"What is the reason we live?"
In time, he found out that it wasn't just his voice, it was his leg too. He couldn't walk either.
But it was just dimly registered. The nurse came everyday and changed his bedding and helped him change his clothes. She helped him work his muscles so that they didn't die on him too. She was called Nohara Rin, and he thought the name suited her.
Of course, he couldn't tell her, now could he?
She was always cheerful, always trying to get him to believe that he would be fine, and that it was only temporary. He would be back on his feet in no time. And he'd be able to shout in joy about it. He smile weakly, showing that he appreciated the gesture, but it wasn't working.
She persevered. She brought him the funniest flowers imaginable. Because whenever you tried to smell them, it squirted water on you. She brought him novels to read, telling him that they were her favourite. He was surprised that they weren't romance or sickeningly girly. She pouted and said 'that's what he said.'
He chuckled silently. She said he looked better when he laughed.
"You should do it more often. You look like an angel when you do."
He stuck his tongue out at her and made a disgusted face. She giggled. He wondered when he'd be able to tell her the same thing.
So with all these things, it wasn't surprising that he fell in love with her.
And he was going to tell her. He was going to walk up to her, and he would tell her with his own voice. Till then, he was content listening to her voice coaxing him to move his left leg forward.