A projector that hangs on a soft blue wall comes to life, it's bright glow casting light into the dark room. A girl sits in a heap of blankets, her head between her knees. Sweat drenches her small form and she shivers in response to the cold air attacking her pale skin. A small beeping sound catches her attention and she brushes her hair out of her sapphire colored eyes to look up at an image projection in the air above her head. It's the start of November 4th, 2022. The time is 6:45 and the weather is slightly cloudy, but warm. She lifts her hand into the air, touching the dismiss option on the sensitive glowing light. The projection disappears, leaving the room dark again. She collapses back onto the mattress below her, covering her eyes with her arms. She is so tired, having woken up three hours before her alarm with fits of coughs and night sweats. She is going to have to run off of two hours of sleep today.
Today she has therapy. Apparently, when one is diagnosed with a life threatening disease, they also develop depression and anxiety. This is one of the many things which she wishes would disappear just as quickly as it came.
After laying there for a few more minutes she decides to get up and removes the silicone respirator from her face. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she throws back the sheets. Her milky pale legs take a moment to steady her, but she is soon walking to a small closet that houses all of her clothing. She takes out a fresh pair of socks, buttons up a white shirt and tucks it into a dark blue skirt. She then pulls the grey socks up her shins and slips her small feet into two black shoes.
The girl draws a heavy, murky breath through her dry mouth before feeling claustrophobic. It was almost as if the oxygen around her was closing in, suffocating, drowning her already shriveled lungs in its dense existence. She forces the window open to escape her perturbation before tying up her waist length brown hair, grabbing a bag of essentials, and exiting the room.
Voices ring out from the kitchen, her family. When she walks in her mother greets her with a smile, and she takes notice of her younger brothers who violently kick each other from under the table, her father oblivious to it. She takes her seat at the table to join her family for breakfast. By the time she is finished eating it is 7:50. Time to get a move on, she assumes. Downing the handful of pills which sat waiting for her by a glass of water, she grabs a clean medical mask from out of the box by the counter and places it over her agitated airways. Finally, throwing her small pink bag over her shoulders, she walks out the door.
Colored leaves dot the sidewalks leading up to the train station, and students heading to school talk mindlessly. She keeps her head low, walking without a hint of confidence. She missed school. The collapse of her body back in junior high was the end of it all. The end of normalcy, and the start of a nightmare.
Now she mostly schooled online, her parents and doctors not allowing her to go to school, afraid of the bullying that may ensue, or too much physical exertion. She was like a glass figurine, a precious and fragile object. She was allowed only to do menial work at home, and anywhere else really. Walking to her therapy appointments every Tuesday and Friday was the most she was granted, and even that took a lot of persuasion.
She pulls a book from her bag, immersing herself in it almost entirely. Shortly after being diagnosed the development of anxiety drove her away from reality and into the world of books. Books had been her only distraction when she was younger, a way to pretend that the needles they stuck into her were only splinters, that every bite of food that her body rejected did not mean another night going hungry. It made her pretend that she was not alone every night that she woke up in the hospital, or at her home when everyone was away, her parents at work and brothers at school. She had chances to make friends at therapy, but the truth was she was not very good at it. She never had friends in school before the collapse, and her social skills almost completely stopped developing when she was pulled out. Maybe it wasn't meant to be, and she didn't want to inflict pain on anyone when she finally died. Didn't want to hurt anyone when the ticking time bomb of her life ultimately exploded.
Soon enough, an animated voice comes over the intercom, and the girl is informed that her stop is coming up. She gathers her things and gets ready to step off of the train.
Three hours later, the girl's therapy session ends. With tired eyes, she exits the pristine building, picking up the faint smell of spice filled autumn wind. With a few dangerous and painful coughs, she makes her way back to the train station. This time, the crowds normally associated with the rails are not as large. People are at work and school, afterall. With a lonely frown, she inserts unwired earbuds into her small ear canal and presses play on a playlist on her phone.
After a few short minutes, her train pulls to a stop in front of her. It's brakes scream with resistance, and hearing it over the music, she is reminded of herself when the disease took over. She resisted, much like the train. She was still resisting, but losing morale quickly.
She took a seat in the middle cart, close to a window. Pulling out her book once more, she reads whilst zooming by the city.
When she makes it home she slides the door open and kicks off her shoes, "Anyone home?" No answer. She pads down the hallway toward her room and drops her bag by her bedroom door shortly after closing it behind her. She takes out the book once again and began to read, blocking out the thoughts that drifted into her mind today until she eventually puts them out of her mind for good, getting lost in a new world.
Only a few hours later, a small, sweet voice rings though the house. Her youngest brother, Kyo, calls for her, "Yuri, we're home!"
Yuri abruptly sets down her book, jumping up from her seat by the window. She swiftly walks to meet her youngest brother in the living room. He has already flipped on the television, tuning into his favorite cartoons. His dark eyes are fixated on the dancing characters displayed on the screen and a wide smile spreads across his face as he scoots over a little, making room for her on the carpeted floor. She hugs her mother who walks to the kitchen before laying on her stomach close to her brother, supporting her head with the palms of her hands. Watching cartoons with Kyo is definitely one of her favorite pastimes. Everyday after their mother picks him up from daycare, this process repeats. Because of her lack of any real life friends, her family has become the closest and most important people in her life.
After a few episodes of Kyo's favorite show, Hideki, her other little brother, slams the door behind him. He kicks off his shoes and makes himself known to the household with a shout, "I'm home, and I have tons of homework!"
In a typical response, Yuri picks herself off of the floor and skips over to the boy, messing up is dirty blond hair. A goofy smile play's across his face as he swats her hand away. "Alright, let's work on that homework, yeah?" And they sit at the dinner table working on his math equations.
Eventually, Yuri and Hideki finish with his studies. Together they clean up and set the table for dinner.
As usual, dinner is quiet... Yuri's parents have not been getting along lately, and the small talk that she tries to strike up is ignored. It's difficult to be happy when you are arguing, but they haven't grasped that yet, not like she has.
She wishes that they could see the world like she could, to live like they might not wake up tomorrow, maybe then they wouldn't fight so much. She eventually gives up, sighing down at her plate of food. Because of the illness she is restricted to a special diet. The rest of her family abides to it, not only to comfort her but also for convenience. She knows that it upsets Kyo especially. While his friends eat ice cream, among other sweet things, he can't, at least not at home where she can see. She feels guilty for it, even though Hideki has told her many times that it doesn't upset him. She would truly like to believe her nine year old brother, but she has seen him stare longingly at food stands when they attended festivals.
She frowns, taking another bite before deciding that she is full. "Please excuse me." She pushes her plate away from her, ready to end another day.
She grabs her night clothes and towel before exiting her bedroom and walking down the hallway to the bathroom. Stripping off her formal clothing, she is reminded that tomorrow is Saturday. She smiles at the thought, she has always loved Saturdays. To make it even better, tomorrow is the fifth of November. Every first Saturday of the month she goes to the hospital to get a refill on her medication, report to the doctor and adjust that medication accordingly. That is all she has to do tomorrow. Yuri smiles.
After showering she dresses and finds her way back to her room, collapsing on her bed after downing a sleeping pill and attempts to fall into dreams.