2:00 AM
Gosha was sitting on a bench next to his daughter leano. He was wearing a venom-proof mask to not spill his venom all over the ground.They sat in the empty waiting room, for her son Legosi to come out of surgery.
No words were exchanged between the pair.
There was just silence in the waiting room, except for the sounds of the song "I'm still here" playing in the background. As well as the sounds of footsteps walking into the other rooms around to give news to the other people in the other rooms.
Hospitals weren't an unfamiliar sight for leano. She Had spent 2 major life moments in one. The first one was when she was 21, giving birth to her son after a one-night stand with a wolf.
She couldn't remember the wolf's name or what he looked like. The only thing she could remember about that night was the bright green scales on her back.
Sparkling as if they were taunting her, saying "we'll always be here."
She could remember what her father said to her when she found out she was pregnant. He said that he would always support her if she needed help with anything regarding the baby. Baby clothes, baby food, diapers.
Leano always said that it seemed that her father was more excited about her child than she was.
After he was born, she noticed more and more scales on her body. Like an illness penetrating her perfect, beautiful body. She spent most of her time trying to hide them from the people around her.
She always hated being a hybrid.
She always was called beautiful in school by her teachers and classmates. Soon enough she started to believe it. It had gotten to the point where any semblance to being part reptile was considered a curse.
She spent more time in her room. Seeing her son less and less. She often regretted not being there enough to see her son grow up.
When Legosi was 10, she woke up to see that her left eye had changed
She never left her room after that. Her only connection to the outside world became a round hole in her door in which to inspect her son for any scales.
This practice led her to the second time in a hospital.
The second time was when she checked herself into the mental health ward at the recommendation of her father after attempting to take her own life when Legosi was twelve.
She hates thinking about the day she tried to do it. She would be always thankful that her father was there to talk her down from doing it. He told her that she needed to be strong. Not just for her, but for the boy she was going to leave behind.
she had met another hybrid like herself who was a volunteer at the facility.
She became very good friends with this hybrid.
After 3 weeks of learning from this hybrid and the others around her, she was released from the hospital.
In that time, she gained a new outlook on life.
A life without hiding.
A life with imperfections.
It wasn't instant. It took her some time to get warmed up to the idea of being in public. But now her son is 17 years old, and she feels fine.
She still has her bad days but has learned to deal with them.
But this?
This was the worst day of her life.
She was tired, anxious, and extremely scared for her son.
Her mind was racing as she thought of different worst possible scenarios. It was only when she heard the footsteps of a doctor walk into the room that her mind cleared.
"Excuse me, are you the mother of Legosi?" She said to her.
"Ahh, yes I am!" She replied, getting up on her feet. Leano could feel the tension rise in the room as she asked the question,
"Is my son going to be ok?"
The doctor, sensing the tension answered thus.
"Miss Leano, your son has come out of emergency surgery ok and is currently in the ICU sleeping off his recovery."
And as if a magic spell had rushed over her, her anxiety about her son slipped away as the doctor continued.
"I know you have lots of questions about what happened, and trust me they will be answered. But for now, I would recommend you get some rest. It's been a long night for both of you."
"But my son.."
"Don't worry, we have a room for you at the hotel across the street, so when the morning comes you can come to see him. Just talk to the receptionist and she will give you the details."
"O-ok. Thank you so much, doctor."
As they began to walk out Gosha noticed someone standing in the hallway. A horse dressed in a three-piece suit talking to a police officer.
"Honey, you go ahead. I need to talk to someone."
He started to approach the horse who began to notice him.
"Hello Yafya," he said to the large horse. "Thanks for the phone call."