My vision was blurred and my body wasn't reacting very well to the medication. Every second, I could hear the nurses and doctors coming in and out of my room.
"I'll be back in a few minutes with some more saline, try to get some rest in the meantime," the nurse said.
Even with such an intense situation, my body seemed to be getting used to all the medication. According to the doctors, it was strengthening my own cancer.
That heavy treatment was no longer preventing me from sleeping, in fact sleep was one of the few things I could do.
"Four pages to go..." I said, feeling my body getting heavier and heavier.
Slowly, my eyes began to close. "I wanted a kiss from that Asian nurse..." I thought, as I imagined the black-haired nurse who was looking after me.
...
I woke up to the sound of my tablet falling to the floor. Lifting my face, I realized that the beautiful young woman was in my room.
"Ah... I'm sorry," I said, looking at the beautiful girl who was resting on the sofa in the living room of my bedroom.
Luckily, the rubber case meant that the screen was still perfect.
"Don't worry," said the nurse with a smile. She then bent down, picked up the device and left me even more stunned.
She appeared to be around my age, no more than twenty. The hospital clothes were very different from what I'd imagined, there were no funny hats or short outfits, but the white fabric really highlighted the girl's crystal-clear smile.
When I stretched out my arm to take it, it still didn't feel right. My hands fumbled, dropping the device again, this time into my lap. "It's still a bit tricky, especially with these tubes," I said, looking at the IV bag next to me.
The nurse gave a kind smile, "You're doing well, what were you reading?"
My heart warmed, racing at the same moment. "It's no big deal, I'm reading a comic book"
* Beep * Beep * Beep * Beep * Beep * Beep *
The devices in the hospital began to beep, revealing how my heartbeat was accelerating. At the same moment, I felt a little ashamed and angry at that hospital.
The nurse's face was no longer on me, she was staring at the monitor next to me. "You don't have to get nervous talking to me! What are you reading? Marvel? DC? Or was it The Boys?"
'Apparently she watches that kind of movie too...' I thought.
"I'm reading a Marvel comic, I like Todd McFarlane's Spiderman," I commented, imagining that she wouldn't know who I was talking about.
"Oh! I love Spawn!"
That sentence proved me wrong, knowing Spawn was enough to prove to me that she knew a bit about comics.
"Wow, so you're a real comic book fan," I commented.
The nurse put her hand on her chest, and with a confident smile she said, "Yes! Just like you, I'm a woman of culture".
"Haha! Well, how about watching the next Venom movie with me?"
That elegant nurse's face changed for a few seconds, perhaps because she realized the situation I was in. "Well, if you get better, I can take you to see it at the cinema," her voice was a little low.
My heart raced again, "Really?! Then it's booked!"
*Beep* Beep* Beep* Beep*
The nurse's laugh was charming. She again pointed to the machine checking my heart rate. "Just keep trying, if you heal, maybe I'll do what you said in your dreams"
My face flushed completely at the possibility. Lowering my head, I sighed "I'll keep trying"
She looked at me with a smile as she walked out of the room. When the sound of the door closing echoed through my room, I looked up with a slightly disappointed face.
The door opened again, "My name is Cindy! I forgot to introduce myself. I'll let you rest now"
"Ah! Thank you Cindy!"
"See you later, Dante!" she replied, closing the door.
Her voice was sweet and gentle, and I couldn't control my racing heart. "Cindy... I've heard that name somewhere," I thought.
My face got a little hot, I wasn't used to a pretty girl paying attention to me. "She's probably just being nice... She knows I'm going to... die"
A few hours had passed since that conversation, not much had happened. I continued to read my comics, and little by little, an intense pain appeared in my chest. Clutching the small cloth covering me, I groaned in pain.
"Shit..." looking away, I checked the gauges, my blood pressure was getting lower than it should have been. As I leaned my head back against the pillow, I realized that the medication was taking effect again.
My vision became blurred, but I still tried to stay calm.
Gradually the machines began to beep that something wasn't right. Holding out my arm, I pressed the help button, then lay back on my pillow.
"This will soon pass..." I said, as I looked at one of the panels on my tablet. The spider man was watching New York City.
Seeing that picture made me feel a little calmer, and the pain gradually subsided as my eyes slowly closed. This time, I could hear the doctor entering the room.
"His resistance is down... Cindy! Sarah! He's fading"
...
It took me a few seconds to realize that I was out of the hospital and out of the bed that held me. As I walked, I realized that the place I was in didn't really seem to exist.
It was a kind of fog with objects and memories. I saw my first Xbox, a copy of my Cod disk... and even the plastic plate I used to eat from as a child.
After two steps, my dog Spike walked past me. In that instant, I began to understand what was happening. When I knelt down to stroke him, he kept running.
"How is he here?" I said, confused.
When I turned around, the fog grew even stronger. Dozens of moments flashed before my eyes. My first game at school, my mother's cooking, the loss of Spike, the day I met my best friend.
"So that's it...? I'm going through the memories of my life?" I said, a little frustrated.
Without realizing it, tears began to flow from my eyes as I realized that this was the end of me. Clutching the fabric covering my body, I gritted my teeth with a mixture of anger and sadness.
However, a drop fell on my head as the rain gradually intensified. The mist descended as my clothes became completely soaked, no matter how loudly I shouted, it felt like I was completely alone.
The feeling of the water falling down my head, completely bald from that fucking disease, the feeling of seeing how I didn't manage to enjoy my fucking life enough. Facing my memories, wants and desires head-on.
It all created an ache in my chest, but at the same time the water seemed to bring me back to the now. While my mind tried to think about the past, the sensation of that cold rain on my skin kept me focused on the present.
That rain was washing my soul clean.
As my tears flowed, I began to laugh at the whole situation. My laughter increased as the rain intensified.
My emotions were becoming lighter, I was feeling less and less guilty about the whole situation. "So that's the end of me? Well, I still want more! Give me another"
A woman's sweet voice interrupted me, "Another chance?"
As I turned to look at her, everything around me changed. The rain stopped falling, the surroundings turned into a gigantic green field. It was dusk, but there were no stars in the sky.
Even without the light of celestial bodies, the place still seemed quite bright. A warm glow was emanating from a lake just a few meters ahead. That woman was standing watching the lake with her long golden hair.
My first reaction was to look at my hand. I was no longer feeling the uncomfortable sensation of the tubes through which the medicine was passed, they were no longer there.
Then I was startled by how healthy my arm looked. Running my hand over my head, I felt my hair.
I was no longer thin or weak. There was no longer any sign of the illness that had embraced me for the last two years.
One step after another, I slowly walked towards the woman. She stood watching the lake; there was a wooden canoe next to her.
"This place is cozy, isn't it? Dante" she said, turning to me.
The woman's skin was as white as snow, but her lips were pink and seemed to be soft. The sensation of hearing her voice was sweet and warm, as was the look in her eyes.
Without realizing it, my gaze went lower and lower. From her golden eyes to her clothes. She was wearing a kind of robe, completely covering her body down to her feet.
"What's going to happen to me?" I said. My vision went down to my hand, opening and closing, I turned my palm over. Frowning, I began to find the sensation in my fingers strange.
"Your body is just energy now," she said, then laughed gently.
Then the goddess stretched out her hand to me: "Don't be afraid, I love you".
Nodding my head, I sighed "So, are you going to take me to paradise?"
The goddess nodded "You've had a short life, Dante Ridder. When your memories embraced you and you still clamored for more."
That woman then looked deep into my eyes "That's why I'm here"
Closing my eyes, I thought "Fuck it"
Understanding my hand, I grasped her palm. With my eyes still closed, I felt a strange sensation in my feet. It was as if they were being pulled slowly into the water.
When I looked down, we were both standing above the lake.
My body wasn't nervous about it, it just felt cozy. Before I knew it, the water was over my waist.
That goddess stood looking down at me. With a gentle smile, she said "Enjoy your second chance, my dear"
Again, everything went out.
...
After everything went dark, for some reason, the image of Spiderman watching New York City was the first thing that crossed my mind.
[ The Reader system was added to the receptacle ]
Soon, I began to notice lights appearing around my body. Opening my eyes, I found myself in the midst of a gigantic quantity of stars that rotated from side to side.
Several streaks of light passed through my body as I crossed a gigantic dark space. Looking down, I couldn't move my body.
My hands were transparent, as was my whole body. As I passed through the stars, I passed through a place with tens of thousands of hands.
Shortly afterwards, I found myself in a region with various geometric shapes rotating from side to side. Then I passed through a kind of tube with different colors alternating at an astonishing speed.
It went on for quite a while, until my mind simply switched off.
...
"Who are you?!" A woman shouted, waking me up.
My body was still, but when my eyes opened, I was facing a bald woman in a yellow robe. My body was moving now, although the sensation was still strange.
As soon as I moved my arm a little, the woman quickly turned her face away. Then she moved her fingers to create an orange circle.
A chain appeared on both my arms, making it impossible for me to move.
I could feel my heart racing, although I couldn't really feel the pulse in my chest.
Then that bald woman turned around. Snapping her fingers, she removed the chains that were holding me down. "How could a soul get lost in this realm?" she said, as if talking to the wind.
...
[ To be Continued in MCRS #02 ]
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