The moonlight shone through the window, Mavis silently looked at the bright moon. She was still in the hospital with her injuries, the police officers had already left and she was all alone in the room. Turning on some Lo-fi music on her phone, she closed her eyes peacefully and relaxed her body. It was roughly midnight and Mavis was exhausted from everything that had happened, she had just been a little part of the case but she wasn't able to rest peacefully. Not knowing when she had fallen asleep while the music played and soon enough, the next day came.
Because of her broken rib bone, Mavis had a hard time moving without bending or twisting her body excessively so she asked the doctor for a wheelchair. Walking while having such an injury was very troublesome for Mavis, she would rather take the easier route which was the wheelchair. It was even better to use an electric wheelchair but she would have to buy one and sadly, she didn't have the money. Hence, she could only settle with the normal wheelchair the hospital lent to her.
A nurse took Mavis out for a walk as she pushed the wheelchair while she smiled and tried to have small talk with the patient. Mavis didn't want to go out because it wasn't sunny outside but the nurse insisted, saying that it was good to get some fresh air, so she complied. On the outside, she smiled and replied to the nurse here and there. However, in her mind, she was cursing the nurse for making her go out in the cold weather; she was an indoor person and didn't need to take a so-called fresh air, she was perfectly fine without it.
"What did I say? It feels nice and refreshing, right?"
Mavis wanted to say no, but she smiled and agreed. "Mhm, yeah. It's alright."
The nurse continued to converse with Mavis as they were idling at the hospital park and since she was a talkative nurse, Mavis had to put on a friendly act and keep responding to her. This kind of thing was wearing her as time flew. She didn't want to ruin the seemingly happy atmosphere around them and it wouldn't be polite of her if she ignored the nurse. Mavis inwardly sighed, she was really tired from talking with the nurse; she wasn't used to talking with people for a certain period.
Just as she got enough and was about to tell the nurse to take her back to her room, she saw a tiny figure running towards her direction. She was shocked and caught the little figure that crashed into her before they were about to fall to the ground. With her both of her arms stretched out, she grabbed the little figure's and gently pulled them to her. As soon as the little figure landed on her lap safely, she let out a relieved sigh. The little figure was a boy around ten years old, his upper body was on her lap while his knees landed on her feet. The nurse hurriedly helped the little boy to stand up and asked him if he was alright. The little boy raised his head and with his big watery eyes, he stared at Mavis before him. Mavis saw him staring at her and she gave him a worried look.
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
The little boy slowly shook his head and with his cute childish voice, he said, "Thank you."
Mavis was caught off guard but she immediately returned to her senses and smiled. "No worries. You should be more careful, don't run without looking in front."
The little boy nodded docilely, Mavis couldn't help thinking that he was a very cute child. Since she knew that the little boy wasn't hurt, she was going to return to her room and rest. However, she didn't get the chance as the nurse asked the little boy a few questions.
"Hi, little boy, are you alone? Where are your parents? Why were you running?"
The little boy tightened his lips as if he was reluctant to say but he opened his mouth. "They are nearby. I saw a butterfly and chased after it."
The nurse laughed. "Is that so? Do you want us to take you to your parents then?"
The little boy shook his head. The nurse wanted to pat his head and ask him why but the little boy had already walked up to Mavis and grabbed her hand. The tiny hand was warm when it touched hers. Mavis looked at the little boy quizzically, she didn't know what he wanted from her.
He asked, "What happened to you, big sister? Why are you sitting in a wheelchair?"
Mavis was surprised, she didn't expect the little boy to ask her such questions so she didn't know how to react to it.
She awkwardly laughed and told him, "I got into an accident and broke a rib. But it's alright, it will be healed soon."
A frown appeared on the cute and chubby face. "Does it hurt?"
'Of course, it hurts! Fuck!'
Mavis inwardly cried. Since he was a kid, she put a smile and talked as if the pain was nothing to her. "It doesn't hurt."
"Really?"
Mavis was a little uncomfortable, she rarely interacted with children so having to keep talking with one, she wanted to end it as soon as possible.
She nodded. "Yes. Don't worry. You should go back to your parents before they'll get worried about you."
The little boy stared at her before he asked, "What's big sister's name?"
Not knowing why he wanted to know her name, Mavis still answered him, "Mavis. And yours?"
"Kane."
"Kane? That's a good name. It is nice to meet you, Kane. You should go back to your parents, okay?" Mavis patted lightly on his head and added, "Nurse Lily will go with you."
Seeing that it was fine with Mavis for her to leave her to get the little boy to his parents, the nurse nodded warmly at him. The little boy Kane stood still, not wanting to leave, but with the nurse trying to persuade him, he quietly followed the nurse.
Mavis watched them leave together and rubbed her eyes wearily, she was finally alone. Now she could rest in peace without having anyone disturbing her. Just as she wanted to go inside the hospital, she realized there was a problem. No one was there to help her push the wheelchair. She had to use her arms, that was fine with her but the problem lied on her strength. She was weak and rolling her wheelchair would no doubt make her feel tired after only a few minutes. She began to roll her wheelchair to her room and when she arrived, she had used up her energy. She kind of regretted getting a manual wheelchair. If she asked for an electric one, would the hospital provide it for her for free? Shaking her head, she gave up and quietly complained about the pain and her misery.
Wasn't it better to be dead than to experience this painful process?
Mavis closed her eyes. Whatever, it was already too late to regret. She was going to sleep.
Outside the hospital, a black Rolls-Royce car stopped and the back door opened; a man could be seen sitting inside. His eyes glanced over the little boy that silently got in. It was Kane, the same little boy that Mavis met. The chauffeur started to drive once the door closed.
The man inside the car asked, "What did the doctor say?"
Kane answered with a monotone voice, "He said I am fine. As long as I take the medicine twice a day, I'll recover after a couple of days."
The man only said, "Alright."
Looking at the man sitting beside him, Kane smiled and said, "Not long ago, I came across a pretty big sister."
Hearing this, the man raised his eyebrow as he was signing for the little boy to continue.
"She said her name is Mavis but," Kane frowned. "she sat in a wheelchair. She told me she broke a rib. It must have hurt her a lot."
The man froze, his eyes darkened as he spoke, "Repeat what you just said."
The little boy wore an innocent face. "It must have hurt her a lot."
"Do not joke with me."
"Fine." Kane then repeated what he said.
"Mavis, you said?" the man frowned. "Brown hair, amber eyes and a mole under her right eye?"
The boy ruffled his chicken nest head and asked, "Wow, how did you know? Do you know big sis––?"
Noticing the expression of the man's face, Kane stopped talking and widened his eyes upon the sight. "Uncle?"
He didn't get a response but the man suddenly spoke, "She is at the hospital now? Do you know how she got her injury?"
The voice was cold, making the little boy gulp. He shook his head. "No, but I did hear a nurse say that she was involved in a robbery incident nearby. She has just been admitted to the hospital a few days ago."
There was a silence before the man said, "I see."
Kane was curious. "Do you know big sister? She seems like a normal person. Or, is she one of your targets?"
The man lowly chuckled. "I did not think you would act like this for one woman."
Seeing that the little boy was in deep thoughts, the man kept quiet. He unlocked his phone and scrolled down, seemingly reading something. During the ride, no one talked again and only minded their own business.
Mavis had finally gotten out of the hospital and was currently resting inside her room, she was content with the silence. She looked at her bed and tightened her lips, she didn't want to move from her wheelchair. It would be quite painful to move to her bed, especially when she was all by herself.
"This is harder than I thought..." she mumbled.
She didn't want to lay on her bed, and she didn't feel like eating, nor did she feel like doing anything. Mavis knew it wasn't good for her if this continued so she decided to eat something, only to find out that there was nothing for her to eat. Groaning, Mavis was in a bad mood. She hatefully went outside to a supermarket to buy food. Suddenly, her phone vibrated in her hand and she looked at the screen, smiling.
A message showed on the screen, saying, [20% sale on today's cup noodles.]
"Such good timing." She was delighted that she wouldn't have to spend as much money on food.
She was a university student; she was living off of her student loans that kept growing and growing with each passing day. Eating fancy food? That could only be her dream that she dared not to touch unless she wanted to get deeper in debts. How she wished she was rich.
Despite having bought the cup noodles, she didn't touch them after she returned home. Rather, she clutched her chest as she tried to control her breathing while easing the pain. She had accidentally bent too much and now she was facing the consequences.
"Fuck, this hurts!" she shouted through gritted teeth.