This, by far, has to be the shortest chapter I have ever written. Ending this story on chapter 13 is not unlucky.....is it?
It was dazzling brightly when he awoke. White light shone down on his eyelids, dimming considerably as they filtered into his retinas. The surface he was lying on was relatively soft, as he booted up consciousness. He was aware of a small plastic thing cupping his nose and mouth, collecting his every breath, yet the air tasted fresh and clean. A big piece of cloth tickled his toes, and a breezy little airstream swirled and wound around him. He felt sore and stiff all over, and his chest felt a bit…empty.
"…Am I dead?"
That was his first thought. He contemplated the idea, and then decided that it could not be true, for he could still feel, touch and see, along with all his other senses which are perfectly functional. His fists groped at the blanket, the soft cottony cloth wrapping around his fingers. He fluttered open his tired eyes, letting the scene seep into his vision, and ultimately, his memory.
The white lights of the hospital ward beamed back down on him, casting a feigned glow around him. He sat up, the kinks in his bones cracking out straight. His fingers crept up to his face and nudged off the oxygen mask.
"You're finally awake."
He turned towards the voice, and saw his friends standing beside his bed. He put up a finger and counted them; Twin, Miranda, Professor Agasa, Ai, Heiji.
"Uncle and the other adults left for lunch already," chirped the other detective, "You sure took long to wake up."
He rubbed his head, and compulsively looked down at himself. He was a kid now. "No more angels, I guess," he muttered darkly.
"Actually…The doctors couldn't really take it out because they said your heart tissue…sort of grew around it, see," explained Twin, his gravelly voice rough against Conan's ears. "If they persist, you might not even wake up when they're done, you know."
Conan ran a hand up to his chest, prodding at his heart. "Well…At least there'll be no more high-flying adventures for me anymore," he said, a bit sadly.
"Cheer up, Kudo-chan!" Heiji laughed, as Conan shot him an I-am-so-gonna-murder-you-if-it-wasn't-for-me-being-a-detective look. "At least your wish took away its magic, and now Ran can hug you properly without betting that you would burst into flames or something!" The four of them, Ai not included, laughed at his remark.
A faint smile spread over the kid's face. "Yeah. You're right, Hattori."
"Okay then, now that you're awake, shall we go get some food for you, or can you toddle over to the cafeteria to get it yourself?" Heiji joked again. Conan reached for a penknife, and he immediately stopped. "Oi, Oi! Murder is not allowed, you little brat!" he cried in alarm.
They all laughed in unison, as the kid snatched the penknife off the table and raced the latter around the room.
"Conan?"
Night had long fallen, and the stars were shining brightly against the black cityscape. Ran's brunette head peeked around the door of the child's room, and she was surprised to see that he was still up in bed. She entered, and sat down beside him, the both of them looking out the window together.
"That night…I thought I saw Shinichi."
The dreaming child looked at her, his head tipped up to meet her eyes. She sighed before continuing.
"We…were falling, right? And then there was this flash of light….and the next thing I knew, we were flying. Shinichi and me, I mean."
"Oh." He did not seem too interested, so she went on.
"It was magical. I didn't know he could just…just fly. I mean…how many people do you see who have wings anyway? And then we landed and he went off to fight that other angel guy… I was so worried for him! And when he made that wish and the lightning came down and everything…I hoped that he would pull through safely. It looked so painful."
She paused, and both of them sank back into silence.
"So…Was that just a dream?"
He propped his glasses further up his nose before answering. "Maybe."
"Okay then. Goodnight, Conan-kun."
With that, she got up and left.
He sat still for a minute, and then went over to his bed. He jumped on the mattress, bored. Wanting another big event to happen in his life was just wishful thinking, now that he had lost the doll.
"Boring days galore," he thought, as he crawled back into bed.
The next day, everything was back to normal again. People bustled up and down the roads, going about their daily routine. Conan and the Shōnen Tantei-dan were heading to school, and the both of them lagging behind the other three as usual. Conan's head tipped downwards, for he was beginning to wish that he had not discarded the doll. Maybe then life would be better. After all, the doll had not granted his one true wish yet…
There. Short chapter all done. Kinda' soberish, don't you think? And it loops all the way around back to the beginning too. *Sigh*