This Bird

20-12-'13

" "If you die first, I'll right a book about you." I said, to which he replied: "If you die first, I'll no longer have a brother." " - Unknown

~

"Mr. Liguori?" A voice called suddeny very clearly. My eyes wided
"Yes." Yes. It seemed as if my heart started beating again. The waiting was over. I looked up at the girl and she smiled softly at me.
"The doctor is waiting for you in office B32. It's the third down the hall." I nodded, a bit dazed and stood up.

The chair in the office was clothe in a scarlett, jute-like textile. I brushed over the ridges of it as the doctor shuffled around with some paper.
"Alright. Amy Bennet." He looked me in the eye.
"I'm going to be very direct. I have bad news." I felt it sink in. The way you feel an oversized bite of food slight down your throught. And then it hits your stomach, with the weight of a thousand potatoes. I barely heared anything he said after that. "-been adsorbed by the body or have left it through vomiting. There's nothing left that we can do to help." A silence fell. The air seemed to turn to syrup, slowing everything, including my thoughts and breathing down.
"Okay." I said, eventhough I didn't understand what it all meant.
"She's going to be okay, right?" It sounded like something a 10 year old would say. He looked at me for what seemed for hours. The doctor had very pale blue eyes. They looked a bit dreamy, like he wasn't really there either. Like he surpresent conversations like this and went on autopilot as soon as he put on his lab coat. Flicked the switch off and with that his emotions. It must make you appathetic, a job like this.
"I'm afraid not sir."

They brought me to her room. Number B23. It was a very humble space. Just enough for a bed and two or three stools. Opposite to the bed hung a pin-up board, persumably used to hang received get-better cards. Right now the only thing on it was a flyer from the hospital. I expected to want to look away, as I saw her, but I didn't. I slowly took the image in. She was pale, I'll give you that. But despite the hospital gown and the wires in her nostrilles, she still seemed so her. It was like they just lifted her up out of her closet and put her here, with the hospital pyjamas and the electronics. It didn't seem right. I noticed they left her hair braided, like she had done it this morning. I prepared for the tears to come as I thought of the morning. I know it sounds cliche, but it feels like that happenf in a different life. That was a different Amy. One that wasn't going to die in a few moments. I felt so overwhelmed all of a sudden. She was going to be gone and I would be alone again. I said that sentence a few times in my head, but it didn't come through. Despite the knot in my stomach I didn't feel anything. The tears never came. I forced myself to walk up to the bed and look at her. Her skin looked transparent in this light. My fingers lingered towards hers. They had put some kind of clamp like thing on her finger. The wire that was attached to it disappeared into a pit of other wires. I took her hand in mine and above all it felt wrong.