estrange ✶ huening kai

nineteen.

eyes slowly peeling open, sora looked around the small, white room. she lifted her hand to block the bright sun that peaked through the window, only to realize that an iv was sticking out of it.

what happened?

the door to her room suddenly slid open, as her mom walked inside. sora's mom dropped her things in shock as she saw that her daughter was now awake. turning around to yell out the door, "she's awake!" sora's mother then ran to her side. "thank god you're awake."

"mom?" sora looked up at the woman, who's eyes were already wet with tears. "what's going on?"

the room then became occupied by a few nurses who were checking her vitals, followed by a doctor.

the man looked down at the clipboard he held in his hands, before looking at the girl who laid in the hospital bed, "izumi sora. it's a relief you're finally awake."

"finally? how long was i asleep?"

"you came in yesterday, as you had an attack at school." the man pushed his glasses further up his nose, "i'm doctor lee. it's nice to meet you while you're in a tad bit of a healthier state." sora only nodded, which prompted him to continue talking. "it's quite obvious what we're dealing with here: you have hanahaki."

sora looked down at her lap, too scared to meet anyone's eyes.

"i'm not sure of how long you've had it, but i can tell that the disease has developed rather quickly," dr. lee continued to explain as he flipped through the papers, "it's developed at an accelerated rate due to your asthma, which has already greatly weakened your lungs." he paused, pulling the papers back into a neat pile on the wooden surface. sighing, he looked between both sora and her mother, "i hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it doesn't look good for sora if she doesn't get treatment immediately."

"what do you mean?" her mother asked, as she gripped onto sora's hand.

"three weeks. and that's if she were to stay in the hospital the entire time."

the room fell silent. the nurses slowly shuffled out, and soon it was just the three of them.

"there is another way, however." the two remained stunned, as they stared off into space. dr. lee took this as his chance to further explain, "sora can get the surgery to remove the flower. basically, we will open her lungs, and remove the plant. it is a very quick surgery, with little recovery time. however, there is a downside.."

sora managed to bring her eyes up to meet the doctor's once more.

"any and all memories of the person causing you this disease will no longer be remembered by you. and you'll be incapable of ever loving them again."

her breath caught in her throat, sora felt her eyes begin to sting only slightly with tears.

"i cannot force you to get the surgery, but i greatly advise that you make a decision as soon as possible," dr. lee's face remained grim as he finished delivering the news, "time is of the essence." with that, he left the room, the door sliding shut behind him.

beside her, sora's mom began to silently cry, as she rubbed her thumb over her daughter's hand.

"i-" sora's words got stuck in her throat, as the hot tears began spilling over. "i'm sorry, mom."

"why didn't you tell me?"

"i... i didn't want you to worry."

reaching her hand out to stroke sora's hair, her mom sniffled slightly. "why would you try and go through something so terrifying all by yourself?" sora only broke down even more at her mother's words, which prompted the woman to wrap her arms around her. "shh," she cooed, "i'm here now, okay? and your father is on a flight back here. we're both here for you."

despite hearing that she was going to die in less than a month only minutes before, sora felt a weight lifted off her shoulders in that moment. sighing softly, she nestled her head further into her mom's shoulder, her tears of sadness turning into tears of relief.