I'm dropping this here quickly before parting to class. Sorry for my current delay in updates. And yeah, this is rather short.
She wasn't that dazzled.
No, really, she wasn't.
She was a doctor, so she had to get a hold of herself and start working. Nellie brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, sighing with adoration. Ivan was sprawled over Anita, as if he was trying to grasp the little health she had left and make her stay.
The pinkhead smiled tenderly despite the situation in front of her. They reminded her of Isaac and her in their younger years, when it was all smooches, hugs and roses – now it was more like windmills, children and Bazaar work.
Now, that was a heaven breaker.
Claire breezed behind her with a knowing smile. "They're so lovey-dovey, aren't they?"
Nellie gasped. She was about to respond but the other doctor laughed it off. "Don't fret. They do look cute, and they will make it through." sigh. "But let's prioritize here, okay? We first need to take care of them."
"Yes."
"Let's carry the potato sack to the couch and treat him later. Anita is our priority at the moment, so he can wait a little longer."
Once he was lying on the sofa, Nellie checked on him quickly. "He seems to be asleep now. I think he's fine."
"Nice! Now hurry over here and help me, will you?"
Claire took out a heavy suitcase full of needles, pills, creams and medicine. Nellie observed how her sensei did some general tests on her faltering farmer, all of them with no good result. The redhead moved around like she always did, feeling the same frustration she always felt and failing as she seemed to be doing very often lately.
"She's not getting better..." muttered Claire.
Nellie padded next to the bed. "How is her temperature?"
"Cold. She's cold as snow. Look at her." the blanket around her sick body was partially removed. "She looks like a ghost."
Nellie gasped. Never had she ever seen her favourite blond in such critical state before. Even the couch seemed to react, given how it cringed. She paid no mind to the noises and focused on Anita.
"Oh no..."
There was a heavy silence that lingered in the air for a whole minute. Both women exchanged worried looks, hopeless. They had never felt so useless in their lives as experienced doctors. Well, Nellie still had some road to go, but she was learning and had done great progress.
However, this situation wasn't something to be tolerated. Anita was at risk of falling down if she didn't get a solution soon. Yet, it depended on a pair of doctors who were lost in despair of not knowing what to do.
Zephyr Town would be lost without her.
Everybody would be devasted if they found her dead one night.
Dirk would surely go on a rampage if he knew how severe the danger was.
And Ivan... he would sure come down with a depression or worse if he discovered the love of his life died. He was currently losing it just knowing the possibilty was there. They only had to glance at his body on the sofa and remember the previous day.
"Do you think... she..."
Claire fervently shook her head, stubborn to the very end. "Don't even dare to say it, Nellie. She'll make it through."
Nellie had had enough of hearing the same riddle. "Quit saying the same thing over and over when we have no idea, Claire!"
She sighed, scowling deeply. "Do you think saying it makes it any easier? I'm trying to find faith somewhere, even if it's self-infounded!"
"And are you sure it'll make it all better? We must do much more than wishful thinking and start either telling everyone about her comatose state or go for much more serious treatments!"
"And how are we supposed to do that, Nellie? We don't have enough resources to look for better solutions than this one. What's the bright idea, smarthead!?"
Nellie puffed a considerable amout of air and let her towels fall down. "We'll have to go out of town and seek for help! This isn't going to get solved on its own!"
"Have you gone nuts, Nellie?" exclaimed the other woman. "If the word spreads we're such uncompetent doctors, it'll be the ruin of this town!"
"Does the town's reputation matter more than her life?" shouted she back, exasperated. "Are you being serious right now, Claire!?"
Claire frowned deeply, stressed out of her mind. "The Mayor will go berserkers if he finds out! That, if he hasn't already!"
"Oh, really? ARE YOU SURE HE DOESN'T KNOW ALREADY!?" Nellie stepped dangerously near to her mentor. "And, if that were to be true, how can you think of Felix so shallowly to even think he cares about the town more than he cares about Anita!?"
"That's not the point!" yelled the other one. Seeing the arguement going nowhere, she sighed and cooled off. "Look Nellie, what I mean is that we should be experienced enough to solve this. There might not be enough help outside."
"You can't say that unless we try!" exclaimed the pinkhead, wanting to throw a bigger tantrum. "It's useless for us to keep on trying if we're aways going backwards!"
"We're going to keep on trying, Nellie. And it's the last word we'll say about this."
"Claire-!"
"But,"
Nellie came to a halt.
"I promise that if we can't sort this out on our own, I'll go outside myself and seek for help. And I never go back on my words."
Nellie's shoulders sank down. Her friend was too strongheaded to give up– when would she actually realize this problem was too big for them to tackle? Was she so blind?
Both of them hated to feel useless, but that was the raw reality of the situation. It was very stupid to delay other solutions from coming, given it would only weaken Anita more. This situation was just so stupid and severe that Nellie was at loss of words and ideas.
She could only pray.
"For now, we'll go and have a talk with Felix. He might be able to give us some advice, even if he knows nothing about medicine."
"That will do for now, I hope." Nellie caressed Anita's damp forehead and sighed. The couch actually cringed at her sad tone. "Hold on for us, okay? We'll fix you soon, sweetie."
The pinkhead kissed her cheek with a mother instinct and followed her mentor out of the door, brisking away like the wind.
However, Ivan – who had been awake during the conversation and was so not happy, sat up on the couch and scratched his neck, glancing at his crush with a pained expression, one of those you only see four or five times in a lifetime.
He adjusted his shirt, noticed that his jacket and vest hung on a chair and strolled towards her, just like he did the night before, but maybe more enthusiastic and less catatonic. Ivan sat next to her, watching her chest go up and down and how beads of sweat cascaded down her face.
He bit his lip, struggling to contain his urge to hug her and wail desperately.
Ivan couldn't believe it.
She was dying.
The sun of his life was fading away.
And he had no say against it.
It was over.
It was over.
He was over. Broken, done, shattered.
Ivan took refuge in the remaining heat of her body and let some tears fall, trying to grasp her life and just... beg for her to stay with him, forever. He swore he wouldn't let her go, that he would cherish her everyday and never ever doubt again.
But it seemed a decade late. And he cried for letting her go, for not knowing what was going on even if it was happening in front of him.
He was lost in a crowd full of madness.
And he was the only sane one who could make it right.
Somewhere along the way of sleep, his eyes snapped open when her warmth switched to deadly coldness. It literally knocked him over, making him step back and look up.
With a confident glint in his eyes, he made up his mind.
"If you can't be strong now, I'll be strong for the both of us." Ivan wiped some ugly tears away with gritted teeth. "I'm not going to disappoint you ever again, Anita. I swear."
He looked at her once again and mused about how peaceful she looked on the outside, but how crazy it must be being inside of her brain. Ivan sighed.
He was defeated, dejected, almost insane because she was dying with no apparent reason. However, he was going to sort it out. There was no way Anita would die with him doing nothing about it. This was his stubborn side, and it would come in handy.
His left hand rumaged through his pocket once he put his jacket on and eventually found the item he was looking for. He took it out. Its shappire glory shone to the sunlight that peeked through the courtains of her bleak house.
Ivan smiled slightly.
It was a promise.
He would come back to her, just as she would come to him eventually. They'd crash in each other's arms when the time came.
Ivan approached her gingerly and placed the dear object on her hand, watching how she didn't grab it directly. His nose wrinkled in a disappointed glance. Still, he shouldn't have expected less from a probably-soon-to-be corpse. Ivan took the item and wondered where to leave it.
His answer came clear when he discovered a photo album between some cooking books and geography guides. Ivan found a certain page with a pretty photo of him, Dirk and Anita during – if he was correct – last year's Fall Bazaar. They were under a tree's shade near Joan's stand, having a nice lunch.
He stared at the picture very fondly, touching the plastic cover. He didn't remember taking this picture, but just seeing her so happy – and contrasting so much with her current state, he noted grimly – ignited a flame in his heart. The whole place seemed to light up with her presence, Dirk's laugh and Ivan's smile.
If only it were possible to go backwards and capture those joyful moment again...
He tucked the little thing in and put the book back to its place. After that, Ivan left the house with a hardened resolve.
"Ivan, Ivan, Ivan!"
"I have no time, Dirk!"
"But, where are you going!?" exclaimed the teenager, following his unstoppable brother as he went from a room to another, packing his things in a bag. "You came home blabbering about Anita and going out!"
The teacher came to a halt. "Ah, sorry about that." Dirk actually thought he was stopping to talk, but it turns out he only stopped to gather some books. "I'll be leaving for a while, maybe a week or two."
"Huh, why?"
"Anita."
Oh, he said enough.
It made Dirk start thinking. "Uh, Ivan, she's being treated by Claire and Nellie, why the rush?"
"Their treatment is rather slow if I do say myself, so I am going to search for a cure out of here." spoke he gently. "Anita is in great danger now, and they are not willing to seek for help. I am taking the matter in my owm hands now."
"But Ivan, what if she wakes up-?"
"If she does, she knows I will come back. However, if I stay, I will go berserkers standing here doing nothing. How am I going to live with her needing my help?"
Dirk went silent and observed how his brother moved frantically around their house.
"You... you want to cure her?"
"Well, not exactly... but I'll try and do my best." muttered the other, a little unsure. "It doesn't matter how much time it takes me to find a cure, but I won't come back until I find a cure for her."
"That's pretty reckless, Ivan. We don't even know her illness, how are you gonna manage to find a cure?"
"I have my ways, Dirk. And I am aware of the difficulties. Yet, I'll accomplish my goal." he closed his bag and put it over his shoulder. "I won't fail this time. I'm not going to lose her."
The chestnut haired male observed, again, how Ivan wandered around and ended up closing his bag for good this time. "Ivan, I-"
"I'll be back... soon, I hope." he said, dead serious. His mouth traced a thin line. "I have to find a solution, fix this. It isn't correct for her to leave without me fighting for her, don't you think?"
Dirk stared at him, at a loss of words. A question lingered in his eyes, burning his aching heart and voicing them to Ivan in a quiet hush of air. The older brother was perceptive enough to catch it on the go.
"You can't come." deadpanned Ivan. "I will be doing loads of research and moving from one place to another. Besides, I'm not certain about how much time it will take for me to come back."
"Goddammit, Ivan..."
Ivan stepped towards his dear sibbling. His right hand landed on his shoulder. "It will be fine, Dirk. We have always been fine, and she will soon be when I find a cure for her."
...
"How can you be so sure...?"
"You care about her as well, don't you?"
"You know I do."
The broken teacher sighed. "Then, you understand I have to leave. I've phoned the school to warn them, Felix as well and Freya, too. I will write you cards so you know about my whereabouts."
"You..."
"Dirk?"
The brunette was at the verge of crying, but bit his tears back. "Yeah?"
Ivan smiled. "Take care of her for me, will you? If she wakes up, tell her everything."
"Everything...?'
"That I'm gone." explained the other. "That I'll be back for her soon. And, that when feeling lonely, she can look at her photo book and remember all the good times. I'm sure that everything that lies inside willl cheer her up."
"Brother, I..." he couldn't form a coherent sentence and that unnerved him. "I'll miss you so freaking much, Ivan... But if you were in Anita's situation, or Antoinette was, I'd react similarly."
"Dirk..."
"Just-" the waiter shook a tear away. "just be safe, okay? Breathe some air and take your time. All of us will be waiting for you here."
Ivan approached him and embraced his little brother tight, not wanting to let go yet knowing he had to for Anita's sake. Albeit regretfully after hearing Dirk sob a bit, he pulled away rather quickly.
"O-okay, I'll pull myself together now." muttered a peachy Dirk. "As soon as Anita wakes up or makes any significant change, I'll write you."
"You will be fine, Dirk. You are responsible enough."
Dirk nodded in agreement and watched his brother part for the door with his blood stuck in his heart, tense and waiting. Ivan opened the door and, before leaving for good, flashed a hopeful smile to Dirk.
It was then when he knew.
Ivan would come back.
And he would bring salvation with him.
Ivan stared at the path ahead of him with great impression. This is where his work started, but he saw no end to it. And, mind you, he didn't care. Curing Anita was the most important thing now.
So, before starting his journey, he glanced back at the village and dedicated a small smile to think about the man he would become for the village.
"It depends on me now, Zephyr Town. She depends on me."
"Goodbye, Town of the Winds."
Yeah. He's leaving :D
I'll get to edit this as soon as I have time, I promise D: And if the line break at the start didn't show, it's because the fanfiction editor doesn't seem to like me much.