Coughing and hacking was all that could be heard in the confined area. This surrounding area was an apartment, no bigger then bedrooms. All of the rooms were clean and well kept, despite the heavy atmosphere of the small space. Within the restroom of this tightly packed apartment was a small framed little girl. The young girl sat of the floor, her pink coloured hair draping her face, which was leaning over the toilet. The girl had one arm hanging limp to her side, while the other one was holding tightly to the toilet seat. Her breathing was elevated as she studied her regrets in the toilet.
This young girl's name was Charlotte. She wasn't much older then 12 or 13, despite her extremely petite stature. Physically, she favoured ten-year-old features, at oldest. She always took shame in how small she looked. She often wore larger clothing to conceal her deceitfully small body, though she never found anything to assist her about her stature.
Charlotte look at the contents of the toilet again. There were many different colours mixed together, creating a mess of half chewed and digested sweets in the toilet. She hate the thought of what she had just done. She had purged again after another massive sweet binge.
She had nothing against sweets and she wasn't struggling with her weight; she didn't do it for herself. She would always struggle with thoughts and emotions of her mother's current position and then start eating all of the sweets and cakes that she could get her hands on-trying to fill a void that wasn't even created yet. After bingeing on sweets, she would regret the massive mounts of pastries she had eaten and force it out of her system.
Charlotte's mother had been hospitalised yet again, this time she had been told that she was never going to be healthy enough to go home. She had been diagnosed with cancer more then a year before; that was when Charlotte's dangerous eating habits developed and spun out of control. Charlotte's mother simply adored cheese and sweets. She could eat cakes, pies, and pastries all day if she were healthy enough. But once her health fell, she was told her body couldn't possibly handle those foods.
Shortly after Charlotte received the news that her mother couldn't eat those kinds of food anymore, she would buy an abundance of different cheeses and pastries. She would take armfuls of sweets home and lay them out on the kitchen table, decoratively. She would sit at the table and eat. She would eat pounds and pounds of sweets snacks and cheese cakes, without even hesitating. She could eat the entire table's contents in about 30 minutes. Realisation would dawn on her afterward, making her regret what she had done. She would over think that the cheeses and treats were things that her ill mother couldn't have and how it was terrible of her to eat them like this when she was probably never going to taste those wonderful desserts again. These thoughts were just enough to send her into an emotional despair. She would rush to the restroom and force her middle finger down her throat, making herself sick. She would bore over the toilet bowl for hours at a time, forcing the entire contents of her stomach out; sometimes she would continue this act until she gagged up noting more then bile and blood.
These episodes had gotten progressively violent the last few weeks after she was informed that her mother was probably not going to survive to see her graduate her 7th grade year. She had stopped attending school and had started hiding herself in the apartment that she and her mother used to share. She had gotten to the point that the only time she would leave the apartment to buy the food that fuelled her fire and visit her mother; even though she was connected to so many machines that she didn't even appear to be the same person. Charlotte's heart would always ache after seeing her mother, even though she was aware that her mother was only still alive because of her daily visits.
Charlotte had swooped to the low that she would order the pastries and cheese over the phone to have them delivered to her home; then she would eat to her hearts content. After that, she purged it all out repeatedly. Sometimes her homeroom teacher would knock at the apartment door, but she would never respond. She just wanted her mother home and healthy. She didn't care for anything or anyone other then her mother.
Charlotte reached for the towel that she had sat on the counter next to the toilet before purging; she then wiped her face with it. Her throat was stinging and she could just tell that she would sound hoarse if she attempted to speak; not like she was planning on talking to anyone right now anyway. She rubbed her face down with the towel before pulling herself up off the floor to wash her hands. After doing that, she flushed the toilet and left the restroom. She let out a hollow sigh, feeling empty yet again. She hadn't yet found a cure for her emptiness other then eating again. But she had no way that she could eat more right then, she had to go to the hospital and say good bye to her mother today.
Charlotte brushed her messy hair and put it up into twin pigtails, wanting to look nice for her mother. She decided that it was the best she could do for her mother since this was probably the last time she was ever going to see her daughter. She checked her cherry blond pigtails in the mirror before deciding that she looked representable for her last visit with her mother.
She took in a sharp, anxious breath and left her apartment, locking the door behind her. She began the long agonising walk to the hospital. She watched her feet move without a thought. She had walked this path so many times that it felt like she could get there with her eyes covered. She glanced up when she noticed the pavement change. She let out a sigh and prepared herself to enter the hospital. She walked through the doors of the structure, her heart skipping a beat; this would be the last time
The first thing Charlotte heard when she walked the hall of the lobby was the voices of the cheerful reception workers. She kept quiet and she pondered how they could muster the energy to be happy in a place like this. She approached the elevator and pressed the up button. When the door opened, she slipped inside the packed elevator. She didn't mind the other people as she pressed the button for the 4th floor. She let herself space out as the elevator began to take her to her destination.
When the door dinged open, someone tapped her shoulder, knocking her out of her thoughts, "Wasn't this your floor?" the kind lady asked. Charlotte looked up at the number counter and nodded, "Thank you." she said, her voice slipping out as hardly more then a murmur. She stepped out onto the floor she needed to be on. The halls were dead silent. This floor bared strain on Charlotte's shoulders that she struggled to hold. She was positive that this place was etched into her memory forever.
She quietly paced through the hall to the door labelled with her mother's name. She stopped in front of the door and took a moment to reorient herself. She took in a gasp of air and slid the door open. The first thing her eyes locked onto was her mother. She was laying in the hospital bed, her hair braided and brushed. She was sleeping peacefully. She stepped into the room, her heart sinking in her chest. She didn't want to wake her mother's peaceful rest, though it was likely that this would be the last time she spoke with her. She readied herself, then softly said, "Momma... I'm here." Just those soft words made her chest twist in sadness. She didn't want this to be good bye; she wanted her mother to keep living.
Charlotte watched her mother's face closely, seeing her slowly opening her eyes. Her mother reached out with her hand to touch her. Charlotte leaned close so her mother could physically touch her without straining herself anymore then she needed to. She nibbled on her bottom lip as she fought the tears that were taunting her eyes; getting upset was something she couldn't help. Everything began to feel like it was crushing her. "Momma, I wish that we could eat that lovely cheesecake together one last time before..." Charlotte murmured, almost inaudibly, "It's been so long."
Her mother traced her fingers across Charlotte's face, carefully stroking away her tears. She begged the gods that she could hold her daughter again and promise her that everything was going to get better; even though she knew that couldn't be. It hurt her more then anything that she knew that Charlotte knew she was dying.
Charlotte intertwined her fingers with her mother's, holding her hand close. At this point in her mother's illness, she wasn't allowed to do much else. Anything else she tried, in physical contact, hurt her mother. She had forgotten how to speak when she saw the look in her mother's eyes that seemed to say goodbye. She just sat there, hugging her mother's hand to her chest, letting the tears rain down her face. She knew nothing was going to fix this.
"Do you really long for that wish to be granted?" a strange voice rang throughout the room.
Charlotte looked up, anger welling up in her chest. She wanted to hurt the voice for interrupting her and her mother. Then her eyes ran across the figure. At first, she wasn't even sure what she had seen. It was this foreign looking white creature. It resembled a cat, but too many features it had were different. It wasn't very big and didn't fit in the atmosphere the room had. Without even considering anything about the odd creature, she spoke to it, "Okay... I just..." she gripped her mother's hand.
The white animal like creature nodded and approached her, just as if a cat would have. It had odd limbs coming from it's ears, that began to glow dully. Charlotte felt like she was dreaming until a bout of pain washed over her chest. It was so painful that she gritted her teeth and screwed her eyes shut, dropping her mother's hand.
After a few moments of her holding that position, the pain subsided and she slowly opened her eyes. The cat-like creature gestured towards a beautiful glowing keychain. Before she was able to fully observe the beautiful gem, the creature announced, "That is a Soul Gem. I recommend you protect it. Now your wish has been fulfilled. Enjoy." the cat-like creature disappeared as inconspicuously as it had appeared.
Charlotte turned her attention back to her mother just to feel confusion linger in her mind. Her mother's ventilator was detached from her and she looked rather better. Charlotte continued observing in confusion; not only was her mother looking better, but there was a large cheesecake on the lunch tray in front of the two of them. She felt the confusion fade and become replaced with joy. She could hardly believe what was right before her eyes. She looked up at her mother and said, "Doesn't this look delicious?" She tried not to let the confusion she still felt lingering ruin whatever was happening before her.
Her mother, who seemed not even slightly perplexed by the situation, nodded and picked up a fork that was laying on a handkerchief in front of her. She grabbed one of the two paper plates that were laying to the of the cheesecake. Her face lit up as she happily too a piece from the cake, scooping a small bite with her fork. She let out a noise of delight and pushed the plate towards Charlotte, telling her to try some as well. Charlotte was having a wonderful time, without even questioning the situation at all.
Time passed quickly as the two joyfully chatted and finished off the cheesecake. For once since she started struggling with food, Charlotte felt completely full; it was a wonderful feeling. She, after the cheesecake was fully depleted, began to clean up the small mess they made. She did this in a meticulous order, picking up with two plates, then carefully placing the silverware on top of them. She then carefully laid the used handkerchiefs over the silverware, then put the plates down on the cake platter. After this, she glanced over to her mother with satisfaction written on her face.
Her mother mentioned being tired, so Charlotte stayed quiet while her mother laid down to rest. Charlotte studied her mother's face and noticed how her mother's face looked peaceful and at rest for once. Even though she still had the heart monitor beeping at her side, she didn't look ill. It was refreshing.
As the clock ticked passed the start of a new hour, Charlotte decided that she should probably go back home. Her mother scolded her for walking out in the dark, so she wanted to abide by her mother's rule even if she had no way to enforce it. Charlotte got up and turned to mother's sleeping face, "I love you." she whispered before her heart skipped a beat.
The heart monitor let out a shrill, long beep.