Fan Fiction ❯ Aloe Plus Vera ❯ prologue ( Prologue )

Kanashii pushed himself up on the hard mattress and grabbed the stiff, white sheets before they slipped to the tiled floor. Although he was unable to see his surroundings, the room was a glaring blast of light the moment the sun reached the room's windows. Kanashii heard the door creak open and he quickly unwrapped the bandages covering his eyes. "Mother?"

He found himself looking at a girl, about his age, and she dropped the tray she was holding with a flushed face. "Oops. I'm sorry. It's my first day." She quickly placed everything back on the tray and she noticed the boy staring at her. Pushing her brown hair behind her ear, she whispered, "No. I'm not you're mother."

Kanashii's heart lurched. He felt his face get warm and he studied the room that he had been living in his whole life. "You are my first sight," he whispered, not knowing if the girl had heard or not.

The girl cautiously walked up to him and rubbed alcohol on a patch of his arm. "This is going to hurt a little--"

"So that is what a syringe looks like," Kanashii interrupted. He watched the girl as she stuck the needle into his arm and inject something into his bloodstream.

After placing the syringe back onto the cluttered tray, the girl's back straightened as she grabbed another one. "Um. Ca... could you... um... lay on your stomach?"

Kanashii rolled over and hid his face in his pillow. He knew what was coming. This is embarrassing. I wouldn't be embarrassed if I still couldn't see.

The girl nervously pulled down Kanashii's boxers with a pink-flushed face and stuck the needle in with closed eyes. When she realized she hadn't heard any sort of sticking noise, she slowly opened her eyes to find that she had stuck the needle into the mattress.

"Isn't it supposed to be going here?" Kanashii asked through his pillow while pointing at his butt.

"Yes."

Kanashii rolled back over, pulling up his boxers, and sat up. He could see her face better now. Her short brown hair had a tendency to fall in her face and her eyes were a light brown, a honey color with a slight tint of green. She was wearing a pale green dress and a pale green nurse hat with a red cross to match. "This is your first day?"

Her face still blushing a soft pink, the girl stuck out her hand and whispered, "I'm Mikako."

Kanashii stared at her hand with bewilderment. What is she doing? He lifted the same hand and before he could do anything she grabbed it and shook it gently. "I'm Kanashii."

Mikako giggled, "I know." She pointed to the ID card on her chest. "I'm your new nurse. Well, actually, nurse in training. But, I'm not even sure if I want to be a nurse. My mom said I should try it, so I did and now I'm here..."

With a small smirk on his face, Kanashii watched Mikako's lips flap with her quick words. He imitated her facial expressions as they changed from time to time, and when she finally noticed this, she stared at him with embarrassment and laughed nervously, "What?"

"Wow. So this is what people look like?" Kanashii looked around the room and then down at his hands. "Do I look like you?"

"Well, no. I'm a girl..."

Kanashii looked at his chest and then at Mikako's. "Where are mine?"

Mikako quickly crossed her arms over her chest and blushed, "Boys don't have breasts."

"Why?"

"I don't know. They just don't." Mikako turned away and sighed, "Sorry that I'm the first one you saw. It's my fault. I should have knocked. The nurse told me how much you wanted to see your mother first."

Kanashii suddenly remembered that his mother was coming to visit him that day. His heart pounded. "I've never met her. She's never come to visit before now, never even made contact with me. Why now?"

Mikako looked back at him over her shoulder, biting her lip tightly as if searching for something to change the subject. It's because you were born a crack baby and your mother didn't like that. Hypocrite. She knelt down on the floor and leaned against the bed, looking up at Kanashii curiously. "What was it like? Being addicted to heroin ever since you were born? You're so lucky you're alive and the only side effect being blindness. What was it like to not see?"

There was a silence as Kanashii sifted through his memories of his tortured childhood. The tremors, the hideous nightmares, and the need for something he didn't understand; he would now call it hell on Earth. And then, the fact that his mother didn't care. She left him there in the hospital, to grow up with the nurses, blind and alone.

Mentally kicking herself, Mikako turned her head to the window. Shouldn't have said that...

Kanashii suddenly smiled and said, "So you want to feel what it's like to not see? Here. I'll show you." Mikako stood up as Kanashii pushed himself off the bed. He wobbled a bit before he could balance himself out and then he walked behind Mikako and covered her eyes with his hands. "Close your eyes. No cheating."

Mikako let Kanashii walk her around the room but she held her arms out in front of her for safety. Whenever Kanashii made a quick movement, she'd flinch and peek open her eyes.

"Calm down. I've got you. Stop cheating and close your eyes," Kanashii laughed while struggling to keep his hands over her eyes.

The door creaked open and Kanashii accidentally stumbled causing Mikako to knock a tray to the ground. Mikako stared at the middle-aged nurse through Kanashii's fingers nervously as they struggled not to laugh. The nurse slapped her forehead and sighed heavily. "Why don't you take him for a walk, Mikako? I'll take care of this mess."

After Mikako and Kanashii had been shoved out of the cramped up room, the nurse could be heard cursing to herself and hastily cleaning up the mess they had made. Mikako grabbed Kanashii's hand and pulled him down the hall, laughing through clenched teeth.

When they reached the garden in the back of the building, they continued to laugh even though they were out of breath.

Mikako's hand slipped from Kanashii's and she fell to the ground clutching her stomach.

Is that what happiness looks like? She looks so pretty when she laughs. "Mikako? Do you believe in love at first sight?" Kanashii asked through heavy breaths.

The laughing finally fading away, Mikako sat up and smiled, "Yeah. I mean, I believe. It's so romantic, to know that's the person even though you've never met them before, you don't know their name, you've never even talked to them before, yet you know. You know that person is special." Her face flushed as Kanashii sat down next to her. "I believe it's real."

Kanashii looked up and gasped at the sight of the white puffs blanketing the sky. "Wow. Are those clouds?"

"Huh?" Mikako looked up and smiled. "Yeah. Aren't they pretty?"

His ears pricking at the word 'pretty', Kanashii glanced over at Mikako with a sense of confusion and warmth. What is this feeling?

"Mikako!" the nurse wailed from one of the windows in the hospital building. "What are you sitting around for? Your first day and you're already slacking off! Get up and start walking!"

Mikako guiltily stood up and nudged Kanashii to do the same. "Come on," she whispered as if the nurse could hear her, "Let's go for a walk."

Kanashii slowly followed Mikako along the walking path; he was a little off balance when he walked. He felt a little dizzy and stumbled into a tree.

Turning around and quickly rushing over to him, Mikako struggled to keep her mouth shut as a laugh tickled at her lips.

"What?" Kanashii smiled.

Now giggling quietly, she answered, "Sorry. I just can't help laughing when people trip or get hurt or something. Hee hee. I'm such a hypocrite."

Mikako linked her arm with Kanashii's and led him along the walking path. They walked in silence and Kanashii glanced down at her every once in a while to see her never-ending smile. She's so pretty when she smiles.

A woman appeared and began walking towards them, and Mikako glanced between her and Kanashii a few times as if trying to decide something. Despite the warm weather, she wore a long, beige coat and a wool scarf. The woman stopped in front of them, and as a breeze blew Kanashii's black hair in his eyes, she cooed, "Hello, Kanashii. I'm your mother."

Mikako silently walked back towards the hospital entrance smiling and waving to Kanashii. His face had a look that hinted he was scared and his eyes followed Mikako longingly. Why are you leaving me alone with her? He slightly cocked his head so he could see his mother out of the corner of his eye.

"Kanashii, " she cooed. "It's been fifteen years."

"Fifteen years is my whole life. You were never there." Kanashii turned his head to see his mother's face soften as tears swelled in her eyes. "Mother?"

She brought her tiny hands to her mouth and wept, "I'm so sorry. I'm a horrible mother. It's my fault you were born blind and addicted to heroin. I was in re-hab for three years and I figured you wouldn't want me anyway. When the doctor's told me you were blind, I just broke down. I... I attempted suicide... I didn't even visit to read you bedtime stories! I'm terrible. I wish I had never tried that crap in the first place. Then, maybe you'd be normal."

Kanashii stared at the woman as the streams of salty tears dried hard on her face. She didn't look much older than him at all. He stood taller than her by at least a foot and he leaned down to look into her eyes. "But, Mother. I am normal." He smiled as he pointed to his eyes. "I can see now."

His mother giggled as smiled, "All thanks to modern technology." She sighed deeply and looked up at the hospital building. As a frown appeared on her face, she asked, "Kanashii? Do you like it in there? Did... did you hate me for it?" She turned to him and gazed sadly into his eyes. "Do you want to come live with me?"

A chill ran up Kanashii's spine and he gawked at his mother with confusion. She lifted herself to her tiptoes and cupped his chin in her hand. "I want to make the fifteen years up to you. I want to start over. I want... to be your mother."

"You're leaving?" Mikako whispered loudly. "I just met you!"

Kanashii stared at the floor as if it could give him an answer. "My mother wants me. Someone actually wants me. I've never felt wanted before."

Mikako blushed and turned her head away. "I see."

Outside the room, Kanashii's mother was chatting with the nurse excitedly, as if the incident outside had never happened. Kanashii looked at the door and put on the eyeglasses the doctors had just given him. He didn't have many belongings, only a toothbrush, a hairbrush, and the eyeglasses. He hadn't needed anything else the past fifteen years of his life. His whole life. Lowering his eyes to Mikako, he grinned, "See you at school?"

Still blushing, she looked up at him and smiled. "Yeah."

Kanashii opened the door to find his mother alone and waiting patiently. She softly smiled at Mikako and then led Kanashii down the hall.

Mikako watched the elevator doors open and as they closed, she sprinted for the stairs. When she reached the bottom, Kanashii and his mother were already crossing the street. Her eyes followed Kanashii as he and his mother reached the middle of the crosswalk and then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a little car speeding towards them. "Kanashii! Move!" she screamed as she ran towards him.

She stopped dead in her tracks at the sound of the car colliding with his and his mother's bodies. Her mouth quivered as she watched his body flip over the car as it came to a halt. As he hit the ground, Mikako ran over to him with tears trailing in the air behind her. "Kanashii! Kanashii!" she cried as she gripped his shirt and peered into his dark, teary eyes.

Kanashii managed to raise his hand to her cheek, with a smile on his face. "Mikako? Do you believe in love at first sight? I do." He coughed and blood spurted from his mouth. "I fell in love with you."

Kanashii's body went limp but the smile remained on his face. "Kanashii? Kanashii!" Mikako hugged his dead body close to hers as tears burned her eyes and cheeks. She heard someone behind her calling for a doctor. "It's too late. Can't you see, Kanashii? I want you. I want you, Kanashii."
Pikurusu: Heehee. You're probably wondering how this fits with the summary. It does... you'll see. Just wait until the next chapter. ^__^ Please review!