Chapter 2
4 days ago:
Kuina had left her mother’s bedside for her appointment with her own surgeon. It was late in the afternoon and her mom needed the rest anyway.
On her way to her room, she almost got ran over by nurses and doctors as they were pushing a bed towards the ER entrance. It was only through a glimpse but she saw the person on the bed. It was a woman. She had porcelain skin and a peaceful expression.
Kuina was certain she would have remembered if she had met such a beautiful woman before. She could be forgetful sometimes, but such a beauty ? She could never forget that. Yet, she had this strange feeling of familiarity. She could not explain how or why, but something was pulling her towards the woman.
As soon as she saw her she felt a sense of worry about her, like she would have worried for a friend or someone dear to her.
The girl had always been empathic, too much for her own good even, but that had nothing to do with what she was feeling. She genuinely cared ? She wanted, no, she needed to know what would happen to the woman.
She was in a bad state, and by the looks of it, the doctors were not too optimistic. That much was certain…
Before she could think about it more, someone bumped into her and she remembered she was almost late to her appointment.
She set away the terrible feeling of dread that was caught in her throat and dragged her feet away from the scene and the ER entrance. The furthest she went, the less she felt the pull but it was always there, deep down.
Since that day, Kuina made a habit of going to that floor, where she knew the woman would be.
The floor was reserved for top priority patients, those in a critical state, and the woman seemed to meet those criteria perfectly. She could not have stayed anywhere else, Kuina had been sure of it.
She did not know if she was even allowed on that floor, but the accident had caused such chaos around the hospital that no one really cared about her presence.
The day after she saw her, she went to the floor and looked through the windows of occupied rooms. The atmosphere of the whole floor was dark... Cold, which was odd considering the walls and lights were all white and bright.
She had seen countless crying families, worried lovers and crushed friends. Every patient had at least a loved one by their side… Every patient but one.
The one in the room at the end of the hallway.
Her.
The name at the door read ‘Rizuna An’.
She only dared to peek through the window when she came, but every time she stayed a little longer.
The day before, Kuina noticed the empty room had now a bouquet of flowers on the table. It made her feel a little better somehow, to know that she was not the only one to care about her.
Care… That was a strange expression. Was it really what it was ? She did not even know her, after all.
One time, a nurse came to tell her about the girl’s latest surgery. Before Kuina could say something, admit she did not know her, the nurse had already told her that everything went well but they did not know when she would wake up. Apparently, it could take some time, days or even weeks. Kuina had been too embarrassed to admit to the nurse she did not know Ann so she simply thanked her before leaving.
She hesitated to come back after that, as it felt like she was intruding.
But she could not ignore the feeling. It was too strong.
So, there she was, yet again approaching a room she had nothing to in.
To her surprise, the nurse that came out of Ann’s room, the one who confused her for a closed one, told her she had just woken up.
What a relief.
Surely now that the girl was awake, Kuina could leave, right ? There was nothing more to see. She was not some kind of creep or whatever. She had just been worried about Ann's safety, and now she was okay. There was no need for her to stay longer or even come back.
She was about to turn around when she cast a quick glance inside the room. She almost jumped when she noticed the now awake woman was watching her intensely.
Shit.
What was she supposed to do now ? Just stand there ? Leave ? Wave ? But why would she wave ? She did not know her.
Kuina was not used to feel so helpless. She was not anxious by nature but this whole situation made her feel extremely uneasy. How could she justify her presence when she herself could not explain it.
While she just stood there, the nurse continued, “You can go in if you want, but she needs to rest so don’t stay too long.”
“Oh, okay. Thank you.”, was all she managed to say before entering the room timidly as her pulse started racing in her chest. She mentally cursed herself for not saying anything.
Ann was relieved when the doctors finally left. All of it had been overwhelming. She could barely move, everything hurt. And now there she was, stuck, after spending so much time fighting for her life, literally.
She understood she was not in Borderland anymore, but she could not help but think about how this kind of state would have been a death warrant back there.
Another question came to her mind. Was borderland just her own imagination ? Were all the people she met there even real ? Would that mean that the only meaningful relationship she managed to form there, after years of avoiding everyone in her life and focusing all her energy in her work, was quite literally non-existent in the end ?
As she was still deep in thought, trying to make sense of it all, she noticed a shadow standing behind the window leading to the hallway.
She slowly turned her head to have a better view. When she could finally decipher the person by the window she almost let out a gasp. Now she also had hallucinations ? It was probably due to the medicine but still, it was cruel. Too cruel.
Out of everything and everyone she could have seen ? She was staring directly at none other than Kuina.
Still, knowing that it was all fake, she still found comfort in the familiar presence. Of course, she wished she did not had hallucinations, but this one was comforting at least. Way better than the King of spades or... Niragi.
However, she was not sure hallucinations had the ability to talk to nurses… But what did she know after all… All of it could still be a terribly realistic dream.
It became much more worrying, however, when her ‘hallucination’ slowly opened the door and entered the room.
“ Huh, hi… Sorry they just told me to go in ? But we don’t know each other… Sorry I didn't mean to disturb you. I don’t really know what I’m doing here actually. Anyway, uh, good to know you’re doing better. Bye ! “, the girl wearing Kuina's face rambled.
That was definitely no hallucination. But also, somehow not her Kuina. The Kuina she knew. The girl would have never stuttered this way. She was brave and not easily intimidated, a quality which more often than not, almost cost her her life.
Still, she was relieved to see a familiar face.
“ Wait !”, she said before the other girl could turn around completely.
“ Uh ? “
“ Could you… Pass me my phone, please ? “, Ann finally asked. She did not want her to leave. Even if this girl was not the Kuina she knew, it was better than nothing. Way better even.
“ Oh, sure. “, Kuina obeyed and approached the counter near the door. She grabbed the phone and approached the woman slowly, all under Ann's careful glance.
Once she came close enough to the bedside, she handed the object but Ann struggled to lift her arm and reach for it.
“ Can I ? “, Kuina asked after some hesitancy. Ann nodded and Kuina gently took her hand into her own, she placed the phone in it carefully. It was such a simple, but kind gesture. The short haired girl was not used to this. More than that, the gesture, their hands intertwined, felt like deja vu... but she could not quite place it. “ Thank you”, was all she could say in this moment.
When she raised her head, she was met with brown eyes staring at her. Studying her even. For a second, Ann thought, hoped even, that the girl remembered too.
“ You’re welcome, Ann. “
Did she just- ?
Could it be ?
Did she just say her name ?
“ Oh. I’m sorry, that was rude. I saw your name by the door earlier. My name is Kuina by the way... “, the other girl explained before Ann could ask anything.
I know, was what she wanted to say. Instead, she decided on something more sober, “ Nice to meet you. ”, she responded with a small smile.
“ You too. “. And with that, the other girl got up and left quietly.
Before she reached the door, An called for her one last time “Thank you. “, for everything.
“ It’s nothing, really ! Have a good rest. “
She offered her a smile that warmed the whole room, and an instant later, she was gone. Again.