All I can say about chapter 7 is that the conversation between Kairi and I took forever to write, for some reason...guess I just wasn't in the writing mood. Either that or I was sick of writing about Kairi. hehe But I hope you can't notice that from the story.
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Chapter Seven
- Kairi's Illness -
A week passed, and each day went on as usual. I had lost weight from eating less and working harder, and the islanders grew more tired with each passing day. There was a storm every night now, and they were getting to be so violent that nobody could get a decent night's sleep anymore.
Kairi had unfortunately come down with the flu, and it became my job and responsibility to check on her every hour or so. Because of this I never went far from her house and only collected food with Sora in the afternoon. I felt honored that Mr. And Mrs. Hiratada were letting me take care of Kairi – I knew how much they loved their daughter and how it took a lot for them to trust someone outside the family to look after her. I wanted to prove myself a capable person to them, so I took my task very seriously.
On one dark evening, I talked with Kairi a little after giving her some soup. We spoke about how everyone was preparing for the storm, and how we still couldn't believe what had taken place in the past few weeks. After a minute I paused and let her sip on some broth, studying the boarded-up window across her room. Kairi must have noticed the concerned look on my face, for she stopped what she was doing and put her hand on my shoulder. "Jess," she said softly. "You okay?"
"It's just so overwhelming," I told her. "I still can't believe how much has happened...and how much more things are going to change."
Kairi smiled weakly. "Don't worry," she said. "Everything will be all right."
I shot her a hard look. "Kairi, how can you be like that?"
"Like what?"
"You act like there isn't anything to worry about! I know it's good to be optimistic about things, but there's a hurricane coming. Nobody knows when it's going to hit so they're on the verge of panicking, and you're bedridden with the flu! How can you say everything will be all right when nothing is right now?"
A stunned look appeared on Kairi's face, and I immediately regretted raising my voice at her. But before I could apologize she began speaking again. "I know a lot of things are going on right now, and don't get me wrong – I'm just as worried as you are. But I know that in the end, things will turn out for the better." She smiled once again at me and I felt a sick sort of relief; I wanted to believe her but I couldn't bring myself to. Kairi's smile was different, too; she seemed to hesitate before she did it, like she wasn't sure of herself. Before I could say anything more to her she began to cough violently, moaning in pain. I took her half-empty soup bowl and tucked her in, standing next to her until the worst of her coughing fit was over. She turned on her side and croaked a feeble "Thanks Jess," then closed her eyes, shivering uncontrollably. I sat on her bed long after she fell asleep, watching her with pity. Saddened by her condition and frustrated that there was nothing more I could do for her, I sighed and walked out of Kairi's room, closing the door gently behind me.
In the livingroom I plopped down on the couch, hearing the evening storm roar on outside. It sounded worse than ever tonight, and I shuddered uncomfortably. At that moment I wished Kairi's parents were there, but they were part of a relief crew that had set up camp a few miles away. They brought more supplies to the worried islanders to help them prepare for the hurricane, which I thought was a pretty good idea. Even though Mrs. Hiratada was pregnant, she had gone along with her husband to help out. Every other day they came to check on us both to see how we were doing, and then left again before dark.
Even though Kairi was with me, I always felt alone after the sun went down. The storms were getting scarier every night, and I was just waiting for the power to go out. I felt like it might even go out tonight, so I got a blanket and turned on a lamp next to the couch, wanting to watch TV. It was usually the cure for my sleepless nights, but unfortunately the television wasn't working. So I got out a book to read instead. It was called The Storm (ha, what a coincidence), an exciting chapter book about how the carelessness of humanity starts causing all kinds of natural disasters. I was in chapter 4 at the time, and was looking forward to finding out what was going to happen next. I began to read, and got so wrapped up in the story that after a few minutes the howling wind outside began to seem distant and unreal.
A sudden hard bang on the door nearly made me jump out of my skin. I rose slowly and stood rigid for a few seconds, every hair on the back of my neck raised. Immediately questions started shooting through my brain…Who or what would be outside at this time of night? I swallowed, an eerie sensation prickling up my spine. My heart stopped as I took a step towards the door. Hoping and praying that it was Kairi's parents, I unlocked the door and turned the handle with trembling fingers.
