Get Well Soon

Takeru sat in his room with the light off and a candle on his desk. The faint fragrance of vanilla filled the bedroom. He was placed in a chair, slouching, and his arms were resting lifelessly on the armrests. Every few seconds, the candle flame was still, creating a glow to stand still, too. Then it would begin to dance wildly again, casting the mysterious shadows up on the walls. It had been three days since he had fallen ill; he was beginning to get well again, but his mother wouldn't let him set foot outside of the apartment. This situation was fine with him until he realized that the weekend would bring a ton of snow, and he was going to miss it if he didn't get better.

Cards decorated his desk and walls. Many of them were "get well soon" cards and "can't wait 'til you're back" and then some holiday cards. Girls telling him that the basketball team wasn't the same without him signed the majority of them. Then there were the usual cards that said to get well, but the team doesn't need him. There was always a postscript saying, "Just kidding, you know we need you." Every single one of these cards made Takeru happy. He could read them over and over if he wanted to. Instead, he stayed with his normal routine, drinking hot chocolate and eating some soup. By now, he despised the liquid food.

Every few minutes, he'd glance out the window to see if it was snowing. And every time he looked, he saw nothing but clouds and lights. After hours of nothingness, he turned on the radio and tried to find a decent station.

Little dune buggy, in the sand.

Little blue dune buggy, in my hand…

He blinked wildly at the song and started to laugh. The next station was a blur, static, and fuzz.

I'll make love to you,

Like you want me to.

And I'll hold you tight.

Baby, all through the….

Takeru sighed in disappointment. His finger kept tapping the little button, searching for something not too weird, not too slow, not too fast, but just right. He gave up within a minute and turned it back to his third choice. Staring at the ceiling, Takeru tried to figure out shapes and patterns. Nothing jumped out to grab his attention. So that soon died out and he went out of his room. Ms. Takaishi was talking on the phone and typing on the computer at the same time. Plus, she had another phone on hold on the desk in front of her. Takeru wondered how she could keep up with so many things. He shrugged, got a decent drink (a cold can of pop) and walked back into his room.

The young, fair-haired boy had his own telephone in his room. He never really used it except when he was bored. A sigh passed through his lips as he looked at the cards again. All of them were signed with "love," or "sincerely," or "see ya" but none of them had Hikari's name at the bottom. Even Daisuke gave him one. It showed an old dog under an umbrella and it read "I heard you were feeling under the weather…" inside, the words "Get better soon" were scratched out and replaced with "I hope it stays that way." At the bottom it said 'just kidding' and it was signed by D.M.

His hand reached for the dark blue phone and held it in the palm. He thought of a number, then he quickly punched in the numbers. Before one ring could go through, he hung up. Cowardly actions came from his mind; he didn't know that he just called Hikari's number... Not until his mind kicked into full gear. He shrugged and decided to go through with it. When he was about to call again, the phone rang. He blinked and answered, "Hello?"

"Hi…" a sweet and innocent voice said back.

"Hikari." Takeru grinned. "Something bugging you?"

"No…" Her voice was screaming "Liar! Liar!"

Takeru noticed and confronted; "Then why'd you take the time to call?"

"I just called to say…" she started. There was a pause.

"To say?"

"I hope you get well soon." She said, almost lovingly.

Takeru smiled. Nearly all of the cards said those words, but none of them sounded like that. Though it was simple and sweet, he gave a short reply of a thank you and sat down in his chair, phone in hand. They chatted for hours, three to be exact. They talked about nothing in particular, really. Just about different things. Hikari apologized for the absence of a card, Takeru forgave and apologized for missing her ballet recital; she forgave him. As their discussion came to an end, Hikari said the last words.

"I send you a word of good health through the phone, good sir." She giggled and he chuckled, too. "Good-bye, Takeru." And with that, she hung up, leaving the boy with a dazed smile on his face. He glanced outside and watched little snowflakes begin to push against the window.

The End

^-^ Just a short li'l Takari that I wrote back in December. I can't remember if I uploaded it before or not… All well.