"To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all." ~Oscar Wilde

Gravity

Chapter Three

I was in and out of consciousness for some time. My body's inner clock told me it was a couple of days. Each time my eyes would roll awake there was a different face above me. A nurse, David, or someone that I had gone to school with and hadn't seen since I graduated. Soon after my eyes would open, I would feel the wave of morphine roll tingling, feel good waves across my body and I would drift back into my dreamless slumber.

But as my eyes opened again, I refused to let the morphine drag me back into the thick darkness. My eyes fought me, rolling back and forth across the room. I gave a hard blink, and David's face appeared in front of me. It took everything in my power to focus and not let my eyes roll black.

"How long have I been asleep?" I asked. My mouth was dry with thirst, and my tongue felt thick in my mouth.

"Four days," he answered. "But I don't think your fully awake yet."

"Then take me off the damn morphine so I can be," I slurred out, trying to sound hard, but ended up sounding heavily intoxicated. Like I was.

"I don't think that would be a very smart decision," he chucked at me.

My eyes fell back to his face as my mind started to clear a little more. He looked tired. Not that he didn't always look tired, but this was a whole new level. His hair was disheveled and sticking out in places. His clothes were wrinkled. I could see the shadow of where he hadn't shaved as he rubbed his hand across his cheek. His own blue eyes were dark and I could see the grogginess in his face.

"Can I sit up?" I asked, shifting on the hard mattress.

David nodded and grabbed the bed remote on the side table next to him. He pushed a button, and I felt the bed rising, lifting me into a sitting position. It was easier to stay awake now that I was able to see around the room. It was one of the larger rooms I had seen in a hospital. The room actually had carpet on one side, with a set of couches and a large TV. The bed I was laying in was facing that I could sit up in the bed and see the TV on the other side of the room. On one of the couches I could see David's white coat crumpled into a ball and tossed to the side. The other couch had a pillow and blankets where I assumed he had been sleeping.

I looked back at my brother who tried to fix his hair by running his fingers through it, but only caused it to stick out more.

"I need to call the police station and let them know you're awake. They want to talk to you about what happened," he pursed his lips. "Do you remember?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said, licking at my lips. They were dry and cracked. "I didn't see anything though," I added when he nodded.

"Just tell them that. Then hopefully they'll leave us alone."

He left the room to go to the nurses station to make the call, leaving me alone. I rested my head back against the bed as I stared up at the ceiling. I remembered everything. The gunshots, the pain. Being invisible to those around me as I followed my body around. And the hooded man.

In the last moments before he put me back in my body, he gave me a warning.

"The spirit world will be after you. You are not supposed to be alive. Be wary of them. Do not trust them."

But how was I supposed to know what the spirit world was? Or who would be after me? Was I going to have to live life on the run? What would I tell David if suddenly we had to run? I couldn't leave him behind. The whole reason I came back was because of him. It would be cruel to defy death, then just up and leave with no warning and no clues as to where I was.

Maybe we could flee to the states where my parents brought us from when I was still an infant. We would be able to live there with no question as to if we were American. Both David and I were born in America, a mixture of Irish, German, and a few other things. We were both fluent in English and spoke in English at home and when we were alone. But where would we go?

I moved to cross my arms and flinched at a sharp sting in my chest. I looked down to see bandages wrapped snugly around my chest up to my collar bones. With a defeated sigh, I let my hands fall into my lap. I couldn't worry about this right now. First, I had to get out of the hospital. I could worry about everything else after that.

David returned with two Styrofoam cups in hand.

"Are you thirsty?" he asked. I nodded, my tongue sticking to the roof of my mouth. He sat at the chair that had been pulled up next to my bed. He handed me one of the cups. I looked down at it and gave him a bland look. Ice chips.

"Do I look pregnant to you?" I asked, not appreciating his humor as he chewed back a smile.

"You can't have too much to drink, and you aren't allowed to eat yet. Not until your attending comes in and checks on you." His amused smile broke through. "Doctor's orders." With another bland look I crunched down on the ice chip. I savored the melting ice on my tongue. "See? It's not that bad," he laughed.

"Shut up," I said pointedly at him as I chewed down another one. After my thirst was sated enough that my tongue didn't stick to the roof of my mouth, I sat the cup aside and twiddled my thumbs in my lap again. "When do I get to go home?" I asked.

David blinked at me, sipping from his coffee. "Daelyn, you just woke up from major heart surgery. They called your time of death on the table. It's going to be a while."

I started to reply when a man in a white coat walked in. David greeted the man, who gave a warm greeting in return as he approached my bed.

"How are you feeling?" he asked me, his hands finding the chart at the end of my bed.

"Thirsty," I responded. David shot me a look. "Fine, I guess," I added, shooting him a look back. "I'm really tired."

"That's the morphine," the doctor said nodding. I read the embroidery on his coat. Dr. Tamura. "We'll begin weaning you off of the morphine in the next day or so." He turned to David and started talking to him about things I didn't understand.

The police interviewer showed up about an hour later. I had to explain to him a few times before he finally accepted that I didn't see anyone with a gun. All I heard were gunshots. I didn't see anyone run away from the scene. I was shot from behind. I had to assure him another three times that I would call and tell them if I remembered anything else that I hadn't told them. The sun was about to set by the time the interview left. David had taken to one of the couches across the room and flipping through the channels.

"Why don't go head home for a little while?" I asked.

"What? Why?" he asked, looking back at me and blinking.

"You've been here for four days, plus the day that I got shot, so five days. You look like you need a decent shower," I told him, shifting in the bed. "I wouldn't be here for five days out of my own free will."

"I'm not leaving you here," he dismissed, turning back to the TV. I glared at the side of his head.

"Tell you what," I said, drawing his attention back to me. "Go home. Take a decent shower and get cleaned up. Grab me and yourself some clothes, toothbrushes, shampoo and stuff, and on your way back, you can stop by that noodle place down the street and pick us up something to eat. That doctor released me to eat, and I'm withering away from starvation. And we can actually have a meal together for once." He opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off. "And you best damn well believe that I'm not eating this hospital food that you've told me so many horror stories about."

He looked at me in surprise and let out a chuckle. "Okay," he agreed. "I surrender. You win." He stood from the couch with a stretch, lifting his arms above his head. "You sure you'll be okay here by yourself for a little while?" he asked.

"As long as you give me the remote before you leave," I said, holding my hand out expectantly.


She was right, David realized. He did need a good shower. Hospital showers only made you feel so clean. He scratched at the stubble on his face. He needed to shave as well.

As he exited the hospital he could smell the difference in the air. Though Tokyo's air was by far not fresh and clean, it didn't smell stale with antiseptic and sickness. The skies were thick with gray clouds and the wind had a frozen bite to it. Snow was coming in tonight. The city was abnormally quiet with the foreboding of the on coming storm.

David jogged out to his car that hadn't moved in the past five days to escape the wind. When he got to the silver Subaru and let it sit idle for a few minutes to warm the engine before pulling out of his space. The hospital wasn't too far from home, only about ten minutes. It was the reason that he chose that hospital over one more well known. He had started this job when Daelyn was still in school and he wanted to be close enough that should an emergency occur he would be able to get to said emergency as quickly as he could.

The roads were just as quiet as the rest of the city. There were only a few people walking on the sidewalks, most choosing to stay inside out of the biting cold, and even fewer cars. He knew that the weather on the news said that this winter storm was going to bring heavy snow and ice. He silently let out a sigh of relief that he had built up so many sick days and vacation days that he could use while Daelyn was still in the hospital. And he was glad that he had put in the request for the time off before news of the storm appeared, or he knew he would have never been approved for it. All together he had ten weeks of time off that he could take to make sure that his sister was okay.

Seeing injuries and surgeries like her's before he knew that he would need all of that time. He or Dr. Tamura had yet to break it to her that she wasn't going to be allowed to leave the hospital for nearly nine weeks until they were sure that her heart was going to be able to handle being out around pollution and the general population. As he turned into the drive way of his familiar childhood home, he decided with a grimace that he would let Dr. Tamura break that news to her. He could only imagine the fit she would throw.

Locking the car behind him, he made his way up to the house. The inside of the home was cold. Five days ago it was still just warm enough that they didn't need the heat on. The house was dark, and quiet. He could see into the kitchen where the cup that Daelyn had been drinking from sat on the counter, long since abandoned and cold. Five days ago seemed like an eternity had passed. He slipped off his coat and left it in the chair as he walked passed to the thermostat to turn the heat on. He listened as it kicked on and smelled the warmth as it spilled through the vents. Running his fingers through his hair, he thought about what it would have been like if he had lost his little sister and came back to this house by himself.

The thought almost made him physically sick. After their parents were killed it already seemed half empty. He wasn't sure he would have been able to keep the house if she hadn't woken up. In fact, he was sure he wouldn't have been able to. The pictures that hung on the walls of their younger days would have smiled back at him, breaking him apart. The memories of Daelyn tottering about as a toddler and bumping into things, knocking herself over, only to giggle and go back to what mischief she was getting into would have haunted his dreams. There were days even now that if he laid in bed long enough, floating in the space between awake and asleep that he could almost smell their mother cooking breakfast, and hear their father laughing.

He shook his head, clearing his thoughts. He needed to shower and gather things for Daelyn and himself for her stay at the hospital.


The shower really had done him a lot of good. The grime of the past few days that always seemed to leave a layer on his skin was gone and he felt refreshed. Though he hadn't been sleeping well, not that he ever did, the life in his step was back.

He pushed open the door to the restaurant that Daelyn wanted him to pick up food from. They used to come here at least once a week before they were thrust into adulthood of having to worry about bills and a mortgage. He knew Daelyn still frequented the place. There were nights that he came home to find a Styrofoam container of food that she picked up for him for when he got home late at night.

"Well, hasn't it just been to long?" the older gentleman behind the counter said, giving him a warm and bright smile.

"It has," David agreed returning the smile.

Mr. Yukimura had always been kind to them. His daughter, Keiko, was two and a half years older than Daelyn and they had gone to the same high school. Though Keiko was an upper classman, she and Daelyn had been friends. The girl was the only friend Daelyn had in school.

"How's your sister? Keiko told me that she was still sedated when she came by the hospital," Mr. Yukimura asked as David sat on one of the stools at the counter.

"She woke up earlier today," David said, smiling. "Still as feisty and argumentative as usual."

"Well, I'll be sure to have to let Keiko know. She'll be wanting to see her as soon as possible. I'm glad she's okay." David nodded in thanks to the man. "Now what can I get for you?"


David came back to my room a few hours later. I was still sitting in bed, fresh bandage covering my bullet wounds and incision. When the nurse had changed my bandages I had refused to look at either wound. "I wasn't ready to face the damage that would leave scars for the rest of my life.

He sat the two duffle bags down next to one of the couches and slid the rolling table next to my bed over to me, setting down the plastic bag that held two containers of our dinner. I was giddy for food. My stomach had long since protesting at the lack of sustenance that I was craving.

"I talked with Mr. Yukimura," David said, breaking his chopsticks apart. I blinked, chewing the bite of food I had already taken. "He asked how you were doing."

"Was Keiko there?" I asked, swallowing.

"No," he shook his head. "She and her husband, Yusuke?" I nodded, answering his question to the dark haired mans name, "Came by while you were still sedated." My shoulders slumped. I hadn't seen Keiko in a few weeks. I had vaguely woken up while other old classmates came by who I couldn't remember ever talking to them. Why couldn't I haven't woken up while my friend was here? "Mr. Yukimura assured me that he would let Keiko know that you were awake. I'm sure she'll come by tomorrow."

I nodded, still sad that I hadn't been able to see my friend. The sun set, leaving the only light we had the artificial lights above us. We finished eating, and my stomach was full and happy. David continued to sit in the chair next to my bed as he flipped through the channels on the TV. He paused on the horror movie channel and sat the remote down on the rolling table he had pushed back to its original position next to the bed. I blinked at him, surprised that he chose this channel. He shrugged in response.

"I know you like these movies for some unknown reason," was his only answer.

I scooted over to the side of the larger bed. David must have pulled some strings to get me into this room. The bed I was in was large enough for two people to lay comfortably.

"Well, get up here," I said when he gave me a questioning look. With a smile and a shake of his head, he laid on the bed next to me, his arms behind his head. I rested my own head against one of his arms, and we spent the rest of the night watching B rated horror movies and laughing at each other when we jumped in surprise.