The Smile

5. Everything has changed

I couldn't sleep that night.

The memories of our conversation still floating around in my mind.

I can still remember the animated way in which she described her stories, eyes shining with excitement. Her loud laughter still ringing in my ears. I could see the maniac energy of the girl she used to be.

And I wondered. I wondered why the best people go through the worst kinds of pain. I wondered why the most beautiful person I knew also had to be sick and dying. I wondered what would've happened if we had met under different circumstances.

Somewhere in the midst of all these thoughts, I slowly drifted off to sleep.

~~~

I opened my eyes to the bright glare of the sun.

The sky was a clear blue and I could hear the faint bubbling of a stream nearby and the birds chirping overhead. I felt something tickling the back of my neck. I reached over to touch it and I felt........grass?

What the hell?

I sat up straight and looked around.

I was in a small meadow surrounded by trees and a small stream that ran down on one side. A bunch of lavender flowers were scattered across the meadow.

How the hell did I get here?

I heard a soft giggle. I looked down to where I had been lying down earlier, and there lay a girl. Her hair strewn around her in a halo, pale skin glittering in the sun, wearing a bright yellow dress that matched her equally bright smile.

Sierra.

I stared at her dazed and mesmerized.

"Come lie down again." she murmured slowly with a slight smile. Too confused to ask any questions I did as I was told.

I felt her hand twitching next to mine. Slowly, I slipped my hand into hers and felt the immediate warmth that spread from my fingertips to the rest of my body. We stayed like that for a long time; hands intertwined, staring up at the sky, the sun on our faces.

I turned to look at her, only to find that she was already staring at me.

I stared back into those chocolate brown eyes that I had grown to love. I always thought brown eyes were boring. They looked like dirt and all things dead.

But right now as I watched the pair of eyes set right in front of me, I could see that they were far from boring. The sunlight turned them into little orbs of molten gold, like the treasures that men try to pull from the ground. Right in the center they were dark and mysterious, like staring into the abyss, pulling me in all the while holding a million little secrets, yet to be unraveled. 

As the light changed, I watched them turn from inky black to melted chocolate to a brilliant glittering gold. 

It was like her eyes held a sunset of their own. Orphic.

And then she smiled. 

My breath caught in my lungs and there was no need for explanations because I knew, at that very moment, that I would do anything it takes to see her smile again.

~~~

My eyes flutter open and the first thing I see is Nurse Olivia smiling down at me.

"Looks like somebody was having a good dream"

I blink, still groggy from sleep and a little confused by the unnatural dream.

I slowly sat up and rubbed my eyes. I turn to Nurse Livvy and ask what time it is.

"Well you slept until late so whatever you were dreaming about must've been real good", she says. I felt a grin creeping into my face.

Nurse Livvy narrowed her eyes at me, "Hmmm.......I have to say that grin looks very suspicious on you. So either you are planning to kill someone or you just naturally have a creepy smile"

I scowled at her sarcasm.

She laughed, "That's more like the Kenneth I know."

After going through my morning routine, she took me down for breakfast.

I found myself becoming giddy as we went closer to the patients' cafeteria. 

Never have I been this excited for breakfast. Heck, never have I dreamt about a girl I had just met. Nor did I spend much time thinking about a girl.

As we entered, she was the first person I saw. It was like she radiated a sort of magnetic pull.

She was sitting alone, playing with her half eaten food while reading a book. My usual 'friends' were nowhere to be seen. They must've had breakfast earlier considering how late I woke up. Nurse Livvy noticed me staring, and after I picked out my food, she took me straight to her table and left me with nothing but a mischievous smile.

Sierra looked up from her book and raised an eyebrow, but her face held a sort of amusement.

I spluttered. "Hi...I...uh....thought you could....maybe...I don't know....use a bit of company."

She grinned, "I don't know..I'm kinda a bad influence so you should really stay away from me."

I rolled my eyes and tried to turn my wheelchair to leave.

"Hey hey, where are you going?"

"Staying away from you"

Her face fell, "I was only kidding about that"

"I know", I say as I scooted back and set my tray on the table. She stared at me for a second and then threw her empty water bottle at me, which hit me right in the face.

"What was that for?" I ask rubbing my nose.

"That my friend was for being an absolute jerk to me"

I smirk and then nod towards her abandoned book, "You read?"

She gave me look, "Why does it surprise people that I read? Not all cheerleaders are party animals who flirt and drink."

"I didn't mean it like that. What are you reading anyway?"

She showed me the cover, and when I registered no recognition, she looked shocked.

"How could you not know!! Its one of the best romance novels out there!!"

"Do I look like someone who reads romance?"

"Well you should. Its amazing!"

I looked at her face. I had noticed yesterday how her face lit up with excitement whenever she spoke about something she loved.

"Why don't you tell me about the story, seeing that you've already read it", I say

She sat up straight, visibly perked at the idea, and launched into the story describing everything with vivid detail, like she had memorized the entire story. 

Or, maybe in some alternate universe, she had lived it herself.

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