Myra’s POV
“Oh, don’t cry. Ian ,”
He nods.
“Please don’t. You look cool.”
“C-cool?”
“Yeah, in a cartoon, Zeus and his brothers had eyes like yours. You might be a Greek god.”
He lets out a laugh. I join him. We are both laughing though what I said isn’t funny. I seat beside him
“You smell good,” he says
“Thank you Ian , what do I smell like?”
“Vanilla,”
I bring my hand towards my nose. I have no idea what I smell like because I don’t remember wearing any perfume. When I found mum, I couldn’t even tidy my curly hair, one I believe I got from my dad, the man I don’t know. My mum has a silky straight hair. Perhaps my hair was her grandparent’s or someone in her family tree, who once had a thick curly hair. That’s unlikely, because though I haven’t met her family, from her photos, Mum’s family is genetically brown eyes and silky hair, while I have blue eyes.
“So do you like dogs, Ian ” I ask staring at a white stuffed dog on his bed
“Yeah,” he touches the furry animal on his bed. “Jessica left this with me; she says it will keep me company,”
At his last words, I can sense his voice break, like he is about to cry again
“I’m twelve. Why would she think I want to play with it?”
His rhetorical question hangs in the air. I don’t know what to say in response to that question, so I say
“I love dogs too, Ian ,”
“You do?” his voice raise into a pitch. I guess my word has piqued his interest. I’m glad I can lighten the mood and he won’t be thinking of crying in a while
“Yeah,” I say, “but I don’t think we will be getting one, any time soon,”
“Why?”
I shake my shoulder to his words, and then looked up. I realized he might not see the gesture
“I’m not sure Ian , but with my mum sick, I don’t see it happening anytime soon,”
I think about a movie I watched recently about how a dog owner abandoned his dog and it traveled a long mile, just to find him. It was a very heartbreaking story, as the dog died on its arrival. Dogs, it seems, are afraid of being abandoned or forgotten. With me being separated from mum in the future, will mum forget about me? Will she always remember me?
“I see” his voice drops lower than it was before. “I hope you can, have one someday”
“Mmmm” I gesture with my head nodded up and down. I have no certainty for what will happen to me, in the next minute.
“You sound like a nice person.” His voice re-assuring “Jessica is bringing me a real dog tomorrow, the therapist says it will be nice to have one, especially after i have the surgery”
“Why?” I try to hold up a conversation, not because i don’t know, what he means
“She called it a guide dog, because though I will have the surgery, it might take a while for my eyes to correct themselves.” He continues
“I see” I glance over the glass window of his hospital room, the rain slaps, I don’t know why i hate the rain for some reason. All I see is gloom and loneliness locked into the walls of this hospital room. I rub my shoulder at the thought. I must have forgotten to bring a blanket with me, when I came to Ian ’s room.
“I hate the rain”
“Why?”
His voice pulls me out of thought, I realize, I must have said that aloud.
“Nothing” I reply
I watch him touch the dog on his lap, he pulls his lips in and out “Can I see you after the surgery Myra ; I want to see what you look like”
“Sure Ian ”
I promise though I’m uncertain about tomorrow. I know that Ian , need a friend and I can’t tell him the truth, not at the moment after all what is the truth? I might soon be separated from my mum? That I might go home tomorrow? That I might not see Ian after the surgery? He has finally opened up to someone and that person was me. He will be too disappointed.
“Will you be my friend Myra ?”
“A friend?” I think of his question. I have a few at school, though we aren’t that close. Ian might be the closest person I have connected to in a while,
“How old are you Ian ?” I ask, and then I scratch my head. I almost forgot, he mentioned he was twelve.
“I’m a year older than you; Ian , my birthday was last month” I say
“You are just a year older than me.”
I feel something brush my hand and stare in surprise. It’s Ian ’s hand. I let him hold my hand.
“Thank you, Myra . In you, I’ve found a friend and someone I can talk to. I can’t imagine how staying here would have been if not for you”
A friend? My eye brow rises a bit. These friends of mine, I hate to bring them home, to my home which has the strong smell of alcohol. In the hospital, are the nurses and doctors who are older than me, so I could not call them my friends. So Ian , could be my friend. He might not criticize me like these friends of mine of whom, I kept at arm length, after all they did was gossip about their friends behind their backs.
My surgery is tomorrow and I can’t wait to see you.” He says
“I’ll be here waiting for you, Ian .”
“Myra ”
Sara’s voice echoes through the room. I turn towards Ian “It was nice meeting you Ian , I will see you tomorrow”
“Your mum is awake, she has been looking for you” Sara adds
My heart jumps. I wave at Ian , though he might not see me. I race towards mum’s room. I walk into the room.
“Mum?”
My eyes and lips widens as I run towards her. I hug mum, though I know we aren’t that close. I’m just happy that she is awake. She is the only family I have. Mum pushes me off, her body turn towards the wall. She is on the phone and I can make out the last words
“Clark I hope you can come see me tomorrow.”