As Misha entered the hospital room, the pungent smell of disinfectant assaulted his nose, making him grimace. Even if he was coming to the hospital quite often as of late, he couldn't get used to that smell no matter what. It always made him feel a little ill at ease, even more so when the stench was confined to a cramped place such as a small palliative care room.
After taking in his surroundings, Misha couldn't help but let out a small sigh. How many times had he come to the hospital this past few months? Well, he didn't know, but following his transmigration, it felt like he passed most of his time here, whether as a patient or a visitor.
It started with his unusual fever that sent his mother into a panic, and Misha was hospitalized for around two weeks. A month later, Gabriel fell off the slope with him, putting the teenager in a coma. At the time, Misha and his family visited him almost every day. Afterward, a drunkard ran over his sister and his mother on Christmas Eve, and again, someone else was hospitalized.
Even after Masha was discharged from the hospital, they still had to come frequently so that the doctors could monitor her health.
A few weeks ago, they removed the plasters on her legs, and Masha could finally begin the rehabilitation program, meaning that she had to visit the hospital once to twice a week. Yuki helped her with the basics, but the nurse couldn't help the teenage girl with more specific exercises, nor could she provide an adapted program for Masha. They needed an expert's help as they didn't want to worsen her state because of inadequate methods.
'Seriously, I'm sick of those white walls,' Misha silently snorted as his eyes landed on the bed where his grandmother lay.
For a second, he was unable to recognize her. She appeared to have aged many years since they had last seen each other, a few months ago. Her wrinkled skin was sickly pale, having taken on grayish and bluish hues, while her gray hair was messy, looking very much like a bird's nest. She would usually tie in her hair in a neat bun, so it was a somewhat shocking sight. Her eyes were dull, and her cheeks sunken; her wrist bones, knuckles, jawlines, and finger joints were overly apparent, as if her skin was directly glued to her bones. Honestly, she looked more like a living skeleton than a human being.
But when she noticed the group of four composed of Gabriel, Masha, Misha, and Alexey, she nevertheless smiled, the corner of her cracked lips curling up high. She weakly taped her husband's hand, telling him, "Be polite, dear! Get them something to drink, ok? And buy some cakes if there are some! You know they're quite good, right?"
The old man helplessly shook his head, stood up, and kissed his wife's forehead before leaving for the canteen. He told everyone not to be shy and make themselves at home.
"Come on! Take a seat, take a seat!"
Taken aback by his grandmother's blatant show of happiness at seeing them, Misha froze in place. Guilt seemed to surge in the pit of his stomach, making him feel a little uncomfortable. Lately, he had been scolding his grandparents in his head every night before going to bed, and after such a warm welcome from the very ones he was inwardly cussing out, he suddenly didn't know what to do.
With jumbled thoughts swirling about in his head, Misha moved further inside after Gabriel called his name, asking if something was wrong, to which he responded that everything was fine.
Sitting next to his sister's wheelchair, Misha fidgeted a little in his chair. His grandmother had terminal cancer and didn't have long left to live. Yet, it didn't seem to affect her in the slightest. In fact, she seemed to have accepted her incoming death quite well, maybe because she wasn't young anymore. At 78 years old, Mary thought she was already quite fortunate. Her life had been long enough. If she had a regret, though, it was that she would leave before her husband.
Because they had their daughter in their early forties, the age difference between the couple and their grandchildren wasn't small. They were already relatively old when their daughter had her first child and even older when she had her second. They did watch over Masha a few times when she was younger, and she would sometimes spend the weekend at their house. She was a calm child, so it didn't tire them too much.
But as they grew older, they had less and less energy and became unable to babysit young children for long periods of time, especially Misha, whose feet never touched the ground. That mischievous kid needed constant care and attention, which exhausted them to death. With this in mind, they rarely took care of the youngest. Besides, their daughter was a housewife and hardly needed their help.
Although they didn't spend much time with their grandchildren and seldom interacted with them, they still loved them dearly. Misha could feel it through the caring words his grandmother told them, and complicated feelings rose in his heart, storming about. It was because they genuinely loved their grandchildren and her sister loved them back that their homophobic tendencies deeply hurt her. It made Masha live in constant fear of being shunned by her loved ones if they ever found out about her sexual orientation.
What should Misha think of this? Frankly, he didn't know.
While Misha was thinking of such things, his grandfather returned, distributing water bottles and snacks to everyone present in the room. He then went back to sit beside his wife, gently holding and stroking her hand.
The conversation continued a while longer, and Misha learned that they didn't find out about Mary's cancer until it was too late. After their daughter's death, they weren't in a good mental state and didn't have an appetite. During that time, Mary didn't eat much and lost a lot of weight. They also didn't sleep well, and their nights were short. They didn't notice the warning signs, thinking it was due to her bad alimentation and lack of sleep.
It wasn't until Mary collapsed a few days ago that they learned she had terminal cancer. It came as a shock, but at the same time, Mary felt somewhat relieved at the news and took it with a smile.
She concluded with a wink, "I will be able to meet Gulnas soon and keep her company. Oh, don't worry dear, I will patiently wait for you with our daughter, so you better take your time before joining us."
Mary's optimistic view of her incoming death left everyone in the room dumbstruck. She didn't avoid the subject, but she also didn't linger on it. It was only to reassure them, letting them know that she was feeling fine and was happy with her life. It had been a fulfilling one. Still, she asked many questions about everyday things, as if afraid not to know enough about her grandchildren before passing away.
Misha couldn't muster the courage to act coldhearted and ignore her. Although he was angry, he also knew his sister wouldn't feel happy if he ostracized his grandparents because of their homophobic tendencies, even more so when Mary was on her deathbed. What was the point of hurting someone in the last moments of their life? It was only cruel, and it wouldn't be satisfying in the least.
Thus, Misha answered all of her questions, albeit in a sullen way. But when the subject of school came up, the boy became oddly silent, averting his eyes. It wasn't because he had terrible grades; on the contrary, they were excellent, shocking everyone, even his father. No, in truth, his reluctance to talk about school was mostly due to the weird atmosphere shrouding his classroom.
Since the day he sneaked out, the teachers started to keep an eye on him, and the same could be said of his classmates, although in their case, it was due to curiosity, not worry. Being the center of everyone's attention gave Misha goosebumps, and going to school was now akin to torture. He felt like he was a zoo animal, and therefore, Misha often tried to skip school using whatever means he could. But his lies and excuses were more often than not seen through by Gabriel, making it almost impossible for Misha to stay at home.
"And what about a little girlfriend?" Mary asked, changing the topic. "Did you take a fancy to someone at school?"
"…No!" Misha choked up, staring at his grandmother with a horrified gaze.
How could he ever take a fancy to the girls at school?! Considering his mental age, that was just creepy, and the mere thought of dating a little girl made his stomach churn in disgust. For goodness' sake, he wasn't a pervert! If he ever had to take a fancy to someone, then it would be someone older, someone who made him feel at ease and whose touch didn't make him feel nauseous. Yes, someone just like Gabriel!
'Wait. Where the hell did that thought come from?' Misha silently cried out, instinctively throwing a glance at Gabriel to reassure himself that that thought had no reason to be. But when he saw that handsome face of his, his chest nevertheless welled up with warmth.
"…"
Not wanting to dwell on the matter too much, feeling that if he did, he would discover something he didn't want to stumble upon just yet, Misha resolutely tossed the thought at the back of his mind, determined to ignore it.
"Oh? Aren't you super close to Vanessa, though?" Masha teased, bringing Misha back down to earth.
'Oh, no, please, sis', I'm begging you, don't say that! Vanessa will be Dereck's girlfriend, ok?! Who goes around dragging their best friend's future girlfriend?! No, no, and no!' Misha inwardly replied, while outwardly, he said, "Can I have a friend who's a girl?! Vanessa is just a friend! Just a friend!"
"Is that so," his sister chuckled with a 'I know what's truly going on' kind of look on her face, making Misha despair a little.
"She really is just a friend!" the boy whined, almost wanting to crawl into a hole and disappear.
In this way, time passed by, and they left when Mary became too tired, dozing off because of the painkillers. His grandfather hugged everyone one after another at the door, Misha included. It made his body tense up, but he didn't refuse it, clumsily hugging back Fredrick. Over the past few months, his grandfather had also lost a lot of weight, and the chubby man now appeared overly thin, not to say frail. Misha felt as though he could break him in half if he hugged him with a bit too much strength.
"Thank you all for coming today. Mary was delighted to see you," Fredrick gently smiled, and another pang of guilt surged in Misha's heart.
"No need to thank us. We will come again," Masha promised, kissing her grandfather on his cheek.
However, she couldn't keep her promise; that very night, Mary died in her sleep.
__________________________
Chapter revised on 2022-05-29
Edited by Clozed! ♥
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