The day after

The orange-honeyed rays of sunlight seep through the curtains, as Hanabi stares in awe. Lost in the wild thread of thoughts strangled all over her mind.

While her brother lies on the bed, sleeping ever so peacefully.

Hanabi sighs in disbelief while muttering in a soft voice " Wish we could hang out like old times." Once again defeated by the cruel reality, Hanabi decides to leave for today. Packing up the books, she hurries over to the exit.

Yes, books.

She brought two books with her today. One for her brother and one for the unknown woman next room.

Just like she promised the other day. Another quiet smile resides on her face as she finally heads over to the exit door, leaving for the girl's next room. As soon as she pushes the door open, once again she's mesmerized even though she refuses to show it.

Isn't it weird to crush on someone who's fighting for her life?

Heck. Is that even legal?

Hanabi thinks as the smile never disappears. Maybe she's just beautiful. Maybe she just looks out of the ordinary. And maybe she already has people going gaga over her. She wouldn't even know that a mere creature like her promised her to read her books every day. But let's not think of it like that.

Hanabi shooks her head to convince herself of the current situation as she takes a seat beside her. The book she chose for her is on her lap as her fingers dance over the pages. Before settling in, she takes a quick glimpse of the figure lying in front of her.

"Hi there. Do you remember me?" Hanabi throws in an awkward introduction, once again introducing herself as a misanthrope.

"I mean...you should. Like I'm giving you all my precious time while you are just laying there-" she blurts out. "No offense...it's just I'm not good with people. So it's okay if you forget me. And I'm gonna enjoy my time here with you anyways" Hanabi concludes her introduction with a smile painted on her face.

" Okay, so I don't know what genre of books you like. Or if you even like books-" a knock on the door catches her attention mid-sentence as she glances over to the door.

"Hi," The door opens revealing the nurse that she met earlier that day. 

"Hey" Hanabi greets.

" Thank you for the visit." The nurse adds in while she does her regular job every day. "It's demotivating to see a patient fight for her life without anyone's support."

"Mhm," Hanabi nods in agreement.

"If there's anything you need here, you can ask me" The nurse throws in an offer as she hurries back to the door. " See you later then"

Hanabi just stares at the door for a little long even after the nurse left. She's contemplating whether she would take the offer seriously or as some polite gesture.

After the reading session with the unknown woman, Hanabi decides to meet up with the nurse anyways. Absentmindedly she packs her bag as she leaves for the door. She still can't decipher what she would ask the nurse about.

"Hey" A familiar voice interrupts her on the way. She turns over only to be greeted by the nurse again. Hanabi huffs out in relief as a quick smile plasters over her face.

"I need to ask you something regarding the accident," Hanabi blurts out. The nurse only replies with a nod of appreciation, while her eyes are full of anticipation.