Hey, it's Kuruk!
Well, this is something I haven't done before. This is the first installment of an eventual three-shot. It revolves around Elli and it's about death and what happens after you, well die. It also switches in POV, as announced by the centered italic name in the center. The shifts are from first person Elli to third person Tim. Hope it doesn't confuse you.
If you notice any similarities between this and that one episode of Grey's Anatomy then you think right, because this story was inspired by that episode. I mean, that episode is really, really good. It revolves around a very interesting topic and it has very significant emotional meaning. So I wanted to maybe expose some of Elli's character in this story.
Disclaimer: Don't own Harvest Moon or Grey's Anatomy. Wish I did.
Hope you like.
Light in the Depths
Elli
It's cold.
So cold.
The tide is so strong-- I'm being pulled down, down and down into an abyss.
It's so cold...
I'm fighting, really I'm fighting. But it's cold and I can't fight hard enough. The tide is so strong and I'm being pulled down, down down. And I can't stop.
It's so dark.
The cold bites at my skin, my short hair is flowing around me. The salt bites at my eyes but I don't feel anything, because it's cold, and all I know is that I'm floating in darkness and that it's cold, and that I can't stay like this for long.
It's getting darker.
I'm so tired. My lungs ache. I take a breath and ice water fills my lungs. It hurts-- like icy spears piercing my insides... but soon it doesn't hurt anymore. Soon everything gets numb again, gets darker... and all I know is that it's cold, that I'm fading, that it's ending.
It's so cold...
Tim
Tim doesn't know what to do.
For the first time in a long time, after all his medical training, Tim doesn't know what to do.
The old woman is lying on the cot, a peaceful expression on her face. He can't save her-- the disease that crippled her legs moved on to her internal organs. Multiple organ failure. Nothing could be done... and it hit him hard.
Through all the years that he'd been practicing, ever since his father had run away with Elli's mother for a life of carefree 'fun', Tim had dedicated his career to find the cure to disease that plagued Ellen, and the one that gave Lillia her death sentence.
So far, he hadn't been able to save them.
But it wasn't that which hurt him most-- it was he hope he gave Elli, Stu, Rick, Popuri, Ellen and Lillia when he treated them, claiming that one day he would find a cure. He gave them false hope. And that's what hurt.
By his side Stu was crying, sitting in a chair by his grandmother's bedside, his small frame shaking with each sob. At his side was a bewildered May, her arm around her best friend, clueless on how to comfort him.
The Clinic was full of visitors.
Mary, Ann, Karen, Popuri and Claire were all there. Elli's best friends were handling everything. They were rushing, pacing, helping in any way they could.
Just beyond the curtain stood Saibara, stone-faced, refusing to look beyond the curtain. His grandson stood by him, his expression stoic. Every few minutes Gray's arm would hesitantly make it's way to Saibara's still form, but retreated centimeters away from his grandfather's hunched shoulders.
Doug had commandeered Elli's desk and was passing out food, little snacks to help everyone get through the night. By his side were Sasha, Anna and Manna, who offered words of encouragements to the people that would come get refreshments. Their husbands stood on the periphery, out of place, awkward and saddened.
Barley conferred with Carter in a corner in hushed tones and the rest of the town floated around, silently offering support to their friends-- their unofficial family.
And yet Tim couldn't be at peace, because Elli wasn't there.
When he had told her Ellen was finally fading away, she'd shaken her head and walked out of the Clinic, leaving everyone behind.
And Tim couldn't help but be worried... he needed to go see if she was alright-- his usually warm, cheerful nurse seemed dead when he told her that her grandmother was going to die soon...
"I-I..." he fumbled for words, "I'm going to go... check up on Elli..." he murmured to no one in particular. Only Karen and Mary heard, who nodded and went with him without a word.
Elli
I blink.
There's light.
I blink again.
I'm not dreaming.
I realize that I'm laying on a bed and I almost freak out. The last thing I remember is the cold water all around me, filling my lungs, flowing all around me, pulling me down... huh, but that feels so insignificant now.
Because I feel perfect right now.
I stretch my arms and legs, my eyes searching for something familiar about the room. It was the Clinic, but not really. The curtains weren't the warm colored orange ones I'd ordered a few months ago, they were the old, grungy gray of long ago. The bed I'm laying on isn't exactly a bed either-- it's a cot. The Doctor and I agreed that cots were too uncomfortable for patients so we invested in buying some feathery beds.
That had been two years ago.
Maybe the Doctor changed things back while I was sleeping?
I got up hesitantly, but when I find that my legs are strong and firm, I walk out of the curtained area and come face to face with two people that really shouldn't be here because, well, it's impossible.
A tall raven-haired woman is there, appraising me with gold-flecked midnight eyes. Beside her there's a shorter raven-haired man, arms crossed over his chest, white lab coat contrasting heavily with his black undershirt.
"She's awake," Joanna says, playing with her hair casually.
"I can see that," the man says to her plainly before looking at me, Tim's dark eyes appraising em the same way Joanna's were, "Hello, Elli," he says almost kindly, "Do you know who I am?"
I nod. "You're Tim's father."
He nods, a small grin on his face. "I'm glad you remember me."
How could I not? He... he... tore everything apart.
"What are you doing here?" I ask, my voice angry.
His shoulders sag. "Waiting," he says sadly, "Waiting and waiting for nothing in particular."
I feel an anger that I haven't felt in a long, long time tear through my body, making me shake. "You have some nerve, showing up after more than ten years! After you just up and left us with all this," my arms gesture around the Clinic wildly, "Responsibility!"
Joanna sighs, suddenly sitting down behind my desk. "Geez, Elli," she says, tapping her fingers on my desk idly, "It's not like it was only his fault, remember?"
I open my mouth to retort when Trent holds up his hand. "This isn't about me or your mother, Elli," he says firmly, "This is about you. And why you're here."
I glare at him. "I work here."
Joanna snorts. "No. We do."
I turn to Joanna. "What in the Goddess' name are you talking about?"
Joanna sighs again, this time in exasperation. "You don't have time for this, Elli," she explains, "If we waste time giving you the whole introductory speech then by the time we finish you'll be staying here with us."
I blink, confused. "I d-don't-,"
"Why do you think I never visit my daughter?" Joanna demands, storming towards me.
"Or that your mother and I never send you post cards anymore?" Trent asks.
"I-I..." I struggle with what comes to mind. It's impossible, isn't it? "A-am... I... d-dead...?"
Joanna smiles for the first time since I woke up. Trent looks down at his shoes, looking sad. I look from her to him, the panic in me building up with every passing second.
"You got that right, little miss," a rough voice says from behind me, and I turn and see the man that was probably the cause of everything that happened to me.
"D-daddy...?" I murmur.
He smiles and nods, and my stomach does so many flips I think I'm going to throw up.
I'm dead.
Oh Goddess, what have I done?
A/N: Whoo. Hope you guys liked it. And yes, I'm evil for leaving so many questions unanswered. Where the heck is Elli? What are Trent (Tim's dad), Joanna and her dad doing there with her? How did Elli end up in that water? Will Tim get to her in time?
Gah. It's a bit frustrating for me too, since I usually just do oneshots... however, this one merited a three-shot, so, yeah.
Review? :D