gathered up some, for your bills. But I think you really need a friend. You always looked lonely."

Jake took the moment to open the paperback cover, flipping to the first page. "I remember saying you were reading Demonata. I don't know how far you got, I've only gotten to the third book myself since then. Didn't think they'd be so good."

Jake's next statement brought a smile to Leanne's face, her heart warming further for the young boy who was doing as much as he could to help another. "I thought it'd be nice to read it to you, when you're ma can't be here. I think she's picking up a job to help your dad, Daniel." With that Jake nodded and began to read aloud the first passage of the book to his comatose classmate.