Chapter 10
Elphaba woke up a few days later to complete and utter darkness. Though she couldn't see anything, she could feel someone next to her, holding her hand. "H-hello?" Elphaba asked weakly. "Fabala! Your awake!" A familiar voice cried from next to her. "Nessa? I-is that you?" Elphaba still couldn't see anything. "It's me, Fabala. I'm right here." Nessa assured her, squeezing her sister's hand gently. "I-i need my glasses." Elphaba murmured, squinting her eyes to try to make out where Nessa was.
Elphaba felt Nessa let go of her hand, and a few seconds later, she felt something come to rest on the bridge of her nose. But for some reason, her vision didn't get any better. "Nessa, I need my glasses. I can't see anything." Elphaba repeated, thinking Nessa hadn't heard her before. "What do you mean? I just gave you your glasses." Nessa told her, getting worried that Elphaba still couldn't see anything. "Did you sure they're the right glasses?" Elphaba asked, also getting worried. "Yes! I went to get you new glasses and I told the lady at the store what kind of lenses you needed. You should be able to see right now. Do you want me to get the doctor?" Nessa asked, getting up from her seat. "Yes. Something isn't right." Elphaba nodded, which she soon regretted because it caused a wave of dizziness to take over again.
"Okay. I'll be right back, Fabala." Nessa hugged Elphaba before leaving the room. It didn't take long before Elphaba once again heard footsteps approaching. "I'm back, Fabala. The doctor is going to find out what's going on, okay?" Nessa held Elphaba's hand again. "Thank you, Nessa." Elphaba gave her a weak smile. "What seems to be the problem, Miss Elphaba?" A new voice, the doctor, asked. "I-i'm wearing my glasses, but I still can't see anything. What's going on?" Elphaba asked, scared of what the doctor might say.
There was a long silence. "Well...when you were brought here, I found that you had several severe head injuries. You also had some brain damage. Whatever happened to you, I think might have blinded you." The doctor explained. "I-i'm blind?" Elphaba asked, horrified at what she had just heard. "I'm afraid so. I'm sorry Miss Elphaba, but there is nothing I can do. It could have been worse, though. I was expecting you to not remember anything, but it seems you got off easy. Now if that's all, I should be going." The doctor apologized.
"I'i'll be fine. Thank you." Elphaba said, her voice barely audible. She heard footsteps moving away from her then the door clicked shut. "Fabala? Are you okay?" Nessa asked after a few minutes of silence. "I'm blind..." Elphaba murmured once again, more to herself then to Nessa. "Fabala? D-do you mind telling me what happened after I ran away from that attack?" Nessa asked, wanting to find out what had happened that caused her sister go go blind.
"I-i guess so. After you left, those idiots who attacked me tied me up. I know during the time they had me, my head was hit at least two other times, but it could have been more. I think the second time my head was hit was one of the boys kicking me in the head. It was horrible, Nessa. I thought I was gonna die in that closet they left me in." Elphaba burst into tears.
The attack had been terrifying. "Don't cry, Fabala! You're safe now! Nobody is gonna hurt you anymore." Elphaba felt Nessa wrap her arms around her. "I-it's too late! I'm blind, Nessa! Those boys wanted me to never see the light of day again, and they got what they wanted. Maybe not in the way they wanted it to happen, but they still got what they wanted! This is why I became the ghost in the first place! I used to live in fear of the students. But as a ghost, the students would fear me instead! I didn't have to worry about them anymore, because they didn't dare come near me! Just go ahead and kill me, Nessa! I don't wanna deal with this anymore!" Elphaba cried into Nessa's shoulder.
"Fabala, I am not going to kill you! Has your life really been that terrible? That you don't believe you deserve to live?" Nessa asked, not believing that anyone's life could be that hard. "Well unlike you, I'm an ugly, green artichoke who nobody likes! Of course, you wouldn't understand. Father's always loved you, treating you like your the most precious thing in Oz. Well life isn't as beautiful and perfect as you think it is! Not everyone is spoiled and treated like a princess! When I still lived with father, I was treated like a slave! Four years old and I was a slave! He told me himself that if I weren't so young, he would have killed me! So just shut up and go away!" Elphaba shouted, anger bubbling up inside her. "Fabala..." Nessa squeezed Elphaba's hand. "GO AWAY!" Elphaba screamed, pushing her away.
Nessa couldn't hold back tears. Elphaba was right. Life wasn't as beautiful for some people as it was for herself. Nessa ran out of the hospital wing, in tears.
Madison was sitting outside reading a book, when Avaric walked by with some of his friends, laughing about something that must have been really funny. Most likely their latest prank. "What did you do this time?" Madison glared at the group. "What's it matter to you?" Avaric laughed at her. "Tell me!" Madison demanded.
"A few days ago we totally sent the ghost to the hospital wing." Avaric told her. "What!? What did you do to her!?" Madison was on her feet now. "Let's just say I'm surprised she didn't die in that closet we left her in." He told her. "Okay, I hate Elphaba as much as the next person, but there is no excuse to hurt someone like that!" Madison yelled. "And what are you gonna do about it?" Avaric asked, not thinking Madison could cause much damage.
Madison punched him hard in the face, giving him a broken nose. "Madison! What in Oz are you doing!" A voice shrieked from behind her. Madison turned to see Daphne. "Avaric beat up Elphaba and left her in a closet to die!" Madison shouted at her ex-best friend. "WHAT!? Nobody hurts Elphaba!" Daphne joined Madison is teaching Avaric not to mess with other people.
After five minutes, Avaric managed to escape, obviously learning his lesson. Madison high-fived Daphne, but then remembered that they weren't friends anymore. She turned away. "Maddy..." Daphne began, but Madison interrupted her. "This doesn't change the fact that we still aren't friends." Madison muttered. "I-i'm going to go check on Elphaba." Daphne whispered before running off towards the hospital wing.
Daphne was almost to the hospital wing, when she saw Nessa sitting up against a wall, crying. "Nessa? Whats wrong? Is Elphaba okay?" Daphne asked, walking over to Nessa. "F-fabala's blind!" Nesa cried, not looking up at Daphne. "What!?" Daphne shrieked. "S-she had brain damage from the attack, a-and it blinded her! Elphaba will never see again! I should never have listened to her when she told me to run!" Nessa buried her face in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably. "But is she alive?" Daphne asked, wrapping Nessa in a hug. "Y-yes. But I don't know how long that will last!" Nessa cried. "W-what do you mean?" Daphne was getting really worried now.
"S-she wants to die! She asked me to kill her so she wouldn't have to live her miserable life anymore! I'm scared she might try to kill herself since I refused to kill her!" Nessa told Daphne, trying to stop herself from crying, but failed horribly. "Maybe I can go talk to her." Daphne suggested, standing up. But Nessa grabbed onto her hand to stop her. "No! She's doesn't want any visitors right now!" Nessa told her. "But why? Doesn't she know we care about her?" Daphne asked.
"I've tried to tell her that, but she won't listen! She doesn't believe that anyone could care about her. She believed that even before she got hurt. I've been trying to convince her otherwise, but she won't listen! I don't think there's anything we can do to help her right now." Nessa explained, still not letting go of Daphne's hand.
"Well...I guess we can leave her alone for now. But I'm eventually gonna come back and talk to her." Daphne finally gave in to what Nessa had said. "Thank you. I think she just needs some time to think about what's happened. C-can you come and sit in my room with me? I don't wanna be alone." Nessa asked. "Of course, Nessa! Don't worry, you won't have to get through this alone. Elphaba won't either. We'll all be with her when she needs us." Daphne assured her, helping Nessa to stand up. After that, they silently walked back to Nessa and Elphaba's room. They just hoped Elphaba would be okay.