My sleep was interrupted by the sound of my annoying alarm clock. I lazily reached out to put it off, holding back a yawn. I then blinked a few times, sitting up and smoothing my hair distractedly. I thought for a few minutes, trying to focus on what I was supposed to do today. It was Saturday... Of course. Today, I would be heading for the hospital to visit my friend, Vaati. I bit my lip and closed my eyes once again. Vaati wasn't a childhood friend, but he had managed to slowly make his way into my life and feel just like one. It had only been three years since we had met each other, but it felt like I've known him forever. One can only imagine my reaction when I heard from him that he had cancer. They had been too slow in detecting it, so it was too late to really do anything about it. I slid a hand across my face, sighing heavily. He didn't deserve to suffer from cancer, of all people... He had always looked out for the people he held close, and never once had I seen him get mad or act on selfish purposes. Letting my hand drop on my bed, I swung my legs out of my bed and started to pick the clothes that I would wear. I opted for a simple black V-neck and washed-out denim jeans, pulled on some dark green socks and headed to the kitchen to have some breakfast. I poured some oatmeal and milk into a bowl, grabbed a spoon and went to sit on the couch in front of the TV to watch the news. My apartment wasn't so big, but it was handy (due to being in the middle of the city) and pretty comfy, for one person. I was still studying and had to sign up for part time jobs to be able to pay for my living expenses, but ever since Vaati was taken to the hospital I resigned and asked for my aunt to help me with a little money. She had agreed, knowing that it would only be for the time that Vaati was... still alive. I cringed at the thought and lost my appetite, but I decided to finish it anyway, not willing to waste food.
Once I was done with that, I brought the bowl and spoon back to the kitchen and washed them, thinking about what I could do to cheer Vaati up today. It was weird though, because he usually was the one to cheer me up when I got there. He was always smiling and laughing, never once had he complained about his condition or cried. I wasn't sure if it was because he was in denial, or was just extremely strong, or maybe he just broke down when there wasn't anyone around to see him... It was very much like him to think like that, hiding his feelings and pain away just so the others could happily not worry about him. I however, no matter how strong he showed to be, was worried, in a selfish way. What would I do once he was gone? I'd have a hard time finding a friend like him again. We did everything together. We went everywhere together. Hell, he was even the best wingman around. He always supported me, no matter how crazy my ideas were. Together we had infiltrated a private party and made ourselves pass for famous DJs... biggest hangover ever. I've also had quite a few heartbreaks, but Vaati's always had my back in those situations. He's come over and hold me company until I fell asleep, he'd take me out at night to make me forget, and even did a lot of silly things such as jumping on a table in a restaurant and screaming that he'd seen a dinosaur to cheer me up. I chuckled at the thought. How did he get those stupid ideas? I would never know.
Deciding that I'd been idling around for long enough, I put on a pair of black sneakers on and my grey coat on and headed out. The hospital was only at a fifteen minutes walk from home, so I didn't bother to ride my motorbike there. I was looking forward to see him again, it had been since last Sunday that I hadn't been able to visit him due to the exhausting course I was following. I passed the check-in at the entrance quickly, they knew me well since two months ago when Vaati had been taken in. An old nurse that saw me cry when I was exiting the facility even offered me a cup of warm cocoa. I was embarrassed to be treated like a kid, but due to my desperate need of kindness I had accepted the offer with lots of unappealing tears and snot running down my face. It must've been an ugly sight. I would've wanted to be stronger for him. I sighed as I walked up the stairs. In the end, even afflicted by cancer, he'd proven to be the strongest.
How I hated the smell of hospitals. The long and cold white corridor seemed to extend forever, and once I reached Vaati's room I hurried inside. His dad had paid for him to have a room of his own luckily, so he didn't have to deal with having other people with him. It was for the best I thought, the last thing I wanted was for him to be stuck with sickly and weak depressed people in suffering. When I came in he looked up from his book to smile at me, and I smiled too. I watched as he closed his book and put it on his nightstand. Had his hands always been that frail? I looked him over. His hair was as long as ever, a soft purple tone (he had it dyed first on his eighteenth birthday), and his skin was so pale and cold-looking that he almost seemed to be purple. He was born an albino, meaning that his natural hair colour was snow white, and his eyes an unsettling red. I've always been fond of his eyes, because they obviously are so unusual. He joked about it a lot, since he often caught me staring for minutes full. "Hey Link," his quiet voice broke the silence. I came to sit on his bed. "What's up Vaat. Food as gross as ever?" he stuck his tongue out with a disgusted expression. "It's so delicious. I bet they don't eat that well in heaven." I smiled, but flinched. "Yeah. Ew. So what were you reading anyway?" He cast a glance aside to the book. "Just some stupid novel my mom brought... It's pretty corny so far, but I get so bored..." I laughed. "Yeah, for you to read you must be pretty damn bored alright," He smiled and gave my shoulder a small slap. "You know Link, I wish I could go outside. If I'm going to die I want to at least get to enjoy my last moments." I whipped my head to stare at him wide-eyed at such a blunt statement. It hadn't sounded like him at all, but it was his usual happy-go-lucky smile on his lips that convinced me that what he had said had come from his heart. He really wished to be able to get out of that pasty white prison. "I'll try to convince them, Vaat. I would like it too, if you could come out." I said more quietly than I had planned too, mentally punching myself or sounding so weak. He turned his head to the window and yawned, stretching his arms and back. "You shouldn't just try, you should succeed," he said, casting me a defying glance. I smirked. "Don't get all spirited... I think you'll be pretty surprised when I get your ass out of here. Expect to have your mind blown tomorrow." He laughed wholeheartedly at my sincere determination and offered me a warm smile. "You never disappoint me do you," he said, dropping the joke.
We spent the rest of the morning talking about people we both knew and I told him a bunch of things that had happened in our class, which made him laugh a lot, and I felt pretty good about that. When the time came, a nurse came in and told me that Vaati needed to sleep some, so I straightforward hugged him and left the room, glancing back to catch a sight of his surprised expression. I wasn't much one for hugs and such, but with Vaati it was okay. And for the amount of time I would miss him I knew I would regret not giving him that warmth that he most needed right now.
As I went down the stairs into the hall, I queued at the reception to ask to meet the director. They made me sit and wait a full hour before telling me that the director would see me in his office. I walked towards his door feeling like a high-school kid getting punished, and pushed the door to enter the office. The director was a middle-aged man with a kind face and greying hair, his eyes were a clear blue behind his simple square glasses. I greeted him and sat when he told me to, feeling nervous and shifty. I wasn't sure where to begin, so I just blurted out the first thing that occurred to me. "Can my friend get out of the hospital?" the director blinked a few, taken aback. "Your friend?" I blushed, slightly embarrassed. "His name is Vaati, he's in room 309." The director nodded in acknowledgement. "Ah, yes, I see. He's the youngster with the terminal-phase cancer isn't he? I am so sorry that measures were no taken sooner to prevent his condition to come to this. As to your request, it may be hard to concede due to his current state. You see, he is already in his last moments. It may not look like it, but he could... go at any moment." I tried to bite back my tears, to no avail. The director's eyes softened. "I am so sorry. However, though hard, it is not impossible. I understand how you and he feel, it's a shame that his last moments should be as dull as one of this hospital's rooms, and I agree that he should at least enjoy before leaving us. For him to be able to go out, you should ask permission from his parents." He gave me a sheet of paper. "If his parents sign this, he is free to go out as he pleases. Despite being an adult, his life is in their hands since his judgement might be considered affected in his conditions. If you can get this signed, I'll see to it that you can both go without any more problems. I'll then give you one of the nurses' phone number so that you can always contact us if anything unexpected comes up." He smiled at me and I almost hugged him too, but instead just opted to shake his hands, thank him and leave. It was around one o'clock at the time, so while I was walking back home I took out my phone and dialled Vaati's dad's number. He answered at the third ring, and almost gave me a heart attack. "Hello?" came the voice through the speaker. "Good evening sir, I'm Vaati's friend, Link," I said. "Oh hi Link, how are you?" he sounded pleased to hear from me. "Good, and you?" "I'm alright, just finishing off some boring paperwork here. So how can I help you?" I gulped. "Well the thing is, I was wondering if you would agree to something I asked today at the hospital... I went to see Vaati and it turns out that he's getting bored and..." my voice broke. "and I thought that I'd ask the director if it was possible for him to go out some time, you know, since he..." an unexpected sob cut me off. Why was I crying now of all times?! There was a silence at the other end of the line, and then Vaati's dad spoke again. "Link, you're a good chap. I really appreciate that you're helping so much my son, and I regret not having enough time to tend to him." He sounded pained. "I agree with you, he should be able to get out of that cramped hospital room." A weight was lifted from my chest. "In any other circumstances, I wouldn't have agreed you know, but I have always felt that I can trust you. And if my son's going to go, I want him to go happy." I was so glad that Vaati's dad showed so much understanding and empathy that I almost forgot to reply. "T-then could I take a form for you to sign? I need it to be able to take Vaat out..." "Yes, alright. Could you bring it to my house at nine?" I agreed, said goodbye and hung up.
It was a small victory, but a victory nonetheless.