Hospitality

Hospitality

Light.

It’s the last thing I remember.

Piercing green light flashed before my eyes, and burning heat engulfed me.

A force knocked me back, and I felt pain exploding inside my already battered body.

Voices whispered and shouted and sneered, but they came out jumbled and indistinct.

But for one word.

A girl’s voice, sobbing my name.

Over and over again.

What is my name?

Phantom.

Whiteness.

It’s the first thing I saw.

White ceiling, white walls and white windows.

White floor, white bed and white cloths.

Even the air seems to be a sterile white, noises bleached into a muffled murmur.

I feel surreal, as if I’m about to dissolve and fade into nothingness.

I am in a hospital.

Why am I in a hospital?

Images.

Colors mixed together.

Memory swirling in my mind.

I had a dream.

I was a hero.

Robin Hood’s suit and pointed sword.

Black cape and half mask.

Silver companion.

Her name was La Sirène.

She was beautiful.

Like an angel, no, like a siren.

But I couldn’t seem to remember her face.

I do remember though, that I wanted to protect her. 

Even though I doubted she ever needed me.

Villains charged at us.

Their laughs shrill.

I leapt out, shielding her with my body.

I woke up. 

What a strange dream.

Big, almond –shaped eyes bore straight into mine.

Long lashes and sea – green irises.

Pink lips and freckles on delicate nose.

Small hands with long, elegant fingers reach up and caress my face.

Emotions fickle in her eyes.

She leans closer.

SMACK!

-          What did you do that for? – I hug the side of my face and look at the culprit. Despite the silver mask covering half of her face, I can still see her features contorted in anger. A chill runs down the back of my neck. Great, I am so dead.

-          You. Are. The. Biggest. Idiot. In. The. Whole. City. – She enunciates every word with a shake of my shoulders. However small and fragile she looks, that girl surely has some strength in her because I think my brain is going to be shook out of my skull any minute. My head starts to spin and I’m wishing I am still unconscious. This is torturous. Then, despite my misery, she has to mess with my already troubled mind by doing something unexpected: she hugs me. I let out a sound of breathlessness as the air was knocked out of my lungs. Her weight shifts lightly on me, her long blue hair tickles my skin. My cheeks heat up with a vibrant blush and I try to right myself. My hand stops abruptly in the air when I feel her body shaking. She mutters jumbled “idiots” and “morons” between sobs while clinging to me for dear life. I awkwardly put a hand around her shoulders and pat her back.

-          It’s alright. I’m here now. – The words leave my mouth before I have a chance to harness them. They seem to snap her from whatever thought she is thinking, which I’m not sure is a sight to be happy about. She straightens herself and wipes the tears from her eyes. I unconsciously scoot closer to the bed frame. If she seemed angry one minute ago, she is absolutely murderous now.

-          ALRIGHT? – Her voice rises up two or three octaves. It then lowers again to an eerie calmness that only signals an upcoming storm. – Define for me, Sir Ryan Frederick Knightman, - I only start to wonder why she knows my name, since she has been so insistent not to share any of our secret identity when it dawns on me (again) that I am in a hospital. With. Out. My. Mask. Oh God… Kill me, anyone? Her voice is ringing in my ears. – what does “alright” mean to you? You are in a hospital, for God’s sake! What kind of a moron are you that jumps straight into danger without even thinking it out? Have you ever think of how I feel? What did you think I am? I’m not a damsel in distress, for God’s sake. I’m anything but weak. I’m not a little mermaid that relies on her men. You don’t have to save me. Have you any ideas what will become of me if you’re gone? What will become of this city? And don’t you dare say anything about me being more important than you. You are  goddamn wrong! – She looks down, her voice awfully quiet and teary. – You are important to me, Ryan. I… I don’t know what to do if I lose you. This city needs you. I need you. So please, please. From this day on, don’t ever try to put yourself in danger for me. It hurts me more when you get hurt in my stead.    

I am quiet throughout her speech. This is the first time ever since we start working together that I have seen her so sad, so vulnerable. She is always so composed, so calm and stoic. Sure, she gets angry sometimes, yelling and whatnot – she can be quite violent if she wants to. Looking at her closely, I notice dark bags under her bloodshot eyes. Her shoulders slump in exhaustion and she moves with lethargy. Her posture screams of fatigue, and not just physically. She signed, clearly exhausted. I wonder if she did get any sleep these days. Probably not. I feel a pang of guilt hit my gut, but I don’t regret my decision. If the incident happened again, I would still take that blow for her.

-          Get some rest, Ghost. – She signs and slowly gets up. As a goodbye, she ruffles my hair and gets out of the room. Before the door closes behind her, she says – If you ever die to save me, I swear, Ryan, I will resurrect you so I can personally kill you. And that won’t be pretty. Are we clear?

Facing her warning index finger, I have no choice but to nod vigorously.

-          Knock knock. – The blonde girl stands at the entrance, holding a small tray wrapped in colored paper. Her smile is meek, her eyes shy, long lashes flutter to try and hide the blue –green orbs. She looks at me, silently asking for permission to enter. Not that she needs it, really. Despite her timid behavior, she has already stepped into the small white room. She grins, placing the tray on the bedside table. How many years I have come to know her, her change of demeanor never ceases to surprise me.

-          To what honor do I own the pleasure of your presence, O Queen Rosa? – I ask jovially. It is one of our inside jokes, initiated when she played the Evil Queen in one of our mutual friends’ musical adaption of Snow White. She laughs at the question and swats my arm playfully.

-          You know very well why I’m here, idiot. – She sticks out her tongue at me while busy unwrapping the porcelain tray. I move closer to the side of the bed and peer over her arms. A gigantic gold and brown flan is sitting in caramel sauce in the middle of the white utensil, decorated with some strawberry and blueberry on top. The delicious smell of sugar and milk washes over me and my mouth starts to water.

-          Wow, Your Highness, did you really make this? – I stare at her with half feigned half genuine surprise and shiver in mock apprehension. – Are you sure this is edible? To be honest, I seriously don’t wanna prolong my stay in this dungeon.

-          Oh, don’t worry. – Her grin only widens, which unhinges me. My newly established suspicion of her scheme doesn’t stop me from reaching out for the tasty treat laying out in front of me. I should have known better than to tease the “evil queen”. – Because you don’t get to eat it.

-          With a sudden move, she yanks the plate out of my outstretch hand and laughs as I almost tumble out of the bed. Luckily, I’m able to straighten myself before my face make contact with the floor. Glaring at the giggling girl, I pout: 

-          No fair. You wounded me. – I whine, giving the most wounded look I can muster. At my childish expression, she just coos and waves a finger at me tauntingly.

-          Oh no you don’t. Bad boys don’t get treats. – She sing-songs. – And it’s our fault, not mine, that you got into this mess.

-          Rosaaaaa – I add a little squirm into my voice and put on my lost-kitten-in-the-rain face, looking at her pleadingly. – You wouldn’t sunk so low to bully a handicap, right?

The last part, however, earns me a sharp smack on the back of my head.

-          Moron. – She rolls her eyes at me with affectionate annoyance and placed the plate back on my hands. I would love to say I devour the treat with dignity and composure fit for a king, but I sadly don’t. As the first bite of the soft milky dessert enters my mouth, my instinct takes over and I gobble down the flan in less than five minutes. 

Oh wait, now that my hunger is subdued, I realize that I forget to tell you something. The girl, who is putting away the now clean plate, is Rosaline Belle. She is a sophomore student in my High School, a year younger than me. We’ve been friends since her freshman year. We are quite close, but she doesn’t know about my secret life.

As we chatter on during the day, she tells me some news at school. Nothing important, just that the works are getting more hectic due to the upcoming exams. Our friends really worry about my absence though. Even though they are not aware of me and the black hero being one person, they heard that I had an accident. Some of them did visit me a week ago, but I was unconscious then. Rose was too busy that day to come, but she rushes to the hospital the moment she can spare any time. I am touched at their concern, especially hers. I know that she has a busy schedule and is under a lot of pressure by her parents. But as we continue talking, I realize there is something off about her. She seems to be more absent-minded than usual, as if there is something bothering her.

            The days in the hospital stride on. Even though it can be boring at times, especially when I have nothing to do, it is nice to have some free time outside the pressure that weights on my shoulders every other days. Rosa comes every two days, bringing books and little gifts with her so I have something to waste my time with, other than lying around all day. She doesn’t normally stay because of her busy schedule: balancing between her band, dance practices and school, she hardly has any spare time. Even at weekends, she can only spends a few hours, and those times have to be shared with her homework. She usually sits at the small table nest to my bed, striking a conversation with me while hacking away at her laptop. She is fun to talk to, witty and sarcastic in a charming way. She also brings me notes from my class so that I don’t miss out too much from school. She is a joy to be with, the only piece of colors in the otherwise bleak sickroom.

Still, I cannot deny that even with her company, I soon feel cramped up in the small white room and am very eager to finally kiss the place goodbye, hopefully forever. The fact that Rosa, and La Sirène on her occasional night visits, seem absentminded doesn’t help boost my mood either.

-          Rosa! Rosa! – I raise my voice, trying to capture the girl’s wandering mind. She has been staring into nothingness for the last ten minutes and everything I have been saying seems to fall on dead ears. Thankfully (I guess?), she does hear my call.

-          Sweet cheese and cracker! – She exclaims, dropping the book she’s been clutching without actually reading any page. Crouching down to retrieve the object, she shoots me a glare that can literally burn a hole into my shirt. – Ryan! – She growls – What exactly do you think you’re doing?

-          Waking up the princess from her slumber? – I bat my eyelashes innocently and grin at her. – Seriously, Your Highness. You seems off. Something bothering you?

As the question leaves my lips, I instantly regret me ever voicing it out. The temperature in the room seems to drop a couple degrees and I can feel the dampening chill in the room. Rosa falls silent, her sea-green eyes avoiding mine. I try to return to the conversation more than once, but every time a strange force holds me back. The words stuck in my throat like being glued and a sense of awkwardness like never before swamps the space. After what seems like forever, Rosa finally speaks:

-          Ryan. I need to tell you something. – Her expression is grim. For the first time in the four years we have been friends, I do not feel relief hearing her voice. I look at her in apprehension, nodding nervously. She inhales softly. The air seems to be sucked right out off the room, and I involuntarily hold my breath. My eyes strain on her, and I wait for the most horrible prospect the occur. What is she doing? I follow her movement with confusion as she starts – I try to contain my shock – unfastening the first button of her shirt. Her skin is white under the soft green fabric, a dull gray amulet resting on her collarbone. As I watch, the nondescript jewelry begins to shine. It starts with a soft blue light, emitting from the center of the fish-shaped pendant, between its tail and body. By seconds, the light intensifies, turning a blinding flash. I shield my eyes and waits for the light to subdue. As the world refocuses into view, La Sirène is sitting at Rosa’s place, smiling sheepishly at me. 

I am dumbfounded.

How can I be so stupid, so oblivious? She is right next to me all the time, and I don’t even notice. Right now, when everything is clear, I start to see her in different lights. The way she talks, the way she moves, even her flickering moods, they never ever change. After all this time, the girl I have been chasing relentlessly has been here right next to me. I am so blind, looking for her in far away places while she is my closest, sweetest, most caring friend. La Sirène – Rosa – is gazing down on the floor timidly. Her teeth worries her bottom lip, making it a bright red color. I don’t know what to say. We stay silent for the longest time when Rosa, unable to stand the unwavering tension, begins to talk again:

-          I just feel that it is unfair if I know your secret identity and you don’t know mine. – She offers me a weak smile. – I’ve been thinking a lot about this, whether I can reveal myself to you. Don’t get me wrong, but I don’t have to confidence to get out of the mask. I guess I was afraid that my life will be mixed up if I… - She pauses, choking on her own emotions – I don’t know. It’s just that Rosa and La Sirène are two different parts of me, and I wasn’t ready to let them fuse together yet. But then that accident with Mr. Rodent happened and I knew that you are, well, you… - She makes a motion indicating over my body. She looked down again, on the verge of crying. – And I just don’t know what to do.  I don’t want to lose you, Ryan. And I don’t want to hide from you anymore. If something ever happened to you again, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself knowing that I have never been honest with you from the start. I’m sorry.

Her voice wavers. She becomes quiet again, looking up onto the ceiling. I can see her throat clenching and unclenching, desperately wanting to stop the sobbing threatening to come out. I suppress my panic and reach out to place a hand on her own, gently rubbing the soft skin. It is a soothing act, I think, and she slowly calm down. Finally, her shaking ceases and her tears start to dry. She wipes away any remaining drops of salty water and gives me a smile:

-          Thanks Ryan. For always be there for me. – With a sudden move, she gets up from her seat and almost throws me off balance. However, this time, before I can make any attempt to right myself, she grabs me by the collar and kisses me. The kiss is light, like a butterfly fluttering over a lake, and ends way to quickly. But I can still smell the rose perfume in her hair and taste the sweetness on her lips. My face can now pass as an volcano, and if it gets any hotter, I think it might erupt into magma. Tell me, how did that just happen?

I blink and allow myself to flop down on the bed. Just as I think I can never be more surprised by Rosa, she always know how to stupefy me.

That night, I toss and turn in bed.

Counting the sound of the clock.

Tick… tick… tick…

1 second… 2 seconds…

I stare up at the ceiling, willing myself to sleep.

I dream of the city.

The sky is dark blue and the wind is blowing wildly.  

The faint light in civilians’ windows freckles the dark with gold and white spots.

Blue hair whips in the wind.

A flash of silver.

A spark in sea-green eyes.  

A high, melodious laughter rings through the tranquility of the night.

And a kiss.

I wake up with the feel of her soft hair lingering in my hand.

Her lips taste like strawberry.