Elphaba was diagnosed with an incurable disease, and her days were numbered. The months wore on, and with ten days left till her predicted death, Glinda decides to make the most out of it. Shiz Era. Totally AU. References from the musical.
A/N: I know I'm supposed to working on another unfinished fic, but I can't help myself. This one just popped out of the blue when I was listening to my prof. Somehow, the topic of "Human Development" got me here… FTW
Please go easy on this one. This just came out of my post-coffee depression state. I'll work on my other fic when this one tones down a bit in my head.
"Come With Me"
10 Days Left
It couldn't be happening. Not to her.
It's been three months since Elphaba received the horrible news, received the appalling message that was almost equivalent to a condemned man's death sentence.
She was going to die.
It was absurd. It was unlikely. She never dreamed of it. And yet, it was slapping her right in the face. For so many nights, the doctor's words rang viciously in her ears, constantly reminding her, plaguing her with gruesome nightmares. Days were spent staring into nothing, her mind and heart empty and lost in great depths of depression.
There was no way of curing it. It wasn't contagious, but there's no way of getting rid of it either.
She was even advised to drop out of school, so as to spend the remaining days of her life in the confines of her home in Munchkinland.
Ever the studious, Elphaba refused, and decided that she will finish what she can with her studies. Not that her father cared anyway. He barely batted an eye at the numbered days of his eldest child. Nessarose had been sympathetic enough. She consoled her sister. But her affections didn't extend all the way to Shiz, where she still chose not to be seen in Elphaba's company. But for the sake of privacy, she didn't say a word to anyone regarding Elphaba's deteriorating health.
Other than her family, there was only one person who knew of her condition.
It was Glinda who pointed out to Elphaba the anomalies she observed.
Glinda had been the one who pestered Elphaba to go see a doctor. She had been the one who noticed the way Elphaba's hand experienced tremors whenever she wrote that the letters were sometimes barely comprehensive. She was the only one who noticed how the green girl would wince and clutch her chest as if she was in pain. And sometimes, late at night, she was the only who could hear her roommate gasp and heave for air with immense difficulty.
Glinda had been devastated to no end when Elphaba reported the doctor's findings.
There were tears in that terrible night. The searing pain of losing each other was tearing them apart. Elphaba was leaving her by dying, and Glinda by living.
Now that her time was almost up, Glinda decided to make her best friend's final days memorable for the both of them. It will be her last gift, her final adventure with Elphaba…
Ten days.
That was all that was left of her life.
Ten mere days.
The sun was setting at Shiz University, and Elphaba was alone in the dark dorm room, sitting on her bed, hugging her knees to her chest, and absently staring at the red orange gleam sinking in the distant hills outside the window.
In her lonesome silence, she could dimly hear her slow heartbeat drumming steadily in her ears, highly aware that every beat was numbered. In ten days' time, she'll be gone. She wouldn't be feeling the comforting thud her heart was making against her ribcage, nor feel her chest rise and fall as her lungs were filled with air.
She felt strangely empty. She was afraid. She wasn't ready. She tried so hard to say to herself that she was only dreaming, but the occasional stabbing pains attacking her heart and chest were her reminders of the reality she cannot escape.
There was a soft knock on the door. And then Glinda stepped in.
"Elphie? Are you here?" she asked as she gently closed the door behind her. She spotted Elphaba's hunched figure on the bed. She approached her. "Anything happened this afternoon? Are you all right?"
Elphaba simply shrugged and refused to answer, pressing her forehead against her knees and diving out of the conversation.
Glinda inwardly sighed and went to light the lamps around the room.
She cringed when she heard Elphaba coughing behind her. The cough was continuous, but the green girl was struggling to minimize her noise as much as possible. Glinda pretended not to hear her as she pulled the curtains to cover the window.
This done, she sat beside Elphaba. "Have you taken your medication tonight?" she asked softly, her eyes taking in how pale and thin Elphaba looked underneath the light.
"I don't need a reminder of my life supports, thank you very much," Elphaba said as she continued to hide her face against her thighs. There was a hint of annoyance, but otherwise, her voice sounded thick and heavy.
Glinda sat silently for a moment, not daring to risk the conversation further by provoking her roommate into frustration. She knew Elphaba hated being reminded of her impending death, even if it was an indirect topic such as the necessary medicines needed to help her live further.
"Ten days…" Elphaba muttered darkly, but Glinda heard her.
"Elphie, I've been meaning to tell you something," she said, unconsciously twirling her fingers in apprehension.
"What?" Elphaba slurred, still not looking at her.
"When are you going home?" Glinda asked, sitting up straight.
"When I'm already a corpse," Elphaba muttered.
Glinda winced. "Stop it," she said, feeling an unpleasant cold chill crawl down her spine. She didn't like the fact that Elphaba detested the idea of hearing her death from others, yet she abuses herself by constantly repeating the fact in her head.
"Look, what's the point?" Elphaba said, finally detaching her head from her knees to meet Glinda's eyes, "It will end there anyway."
"But till then, please let's not rush everything, shall we?" Glinda pleaded.
Elphaba regarded her for a moment before slowly nodding, as she was not in the right spirit to have a playful banter with her roommate. "Whatever," she muttered dismissively, "What do you want to tell me?"
Glinda took hold of Elphaba's hand. She immediately noted on how warm it was, warmer than her usual temperature. She pushed the thought away. "Come with me," she said excitedly.
"Where would we possibly go?" Elphaba asked, quirking an eyebrow.
Glinda's eyes lit up. "To the Emerald City, of course," she answered.
Elphaba stared blankly at her for a while before regaining her senses. "You do realize that's impossible, right?" she droned monotonously, "You have to get permits and papers from Morrible—"
"That's what I'm trying to tell you, Elphie," Glinda said, smiling widely now, "I've been taking care of it for days, and I've accomplished it all this afternoon. The papers, tickets, letters to your father and my parents—Everything. Well, everything except your permission."
"My father agreed to this?" Elphaba can't help but ask, feeling her heart leap a bit.
Glinda nodded vigorously, clutching Elphaba's hand in hers. "Well what do you say?" she inquired, "It's only a short trip. We only have two days there anyway. That's all horrible Morrible would allow."
Elphaba weighed the chances. There was no guaranteeing that nothing bad will happen on their trip. She didn't want to admit it, but the pains in her chest seemed to elaborate as the days passed. There were even moments when she would have an attack and have to stop and catch her breath.
She didn't want to ruin the chance of having a last trip with her best friend, but she didn't want to spoil it either with the terrible sickness corrupting her body.
But looking into Glinda's bright sapphire eyes, she knew that she had to take the chance. If she was going to die, she might as well seize the chance to experience bliss for the last time in the Emerald City with only friend she'd ever had.
"Of course I'll go with you, Glinda," she said, smiling softly She would've grinned, or just simply smiled wider, but the muscles on her face got used to her depressed frowns that it was the best she effort she could manage.
Glinda giggled childishly and lunged forward to give her roommate a warm embrace. "I knew you wouldn't let me down!" she squealed delightedly. She pulled back and hopped off the bed, "I'll start packing as soon as I'm done cleaning up!"
The blonde then rushed to the bathroom.
Still smiling, Elphaba moved in a little while to pack her valise.
She went over to her closet to withdraw some clothes, but she suddenly stopped halfway in the room.
Air had abruptly left her body again. She fell on her knees on the floor, clutching her chest, squeezing her eyes shut, trying with all her might to draw some air into her convulsing being. Her lungs burned, and her heart had seemingly stopped in her ribcage.
Her heart pumped again in a little while and Elphaba hungrily relished the relief of the cold wind rushing back to her lungs.
Another close call.
She crawled all the way to the foot of her closet before leaning against the wall, her chest rising and falling rapidly accompanied by her heavy audible breaths. She became aware of the sweat building in her hairline.
She dimly heard Glinda singing in the bathroom. She vaguely wondered how unfair it was that Glinda could use all the air she wants to belt out good music, while she had to struggle with death to gain air for herself.
She winced again at the aftershock of the contraction of her heart.
"Maybe I do need a vacation…" Elphaba muttered to herself as she slowly got to her feet, using the wall for leverage, "After all, it will be my last. What's there to lose?"
A/N: … How did it go?
A little PSYCH 101: In Human Development, the last stage is death.
And there are five stages of death: Denial - Anger - Bargaining - Depression - and finally, Acceptance.
Basically, the whole plot centers on those five stages. Perks of listening while being under the uncontrollable influence of Gelphie.
… Sue me, but the chapters are numbered. Nothing more, nothing less. Spoilers, anyone?
… I should really control the urge to rant at A/Ns.