Chapter Eleven

“Who is that?” Kevin asks when he notices Nasia slightly come through the door.
Seeing her he was slightly transfixed on how beautiful she was. Long black hair with pale skin. She wore all white making her look like an angel. Her eyes were bright in color. Hazel he would have to guess since she wasn’t close enough for him to confirm on that. But there was something oddly familiar about her as well. But no matter how hard he tries he couldn’t place on why there was a nostalgic feeling in his chest.
“Kevin, this is my friend Nasia. She wanted to meet you.” Ry was sitting on the bed facing him before he turned slightly to look at the girl.
“She’s pretty.” He whispers loudly never taking his eyes from her face.
Ry clears his throat, blushing a little. “Yeah, she is.” He agreed.
“Is she your girlfriend?” He suddenly asks making him choke on his own spit.
“No.” He stated flatly. “Absolutely not.”
“Hello.” Nasia comes closer to the bed and gives a small smile. “You’re sick.” She deadpans making Ry wince at her bluntness.
Kevin snickers at that. “And you’re rude.” He shoots back.
“So I have been told recently, but not quite in such terms.”
The kid couldn’t help but smile big. “I like her.”
Ry looks between the two of them feeling flabbergasted that they were hitting it off in the most oddest way possible.
“Where’s your mom?” He asks ignoring the banter altogether.
“She went to a hotel so she can take a shower and get some rest. I threatened her again. She knew you were coming so I don’t think she felt too much guilt in leaving me alone.”
“You have got to stop doing that to her, Kev.” Ry sighs deeply.
“Why, when it’s the only thing that’s working?” He suddenly lurches forward and starts coughing loud, harsh, and brutal coughs that lasted a good minute.
Ry immediately came forward and grabbed the water that was sitting on a tray next to him. Worry written all over his face he patiently waits for him to finish and hands him the cup. He watches him take a huge gulp, his face red with eyes looking watery and more tired than before. His small chest wheezes telling him his lungs were working harder than previously.
“Are you okay?” He asks gently.
“Yeah. They’re getting worse. I try to hold it in as best as I could when mom is around, but I haven’t been able to stop them. I hate the scared look on her face when it happens.”
“Your body is failing. It’s getting closer to its end.”
“Damn it Nasia, really?” Ry snaps at her as she calmly stands there observing the entire situation.
“I’m only stating the truth of the matter.” She points out.
“Is she always this straight forward?” Kevin asks, looking at her uncertainly.
“Unfortunately, yes.”
“You don’t have to point out the obvious. Just keep the truth to yourself for now, okay.” He tells her with a look that stated to drop it.
She nods her head and takes the chair that was on the other side and continues to watch them interact. She never thought to just simply sit and watch all the emotions display on humans faces. For spending so much time with them she hardly knew anything about their emotions. It never really caught her interest other than the unnormal ways they would show sometimes, the things they did to each other or to themselves. But emotions?
Maybe because she didn’t have them herself the factor wasn’t one to think upon. But she did so now. Watching these two in front of her, she was learning something she never learned before. And yet, she still couldn’t comprehend why it mattered so much that he was dying.
“Hi, guys. I’m back. Oh, hello who are you?” A woman’s voice appears next to her.
She looks up at this new person. She was a version of the boy lying in bed. But while she had dull reddish brown hair, he had none at all. Their eyes were the same shape and color of green, but their coloring was different. He was deathly pale while she was more pink with a scattering of freckles all over the skin that was exposed.
“Hi mom. This is Nasia, she’s Ry’s girlfriend.”
“No, she’s not. Just a friend.” He quickly denied, staring at the kid with warning in his eyes. Looking back at the older woman he states again, “Just a friend.”
“Nasia, that’s such a beautiful and unusual name.” She looks back down at her.
“It’s foreign. Not of this world.”
“She’s from Nevada.” Ry was quick to reply, like that was all the answer they needed by her strange remark.
“Well, its nice to meet you Nasia. I’m Kevin’s mother, Stacy Michels.” She reaches out a hand only for Nasia to stare down at it.
She has seen this custom before. A greeting of sorts. She never understood why humans needed physical contact just to say hello to one another. But she reaches out all the same and awkwardly shakes her hand. Mrs. Michels gives her a slightly odd look as she moves away to stand next to her child.
Staring down at her hand, the contact had left an impression she wasn’t used to at all. It was like when she first touched Ry’s hand, only the feeling not as strong. Her energy was weak and low. Looking at the way she was caring for her son and the look of what she was beginning to associate with sadness, it seemed that that emotion drains energy faster than any other emotion has so far.
Why would humans allow that emotion? It was causing their bodies more harm than good. She watches them for some time. Hearing them laugh as they talked, watching the boy hacking horrible coughs that his weak body wasn’t able to hold onto, to watching his mother become even sadder with each passing moment. After some time Kevin finally fell asleep when he was in so much pain and another human came in to give something in the small, long tube that was attached to his arm.
Not long after he fell asleep his mother excused herself while Ry sat there holding his hand, watching him sleep.
“I volunteer here at the hospital.” He starts talking even though they were enjoying the silence that had followed. “I didn’t even mean to meet him. I was helping one of the nurses on their rounds to restock saline bags in the rooms. I was done for the day when his mother came rushing out of his room crying and begging for help. It was the middle of the night, so staff was very limited. No one else was about but me. I wasn’t sure what was going on only that something bad was happening in the room that she came out of.”
His tone begins to quiver as his eyes misted. “When I rushed in here to help I saw that he had flatlined. I told his mom to call the nurse right away, but I knew I had to do something. I gave him CPR for three minutes before he finally came back to us. It felt like I was doing it forever. When the nurse finally came rushing in with a doctor they took over and told me that if I hadn’t acted when I did he would have died.”
“Death is inevitable-” She starts out only for him to snap.
“Death isn’t always certain. If death was certain than it wouldn’t allow us to stop it when we can. That incident happened over three months ago, and he hasn’t flatlined since. If death really wanted to take him than it would have. I don’t know if I believe in God or whatever. But I like to believe that I was here alone that night at the right time in the right place to save him. I like to believe that it was destined for us to be friends. To have him in my life.”
A tear rolled down his face wearing the same expression as the mother had been wearing only with anger that she had seen on him before. She’s seen liquid leaking from human eyes before and wonder why it happens. Why do their bodies react in such a way for? She never had that happen to her while in her human form. When she created it she made sure to have all bodily functions as them. Until she discovered that the female aspect of the human body bled for days every month giving horrible pain and uncomfortableness that she didn’t like so got rid of that function altogether. How they lived that way every month, every year was beyond her. And it was messy.
“If you believe all that, then does our chancing upon each other mean it was also destined?” She asks him making him blink at her with that question.
Taking a deep calming breath he relaxes a little. “Yeah, maybe it does. Maybe, this universe destined for me and you to meet too.”