Seven
Sacrifice
Athens is lovely this time of year. The breeze is nice and chilly, the sun lukewarm against the skin, and the people… Well, I've got to say that these people have a great hand for hospitality.
Every corner we turn we keep seeing more stands of food giving away samples of their catch. Those who gave out usually gave to those who were less fortunate with their food while others shared what they had. Sadly this seemed to end when we started walking through the richer pool.
There things changed like they always did. Sneers and scowls were thrown each other way to us. This was something that has happened every time now. I've learned that in this world there are things that have a set place and I've seen divisions for each. So far, I've seen four.
The rich. They are the most easy to spot. Well-dressed, mannered with each other; they have food and commodities that about three quarters of the others don't have. But that doesn't make them any better than those three quarters. If anything it makes them worse. It's like all those that I've seen back home; basically snobs.
The poor. Also easy to spot. They aren't beggars but they do have it tough. They still have food but a lot of people take advantage of them. Some of them are even valets or something of the kind for the upper classes.
The middle class. That one explains itself. They aren't poor or rich so they're okay. They're the ones that my family and I would fall into—back in my world that is. Here, they would be considered the higher-ups with the money they won.
The last would be people like us. The homeless. We scrape by with what we have and people see us like we're nothing. We're the dirt on the bottom of their shoes. Nothing new really.
Been there, done that.
But it all soon went away once we found our new home. All those nasty thoughts went away once we settled in here. This would be a month long work load for everybody. And as per usual our routine came onto us.
And two weeks in it broke on us again. Tyki left again for his secret job. The feeling of foreboding came over me the day he left. It was like I had a depthless ocean beneath my feet and if I took a step forward to ask anything about what this job was that I would plunge in, never to surface.
That is a fear that came to be ever since Barcelona. What I hadn't noticed was that it borne from far earlier yet there was nothing I could think of that could explain the fear.
And it was that exact unknown fear that kept me from asking Tyki or the others about it.
I don't want to drown.
So I kept my mouth shut and simply said goodbye to him like all the others.
And like I said, it's been two weeks since then. It's been nice being here in Athens. I've always read about these places. Greek mythology has always fascinated me too. Other books I've read that talk about it have always peeked my interest. I'm a fan, to say the least.
So we're here at the marketplace for our groceries as per usual. Because we're so close to the ocean, we see so much more diversity of foods especially in the crustacean variety. I've missed a lot of dishes and I plan to make something good out of it.
"What do you think, Eeze? You think they'll like it?" I ask him after we choose what we're going to take for the day. Eeze stares mesmerized at an ogling dead fish. I can see that he wants to poke its eye and half of me wants him to do it. Before the lady can give us our stuff, I stifle a chuckle and grab his hand to keep the temptation away from him. Once done the lady gives us our fish and I let go of his hand before reaching into my bag and paying up. After that is when we start going our way back home. The crowd in the marketplace is not much so I'm not worried that he'll get lost.
"So you've never had fish before, huh? Don't worry. The way I learned to make it will make you guys love it." All I hear above the chatter is an 'mm' from him and smile at his enthusiasm. "You'll love it too, kiddo. It's great with lemon and—"
Thud.
It's like I'm having déjà vu. At turning around to search for the cause of the sudden sound, my breath hitches and I drop everything I have in my hands.
"Eeze!"
His name comes out of my mouth at the top of my lungs the instant I see him collapsed on the floor. People pass by and don't bother with me when I simply push them aside to slide and reach Eeze. His name escapes numerous times from my lips in a rapid but low voice at reaching him. He's collapsed completely but still conscious. He's wheezing and his chest is jerking too much; he's having trouble breathing.
His lungs are weak.
The instant I remember his ailment I know that I must be as calm as I can be in this situation. I have to think. He's breathing is getting even harder. It's getting harder for him to breath.
"Kat has severe asthma, Reina. It's been a while but it is possible for her lungs to collapse. And if they do, you've got to know what to do if we're gone."
That's it.
Keeping my own breathing steady, I brushed his hair back and whisper to him. "No te preocupes, amor. Don't worry."
Slipping into my native tongue without thinking, I ignore it and instead open his jacket before putting my ear up to his right side.
"When her lung collapses, it'll get hard for Kat to breath. She'll start wheezing. But if you listen carefully to her lungs, you can tell which one has collapsed because you won't hear the air flowing."
It isn't his right.
I clicked my tongue and switch to his left. This time every time he breaths I hear nothing.
It's his left.
As quick as I can, I begin searching in my bag for what I need.
"Once you know which is collapsed, you'll need to re-inflate it. Mom and Dad have one of their own. And this I'm giving to you. You need to keep it with you at all times just in case you need to do it. I'll show you how."
"Relax, amor. Try taking deep breaths." I keep saying while trying to get him to breathe as deeply as he can to get the most oxygen from his one working lung while I find what I'm looking for. Finally, my fingers touch to covered needle and take out the syringe.
Holding it by the cover between my teeth, I pull Eeze's shirt over his chest and expose it. My fingers pass over his ribs while I count under my breath until I get to where his lung is. I pull the needle from the cap and pull out the plunger as fast as I can.
Two fingers between the spot and aim, Reina.
My fingers are planted firmly and then I stab the area with the needle. The instant I hear air hissing out of the syringe and Eeze take a deep, wheezing breath, I take one myself in utter relief.
But we're not out of the woods yet.
It could be the adrenaline or something else but my hands reach out and pull him up to me. "We're going home, amor. I'm taking you home." Before I even know it, I'm carrying him in my arms careful not to let the syringe come off.
It's not that far of a walk home but it feels like an eternity. Eeze's breathing is still labored but it isn't as bad as before. But a simple syringe to let the air out won't help him for long. By the time I push the door open and step inside my arms are ready to give out. Thankfully Momo and Clark are there but are more concerned with Eeze's state, as am I.
"W-What happened?"
"His—lungs!" My breathing is labored too but I take a breath to explain when Momo carefully takes him to lay him down. "His left collapsed. His breathing is getting worse."
"You fixed it?" Clark inquired glancing at the syringe.
But I shake my head fervently. "It's not a solution. He needs a good tubing and oxygen to get the air out of his chest and to expand his lung. We need to take him to the hospital."
"They won't help us." Momo's statement stops me in my tracks. He's right. Here, if you can't pay up for treatment and stay, they won't help you. And we don't have the money.
But he won't get better.
"What can happen if her lung is left like that?"
"The other will collapse from too much strain…and she won't be able to breathe."
I can't let him die.
Again, I shake my head and get to Eeze. "Take him to the hospital."
"But—"
"Just go! Eeze won't last much without both his lungs. Take him. I'll take care of bringing the money over to the hospital." They stare at me as if I'm crazy but they won't move. This is getting me pissed off more than I can bare. "Just go already!"
At hearing me scream, they finally snap out of their stupor and start doing as I told them. They take Eeze, and after I tell them what to be careful with they head for the hospital. Running into my room, I search around in my duffle bag before grabbing what I want and put it in my bag. Although it hurts me to do this, I can't waste another second.
Eeze is more important.
At the hospital, Eeze was quickly taken in to be taken care of. The nurses and doctor remove the syringe only to replace it with proper tubing and his mask to put on an oxygen mask. Momo and Clark could do nothing but watch over the kid as they were treating him.
The nurse that stayed behind with them explained what the boy had suffered. Because of the ailment of his lungs, they were more concerned in trying to inflate his lung back up…if they could. The nurse also told them that because of the severity of the damage done that there could the slight chance that it wouldn't recuperate.
If that were to be the case then the boy would walk a thin line in his life.
He either lived the rest of his life ghastly gasping for each and every breath or his other lung would collapse from overexertion and he would stop breathing.
Either way there was no way to tell how he would react to treatment.
"How long will he need to stay here?" Momo asked already dreading that they couldn't afford the treatment that could have a chance of saving little Eeze.
"It'll take some time for the treatment to work—" She abruptly stops herself and purses her lips but the guys heard her thought loud and clear. If it does. Diverting back to the situation at hand, the nurse continues. "There's a two day standard to see whether it'll work or not but in his case it may take a little longer."
The guys only stared at each other with the same worried glances. They cared deeply for the boy and they wanted for him to have the treatment he needed but without the money…he was as good as dead.
"As for the expenses—" The nurse didn't waste any time with the second most important question and leads them to the front desk before giving them the estimate. The displeasure and fear grew in them tenfold at seeing the sum of money they would require. It was eight times what they won in a good week.
Too much money for them to pay alone.
"Don't worry about the expenses." They both turned around to finally see Reina again standing not far from the front desk. She was winded and panting heavily, her face reddened and sweat beading down her face and neck as if she had just ran a marathon. But the determined look on her features didn't deter from the confidence she felt. Raising one hand, she swiftly tossed a heavily loaded bag onto the nurses' desk. The women jumped up at the noise when they hadn't expected it. "Whatever they are, I'm sure that will cover it."
Momo and Clark only stared at the nurses who were murmuring amongst themselves, asking about the amount inside the bag. The look on the attending nurse after counting was astonishing. "There's over half a quarter of a million here."
"W-What?!"
The guys only turn to their lil' queen with awe while Reina only lowers her gaze. Once she hears the nurses starting to calm down, she asks. "Where's he being kept?"
"A-Ah! Of course! Let me take you there." She bowed before her before taking the lead with Reina almost stepping on her heels. Momo and Clark only stared dumbfounded at each other while they stayed behind and even overheard the nurses' gossip.
"They looked so dirt poor!"
"That girl must've sold something amazing to get this amount in one sell."
"Hopefully, the treatment will work though. The boy's too young to be crippled like that."
The guys, getting tired of the needless gossiping head towards the room they had just left. The moment they step into the hospital room, the scene mimicked the instant they brought Eeze some minutes ago.
Reina was busying herself here and there while asking the attending nurse question after question.
Had they disinfected him properly?
Had they properly inserted the tubing so that it didn't puncture the lung by accident?
Was his oxygen level improving, worsening, or remaining the same?
Were there any complications at his admission?
Countless other questions where the ones that they heard her inquire out of the already confused nurse. The older woman was supposed to be the knowledgeable one about what was happening to Eeze, but it seemed that Reina was much more on her toes about it.
When she was finally satisfied with the answers she was given, Reina took a chair from the wall and brought it up close to Eeze's bedside. The boy was disheveled to her eyes; his hair was matted, his eyes a lot more sunken than usual, and his clothes changed into a patient's garb. The I.V. and abdomen tubing were disheartening to Reina but the fact that he was at least taking deep breaths and that his heartbeat was within normal range gave her some ease.
But Reina knew that Eeze wasn't out of the woods yet. If there was any hope for him to get better, he'd have to have constant oxygen given in hopes for his lung to re-inflate by itself. If it did then that would be a good start.
"Lil' queen, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Reina could barely hear Momo's voice over the constant beeping.
"He'll be okay, lil' queen. There's no need to cry."
When Clark's words reached her ears, her eyes widened in shock. Quickly as she could, she wiped at the corners of her eyes and, surely enough, they were damp. She sniffs away to distract from her wiping them off and nods.
Reina turns to them and gives them a small smile. "We've all had a long day, I guess. You guys should go back, eat and get some rest. You've got work tomorrow."
"We're not leaving you here by yourself," Momo assured her and that thought only made her smile bigger.
But she knew they couldn't stay. What she had done might have saved them the cost of the hospital stay but all the rest was still up for grabs. They needed money to travel on forth, especially if there was a possibility that Eeze's stay could prolong theirs. They would need whatever they could gather from now on. At telling them this, she finally manages to get them to understand.
"We'll go, lil' queen," Momo finally agrees after a good half an hour of arguing. "But we'll be coming back after work every day from now on. And don't hesitate to call the phone near the house if you need something or anything happens."
With a final nod and a grand thank you, she walks them to the door of the room. But before they can go, they both turn with a pending question that they could not just leave unanswered.
"Where did you get that kind of money, lil' queen?"
The small, wry smile that came to Reina's lips instantly made them regret the question but she quickly changed it back to a real smile. "Whatever it was, it isn't important anymore. All that matters now is that Eeze gets the treatment he needs."
They look at each other with nothing more in mind to say. Assuring her it would all be okay, they go on and leave for the night. Returning to the seat that she had left, Reina grabs ahold of Eeze's hand in hers while brushing the strands of hair from his face with the other.
"Te aliviaras, amor. Te prometo, si es lo último que hare, no me iré hasta verte mejor."
The next couple of days were torture for me.
Eeze had come to be in a deep sleep and wasn't showing any signs of waking. The doctors said that it was just overexertion that had taken him after being hit by his lung collapsing. And it must be because he isn't showing any signs of having fallen into a coma. But it still wrung my heart to see him just lying there.
No smiles.
No laughter.
Just constant beeping.
The days, hours, and seconds strike like knives against my heart. Every day that I see him there without waking kills me inside. Never in my life had I seen Kat fall ill like this but I knew that if I had, that what I felt now was but a fraction of what I would've felt.
If Kat had gotten ill, there would be others to take care of her if I couldn't. She'd be safe and in the best hands.
Now that Eeze has fallen gravely ill, he only has one person who can see to him 24/7: me. And if I would ever leave his side, I dreaded the worst would happen.
So I never leave his side. No matter the circumstances, I'm always inside that room. Even when the boys want me to eat or go take a shower. I tell them that I don't want to leave his side and they seem to understand just fine. They bring me food from other places which I eat here and if I showered, I would take quick ones wasting as little time as I could.
I just had this incessant feeling that I needed to be by his side…always holding his hand. It was like a desperate need to keep him anchored to me so that he knew where to return to when he awoke. If I hold his hand, he'll know where to follow.
But a day went by, then another, and another without him waking. And each passing hour only harbored more dread in my being.
The night of the third day was just like the others. I was just about dozing off while holding onto his hand. And soon I did. It felt like a few seconds after that someone shook my shoulder slightly.
At feeling the uncomfortable movement, I swat the hand away but it comes back with a vengeance and finally wakes me up. Groggily, I wipe at my eyes with my one free hand before glancing way up and over my shoulder. It takes me a few seconds to adjust to the darkness in the room but I don't need them. Only one person that I know makes me arch my neck back this far.
"Tyki…?" My voice isn't anything over a whisper and it's hoarse.
He gives me a small smile that is slightly gentle before he turns around. My eyes follow him only to see that he's grabbing another chair from somewhere to pull it in front of me and beside Eeze's bedside before he sits down.
"How'd you know I was—"
"I came in just now to the house," he says not moving his gaze from the sick boy that lays between us. "When I saw the guys but not you and Eeze, I immediately knew something had happened. Never did I imagine it was something this serious. When they told me, I just had to come and see you guys." He lets his large palm rest upon the sleeping Eeze's head before brushing his fingers through his hair. He does it almost adoringly and it brings a sense of likeness to what I've done these days. Just holding him dearly. "What happened?"
The question takes me by surprise but I answer him after a while. It takes a bit of time to explain to him what had happened that day at the marketplace when it was still a big blur to me. He collapsed, I tried helping him, we brought him here and he hadn't woken up since he fell asleep here. He lets a silence seep in after I'm done and uses it to brush his fingers across his hair again for good measure.
"Where'd you get the money?"
Like the first day that they had asked, Tyki's question is the one I had been expecting so it doesn't take me that much by surprise. A slight chuckle escapes me and I avoid meeting his eyes and instead turn them to watch Eeze's sleeping face while gently brushing my thumb back and forth on the back of his hand. "I know it's a lot of money but I didn't sell myself like all of you think."
He shares a slight laugh with me. "I know you didn't." That one sentence fills me with relief and his tone tells me that he's not planning to dig any further.
A small music box tune playing note by note distracts me from that relief and instead makes my eyes go wide and turn towards the sound.
There on the bedside next to Eeze's shoulder is my pocket mirror open and playing its tune in a soft and gentle chorus. My bewildered sight goes to Tyki who only sits back on his chair while keeping eye contact with me.
He gives me a smile before speaking himself when I cannot find the words to. "When the guys told me that you had taken care of the hospital bill with such an absurd amount of money, I knew what you had done." He briefly nods his head towards the piece of artwork that now laid on the bed. "And even though I knew, I couldn't wrap my head around the reason why you did it when it is so important to you."
My astonishment slowly went away with his explanation. I wasn't really expecting any of them to realize I had sold the music box to the highest bidder. It wasn't hard especially with the many little gemstones that thing has incrusted. But he had. He knew the instant he heard from the others what I had done that I had taken the only precious object I had, both monetarily and as a memento, and sold it.
And the odd thing was that I hadn't doubted for a second about selling it. After I made my decision, the only thought in my head was that Eeze's life was worth much more than a trinket like that.
"Like you said, it's been important to me and it'll always be because of the memories that it created. But I knew the instant I decided to sell it that it didn't matter whether I had the mirror or not. Those memories would stay with me for years to come so long as I held them close to me. And so long as I did, there was no need for it anymore. It wasn't worth keeping for Eeze's wellbeing."
"You're right. But memories tend, more often than not, to fade back into black especially the important ones. A little reminder here and there of the good times is always important." His hands reach out towards the mirror and wind it like he had seen me done so once. The music starts playing again. "And now that Eeze is in good hands and will get better, we'll all be fine. Now you see, no need to throw it away."
He should be…shouldn't he?
Yet every day it felt like he was slipping ever so slowly from me. No matter how tightly I held his hand, I just felt him get further and further away. And I didn't want that. I need him here with me…with us.
We're his family and losing him would only tear us apart. He was everything to us—he's everything to me.
The music keeps on playing and words from that song have never wrung truer than now.
"You are my sunshine
My only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are gray
You'll never know, dear, how much I love you—"
My hold on his hand tightens and the tears prick the edge of my eyes but I can't let them spill. To cry now would only mean I've lost all hope of him returning to us. And that is something I will never lose to.
"Please don't take my sunshine away—"
In the last words that barely come out as a whisper, I raise from my sit and stand over him before gently placing a kiss on his forehead before placing my own upon his.
The silence seeps in and is broken yet again.
"Rei-nee? Tyki?"
His voice makes my eyes open and the tears I was holding back spill over my cheeks. At pulling back, in the dark, all I see are his baby blue eyes groggily glancing up at me.
I can't believe it. I'm so dumbfounded that I can't even ask him if he's really awake. It's Tyki who takes the chance but sounds just as amazed as me. "Eeze?"
A small smile forms on his lips that I couldn't be happier to see. "I'm hungry."
A chuckle escapes me and so do the tears as I come up and hug him. He hugs me back and from how close my ear is to his chest, I can hear his steady, normal breathing and it finally hits me.
He's really all right.
"Oh amor, claro. I'll get you whatever you want. Solo dime." I'm so out of it that I'm spilling words around in both English and Spanish. But I didn't care.
He's going to be okay.
Tyki ruffles his head gently and shares my relief with a smile. "You must be hungry as a bull, too."
"I'll go get you something, amor. Just wait—I'll get you the best there is here."
It took some time to find food this late at the hospital but I found somewhere that they would give me something for the boy that just woke up. Because I knew I couldn't just give him anything because he'd just woken up, I knew that soup would be okay for now.
But by the time I reach the hallway where his room is all I see is Tyki slowly coming out of the room. We meet outside the door and he only smiles before explaining to me, "He fell asleep again."
"He's hungry though," the worry in my voice is plain even to me.
"He'll wake up later even hungrier, don't worry." He assures me of that quickly and takes the tray with the food from my hands and walks over to the bench outside of the room. He lays the tray there beside him, sits down and pats the other side that's free for me to sit down. "You've done well taking care of him."
"And I'll continue to until he gets out and even afterward," I assure him with a smile. It won't be long now for that since he's awake and that he's breathing is back to normal.
Thank goodness the treatment worked.
"You should go home and rest. Eat this up while it's here. I don't think he'll wake up anytime soon after this. At least he's okay now." My rambling isn't stopping but I don't mind it. I'm too relieved to keep my thoughts to myself.
"Yeah, you're the best at taking care of him," he agrees and reaches out his hand to me and lays my pocket mirror onto my lap. He gets up with the intent to leave. "So I'll listen to you once in my life."
It still amazes me how he managed to figure what I had given up and still took the time to get it back. I don't want to know how he did but he did it.
And he did it so that I wouldn't forget. For my sake.
And that just warmed me so much that I couldn't understand. No one but Jaden had been this nice to me. And Jaden had already had my trust and to make me feel like this wasn't hard. But Tyki, we hadn't known each other for more than seven months already and yet he knew how to make me feel special. He knew how to speak to me and it felt normal.
And he seemed to know me.
Could it be true…? Or too true.
But before I could even stop the doubts in my brain, my lips spoke out of line. "Tyki." He turns at hearing me call to him with a perplexed look. Before I can even stop myself, I come up close to him and stand as tall as I could and even had to reach up with my tip toes and place a gentle peck on his cheek.
Beneath my lips, his cheek is rough with whiskers where he hadn't shaved and is warm from his body. It was quick and simple and although it was kind of hard to look him in the eye, I look up and smile.
"Thank you…for returning my mirror to me." Without another word, I slip inside the room to go back to Eeze's side to hold his hand and wait for him to wake up in the morning.
A/N:
So, this isn't as much as I would usually write. The outline for this chapter was actually a bit longer but I wanted to separate the two scenes because of how much of a jump from each other they are. That's why this might be a little bit less than usual.
But that's only good news for next chapter because of what's going to happen. Reina's about to meet a very whack family, if you catch my drift c;
Thanks to the people who've contacted me about requests. I'm still in the process of choosing which will I do and in which order but hopefully I can do them all even if a little. I'll keep them all in mind, so thank you very much. I'm hoping to spread this story further to see how many reviews I can get. I've only one story that's passed the 100 reviews and I have a feeling this one can go even further than that cx
Well, I'm going to answer some reviews that were from guests now:
Hana: I'm glad this is just an emotional trip for you. And about the little note on the last chapter, well, I may have already spilled the beans now cx And I'm having trouble a little what I'm going to make Reina. I want her to stay human but that would put her in a very disadvantageous position. But I'll see what I come up with. It's always hard for me to write fighting scenes because I like being technical so I do a lot of research to get the right moves that I imagine. Plus I watch a lot of action movies cx And yay! Cake! Hope it's chocolate -w- Thanks again! :D
Niska: Glad that you liked their moment and hoped you liked that little snippet in the end of this one. As for the father, he would be Hispanic too if I'm not mistaken so it's not really a purposeful secret.
Kjellberg: I forgot the IPod but it may or may not come back -w-
GhibliFan: Glad you like the fight. Also the dress was an off shoulder so when he slashed and she didn't have a bra on, well…use your imagination. Most of her chest is exposed and so are the girls so let's leave it at that. And a scene with Tyki and Reina like that may happen sometime in the future.
Schmetterling: Heehee, sorry I'm causing such suffering (but not really cx). I love leaving cliffhangers but that's for later. Glad you liked it and hope you like this one too c:
Well, now I don't know when I'll update again since I need to update my outline to further it before I write. So the updates will be back to being a bit slow. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that you stay tuned for the next update! :D
