Queen Luana: Here I am, once again… Ugh, I hate that song but my friend was singing it today in school and now it's stuck in my head… Grumble grumble…

Part IX

Growing thin

Zino rocked back and forth on his bed. The small cell he was in was everything except big and cosy. It only had room for his bed, a toilet and a sink and one square meter to stand on. It had been a month right now and he was slowly starting to lose it. Not only was he dealing with insomnia, he had started to hear things and see things which couldn't possibly be. He heard his friends talking and one day, he had even spent half an hour talking to Jentl in his cell before realising she couldn't possibly be there with him. It was hell. Soon he had begun to forget what was reality, and what were just mere illusions. Only the few times when he saw his friends, he felt sane again and at ease.

One time, when Jentl had come to visit him, she had hugged him and cradled him as a child. He had felt in a way he had never felt before, loved and maybe just a little in love. Their bond had changed since he had been in jail. When they talked, they didn't laugh at each other anymore. Of course, they had never meant the cruel things they told each other, but now they were just gone. Those words, dissolved into the midnight air.

He heard a loud creak, waking him up froms his deep thoughts and a sharp light enterred his cell, burning into his eyes. In the middle of the light stood the stature of a man, one of his guards. "You've got a visitor," he said. Zino reached for the walls and pulled himself up from his bed, then followed the guard with weak knees.

Jentl raised her head when she heard the door of the visitor's room open. Zino enterred, slim tired Zino, still rubbing his eyes because of the bright light. She smiled weakly and so did he, before grabbing the chair across the table she was sitting at, and sank down into it. "You've got fifteen minutes," the guard at the door said and Jentl clenched her fists. She was well aware she had fifteen minutes! She had had fifteen minutes for the past four weeks! She sighed and looked at Zino. "How are you?"

Zino shrugged and stared at the table. "Same as always," he mumbled and then smiled softly. "Glad to see you." She smiled thankfully and stared at her hands. "How are you?" he asked her and she shrugged as well. "Fine, I guess…" "Thanks for coming anyway," he spoke and she nodded. "I wouldn't skip a visit," she now nearly whispered and averted her eyes, trying to hide the tears filling them. Zino chuckled quietly and shove his chair closer to the table. "I guess so. I bet you'd even come here if you had IMV-" She burst into tears and covered her face with her hands to dim her loud sobbing. Zino leaned over the table and put a hand on her arm. "Jen?" "Carlos." He looked over his shoulder and saw the guard shaking his head in a disapproving way. Zino merely raised his hand in defence and turned back to Jentl.

"Jentl? What's wrong?" She lowered her hands, tears streaming down her face and after trying to relax she uttered: "Siska's sick." Zino's eyes widened and he opened his mouth several times before saying: "She – She's sick?" Jentl nodded and breathed in a couple of times. "It's IMV," she whispered in tears. "Since yesterday… Her parents called me this morning… They're going to do it tonight and they asked me and Luana to come, they said she's so scared…" "Tonight?" She nodded. "I don't wanna lose her…" Zino looked over at the guard, pleedingly and he nodded. Zino stood up, ran around the table and took Jentl in his arms.

She cried out against his shoulder, holding him close at his shirt. "She can't die… she just can't… Zino…" He nodded. "It's okay, Jen, those things happen. We'll just have to accept it…" She pushed him off in anger. "No, I won't accept it!" she cried, stood up and ran out of the room.

Zino sat there, watching where Jentl had sat just a moment ago, his heart throbing, before the first tear finally escaped the corner of his eye.

The first thing Luana and Jentl noticed that night was the gloomy sad radiance Siska's house had when they enterred. A couple of members of her family were gathered in the living room and her mother to who Siska resembled in every feature was sitting in the couch crying loudly, her mascara streaming down her face in dark black lines. Luana immediately knew she didn't belong there. Siska's father approached them. "She's in her room, I'm sure she'd be glad to see you." Jentl took her friend by the hand and together they went upstairs.

Siska was lying in her bed, nearly asleep and a nurse sat by her side. At the other side of the room sat a doctor with a black briefcase. They both tried to keep their eyes off of it. The doctor nodded at them and they nodded politely in return, then walked over to Siska. She opened her eyes when they sat down beside her. "Hi…" she nearly breathed. They both said 'hi' back and Siska swallowed painfully. "Don't be thinking I'm healthy, I'm on a lot of drugs right now, so. Stay here will you please? Else, when they start I might've forgotten you were here…" "We'll stay," Luana whispered and with a smile took Siska's hand and caressed it. Jentl walked over to the nurse and beckoned her to walk away for a moment.

"How bad is it?" she asked in dim voice while Luana continued talking to Siska. The nurse sighed. "Spleen, she'd suffer way too long, we have to do it." Jentl swallowed and nodded muttering a soft 'okay'.

The minutes passed slowly and they spend them talking to her about normal things as if everything was just fine. But deep within their hearts they were crying, the three of them, about all those years who were lost. And every second Luana wished someone would call and tell them they'd found a remedy. Time went by and soon it turned 10 PM. The last moment.

By that time others had gathered in the room, even Bryant, Siska's brand new boyfriend. But many were still downstairs and Siska's mother and father were standing somewhere in the far corner of the room. The doctor rose from his chair and sat down next to Siska on the bed. She began to cry softly. "I don't want to die!" she cried while tears rolled down her face. "I don't want to!" Her words tore everyone apart and Jentl quickly stepped up to hold her hand, hiding the tears she was crying. "Hush…" she whispered and caressed the back of her hand, while Luana stood at the other side and stroke the hair from her face. "It's okay, Sis, it's okay…"

The doctor opened his briefcase with a sad sigh and soon held out a needle filled with a transparent liquid. Two cc of death… Siska began to cry even harder and her body started shaking as if she was trying to run away from it. "I'm scared!" she cried and her face turned red with tears. Luana leaned over and kissed her on her forehead. "I know you are sweety… We're here with you." A few drops of liquid dripped from the point of the needle and the doctor tapped Siska's arm a couple of times to find a vein.

"You'll feel a little sting," he explained while he held up the needle. "And then you'll slowly get tired and drift off." Jentl had to force every muscle in her body to stop her from grabbing that needle and throw it away. Why was he telling her all these things anyway? Couldn't he see he was upsetting her? What's the use, she was going to die! What could possibly go wrong! "Don't be startled."

Siska shrieked when the needle went into a vein and the doctor pumped to liquid into her blood. Luana failed to suppress a loud sob and quickly covered her mouth with her hand. The doctor withdrew the needle and pressed a little cotton against her arm. Jentl kneeled and whispered into her ear. "It's okay now…" Siska's sobbing degreased and right before closing her eyes she whispered a soft: "Gote forever." Then her eyelids went shut for good.

Jentl wrapped one arm around her still crying friend and they both watched Siska's peaceful silhouette. All they had gone through together for so long… All those happy memories, beautiful memories… Jentl pushed her friend of and quickly said "I'm going to be sick" before storming out of the room.

After a few seconds, Luana walked out as well. Knowing soon the argue would begin about who would go and tell Zino.

Queen Luana: Oh tear-jerker… No, I honnestly know somebody who said that when she heard about her grandfather dying she didn't leave the bathroom for the next half hour. Poor Siska, and friends…