"Maria, we need support here~!"
"I'm going!"
"Maria, can you bring me a coffee?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Maria~! Can you switch turns with me~?"
Said the young woman in nurse attire, her name was Elizabeth.
She was her coworker and roommate.
"Yes..."
"Thanks Maria~! I always can count on you~"
She said while putting her hand in her mouth as if sending a kiss.
Maria's face frowned for a brief moment, but she quickly replaced her frown face with a tender smile.
"Vadia estúpida (fucking bitch)".
"Heh~? What are you saying~?"
"I said I hope you have a good date with Mark."
"I will! Thanks, Marie~"
Elizabeth happily ran out of the office with a carefree smile.
Crush!
Just the pitiful Maria was there crushing a cup of coffee. Liquid leaking from her hand.
"Ah! I had almost finished cleaning-" said the janitor, while approaching in her direction.
His steps suddenly stopped when he saw her face.
Bloodshot eyes stared directly at his soul as if holding all the hatred of the world.
Are those eyes a young woman could have?
"What?"
"Haha, nothing. Good work Miss Maria!"
"Miss? Are you insinuating something?"
She said, her voice as cold as an iceberg.
"No! I was just passing and-"
Maria threateningly grabbed the man's collar.
"Is that bad to be single!?"
"???"
The janitor's eyes were filled with questions. What was this young woman in front of him saying?
"Why don't you marry me then?! Porra (fuck)!"
"C-Calm down, miss Maria! And... I'm already married, so..."
Hearing the man's words, Maria's eyes became even more bloodthirsty.
Thump.
"Ah!"
The man's body fell into the puddle of coffee. His white clothes became as dark as Maria's heart.
"Give my apologies to Mr. Liam. You accidentally spilled his coffee. Do you understand?"
She said threateningly to the pitiful nameless secondary character.
"Yes, M- I mean, Maria!"
The man ran as if his life depended on it.
Maria again was alone, in many ways.
A little tear fell from her face.
"Mundo de merda... (Damn world)"
Maria had come from Brazil to Harborview looking for good job opportunities and quality of life.
She diligently studied not just English, but also Spanish, Korean, and sign language.
Her life was busy because of her entrance exams and stupid parents. When she received a proposal from the hospital she moved without hesitation.
She passed against so much trouble in this foreign country. Many eyes were directed at her and she often was seen like an outsider.
It was hard to interact and she always missed topics to talk about.
That was why Maria was trying so hard to make connections in her job.
In one of these connections, she found Elizabeth, who also came from a foreign country and was living alone.
Both started to share a small room and became "good friends".
But this bitch always threw her work for Maria.
She barely was at home because she needed to work.
The most frustrating thing was that no matter how much she worked she never had enough money to sustain her life.
She had no option than accept Elizabeth's bullshit until she stabilized her life.
Every day seemed like she could spit blood from all her holes. Today was especially hard because she was on her period.
"Xano, my little boy..."
Maria pitifully called the name of her pet, Xano, a cat she had adopted right after moving to Harborview.
She just wanted to throw all this work and lay down on her bed with her cat.
She remembered the fluffy sensation and cute face of her cat... Her stress seemed to be relieved-
"Maria! Doctor Priyanka is calling you!"
"..."
Seeing no one had answered, the white-suited man entered the room and called for her again.
"Maria? Are you there?"
"I'm going- I mean, I'm going!"
Maria hid her tired face and put on a typical commercial smile.
The man also smiled after seeing her face.
"Good. It seems very serious, I recommend you go quickly."
"I will! Thanks!"
She said smiling lively while pressing her hands tightly.
She wanted to cry so much. Why now of all time?
Maria stared at the door with a wide smile, but her eyes couldn't be more empty.
Creek
"Doctor Priyanka, do you call me?"
"Ah, you are already here." said the serious woman with a faint smile.
Maria and Doctor Priyanka had a good relationship. Priyanka was the one who introduced her when she came so she was particularly memorable.
Maria also liked Priyanka, she rarely asked for things.
She was the kind of woman who did things by herself instead of asking for help.
At least, that was what Maria thought.
"It's rare you ask for my help."
"Well, you always seem busy."
Priyanka's innocently pierced her heart with facts. Maria almost cried, but with superhuman strength, she kept her smile.
"I'm sorry, are you tired...?"
Priyanka carefully analyzed her condition. She was a very perceiving woman, so Maria should pay extra care while dealing with her.
'Xano. Xano. I just need Xano~' she thought, trying to stimulate good thoughts in her head.
A real smile appeared on her face for the first time.
"How could I? If you need me I will stay there."
"Thanks, Maria, it's really supporting"
Priyanka said, while lightly patting her shoulder.
"So, what is the business."
"..."
At her words, Priyanka's face seemed to distort a little. She was making the same face she made for Elizabeth seconds ago.
Maria immediately related with Priyanka and held her hands in a comprehensible sight.
"Don't hide to yourself. Will be better just spit it out!" she said, tears almost falling from her eyes.
"O-Oh, is that so?" Priyanka said with a confused face.
Are young people so empathic these days? It's really a generation shock.
Coff. Coff.
"A patient arrived yesterday night, I'd like you to support her until the social services send her out."
"Ah..."
Maria seemed to have noticed her misunderstanding but professionally showed a smile again.
"Of course! Where is she?"
"Come with me."
Priyanka and Maria walked together in the dark hospital. At this hour almost no one was there.
Both were in front of a small patient room.
"It's here. The patient is very shy so be careful."
"Yes, Ma'am."
Priyanka hesitantly went out. Now, just Maria was there.
A patient to care for... Maria repeated these thoughts.
She hadn't good memories or experience with patients.
Maria remembered a perverted old man she needed to wash once. It gave shivers in her spine.
What kind of patient was beyond this door?
Gulp.
She swallowed her saliva and, with a wide smile, opened the door.
At the same time, a sickly fairy appeared before her.
"Fofa pra caralho... (so fucking cute)"
Maria forgot to speak English for a brief moment.
The gods came down from the sky or she had already died and this was the angel who would catch her?
It wouldn't be a surprise. She worked so hard every day.
Tiiip- Tip- Tiiip-
Her thoughts just stopped when she heard the sound of heartbeats coming from the machines.
"Is it real? I won't die tomorrow, will I?"
Maria couldn't accept her reality. Maybe she was finally having luck in this shit life?
Tap- Tap. Tap!
Maria approached in quick vacillant steps and stood in front of the girl's bed.
She carefully analyzed her face.
"Heh- Hehehe... Sim!!! (yes!!!)"
Tears fell from her eyes when she cleaned her face the smell of coffee was still there. But she didn't seem to care.
Today, she was the luckiest woman in this whole city.
*
"Open your cutie mouth~ Ahh~" she said while carefully blowing on the spoon and approaching the girl.
The girl was expressionless, not even seeing her actions.
Her face immediately became pitiful, as if saying "Are you really not eating it...?"
The child's eyelids trembled for a brief moment.
Hwa~
Seconds later, the girl slowly opened her mouth with her eyes closed.
Glup.
Maria just admired it while swallowing her saliva.
With slow movements, the spoon barely touched the girl's mouth and smeared her cheek.
"Oh, my~ how could I make such a mistake~?" she said, dramatically.
Cold and empty eyes stared back at her. Anyone being stared at by such eyes would feel like trash, but Maria...
"Oh~ My bad~ My bad~!"
Maria just appreciated the situation in front of her.
She devotedly cleaned the girl's face with a handkerchief and patted her head, filling her with love.
"How is our cutie today? Did you miss me? You missed me, didn't you~?"
She said, even knowing the girl couldn't hear her words.
The girl closed her eyes and started to move her fingers strangely.
Maria was just deluded, convincing herself that this was a sign of love.
"Essa terapia é de outro nível (this theraphy is on a another level)"
Crap- Crap- Crap-
Maria shamelessly took pictures of the girl like a stalker.
Her cellphone was filled with many pictures of the girl.
In the last few days, she accumulated more than five albums with at least 99+ pictures inside.
More and more albums appeared day by day for all tastes: eyes open, closed, sat, laid down, staring at the window, staring at the notebook...
The most ridiculous names were there.
They were her most precious treasure. The girl already had become her totem.
"Maria~ we need support here~? Where are you~?"
"Tsk"
This was the limit for today, what a shame.
She decided to give up from here.
"Don't miss me so much. I know, it's hard for me too~!" she said with her arms standing in the girl's direction.
The child didn't stare at her not even once.
*
"Where is my totem?"
The next day, the girl wasn't there.
"She went...?"
Badump! Badump!
Maria's heart started to beat wildly. What should she do now? Go back to this stressful work?
She was already captivated by the girl's charm.
She would never be able to work like before.
Sniff.
Tears fell from Maria's face pitifully.
Creak.
The door suddenly opened. Priyanka was there with the child in a wheelchair.
"..."
The crying young woman and the serious doctor stared at each other in the small room.
"Did I come at a bad time?" Priyanka said, breaking the silence.
Maria stared at the girl sitting cutely in the wheelchair, unaware of the world.
She wanted to walk with the girl this way too.
"Can I walk with her too?"
Immediately, a complex expression appeared on Priyanka's face.
"Well... it depends on the child's choice."
Maria quickly approached the girl and wrote on a paper.
[Can I walk with you too?]
Seconds later, a short and heartless answer came.
[No.]
Maria's world seemed to crack. All hope and innocence left her eyes.
They were the eyes of someone suffering from severe stress and dependence.
*
"I need to change my strategy."
She said, contemplating her words.
"Thinking now, I was so impulsive..."
Maria remembered her actions over the past week. She had been so intrusive...
She didn't regret anything, though.
"I need to go slow and win her over. Someday... hehehe..."
Maria laughed with joy at her thoughts.
She was determined to conquer her totem.
The next day, Maria did exactly the opposite of what she usually did.
She didn't touch the girl or talk like before.
She just did the minimum she was supposed to do and restrained her desires.
The girl still didn't look at her, not even once.
She seemed immersed in her little world while drawing...
"Que porra é essa? (What the fuck is that?)"
The girl was drawing a strange and dark human factory. A huge, eerie animal with creepy eyes and several machines was depicted there.
There were images of tubes, drills, and strange slimes.
Maria was so shocked that smoke seemed to come out of her head.
Tap! Tap!! Tap!!!
She quickly ran from the room in desperate steps.
Bam!!
"Doctor Priyanka! Doctor Priyanka!!"
Maria opened the door and said urgently.
A man and a woman stared at her with blank faces.
"O totem quebrou, o totem!!! (The totem is broken, the totem!!!)"
"Calm down, Maria. Speak English."
"The girl..."
"The girl?"
"She's drawing crazy stuff in the room!"
"What?" Both the man and the woman stared at each other.
They quickly realized who the "girl" Maria was talking about.
Serious expressions quickly appeared on their faces.
"Let's go!"
The three adults walked together toward the girl's room.
Bam!
The door opened rudely.
The girl didn't even blink. Her hands just kept drawing.
"...This is... terrible."
Liam said while analyzing the girl's drawing. The quality was better than that of a professional painter, but the content was just frightening.
The fact that such a cute girl drew such strange things was shocking for the three of them.
Priyanka's eyes shook crazily, her hands opening and closing repeatedly.
They observed the girl drawing for a long time.
At some point, the girl finally noticed them.
When their stares met, her hands shook and she hid the notebook behind her back.
Priyanka stared at her behavior with complex eyes.
[Can you tell me what you were drawing?]
At the words she wrote, the girl calmly wrote back.
[I don't know.]
Priyanka's face distorted even more at her words.
[Can you show it to me?]
Her words seemed like a question but her eyes couldn't tolerate any objections.
The girl slowly gave her notebook to the doctor.
Priyanka held the child's notebook expressionlessly.
[I will keep this for a while. I will return it soon.]
She just wanted to leave.
She felt like she could explode with rage at any moment.
Bam!
The door closed with strength, leaving behind three lamentable adults and an even more pitiful Peridot.