The night had grown dark, and the moon had since set. The clouds in the sky covered the reflections of the stars, and the only sources of illumination in the darkness were the streetlights, and the lights shining through people's windows.

But here inside the walls of the hospital, all was brightly lit, the light bouncing off the shiny white walls and tiles surrounding us. The air was still and warm in contrast to the chilly breeze that I knew was howling outside.

I sat on a chair beside my grandmother's bed, listening to the endless tick of the clock above her bed. We were in a decent sized room, one that had become all too familiar to me over the past few months. I watched my Gran Shelly as she slept, her chest rising and falling rhythmically. Thank God she was sleeping. Although I wanted nothing more than to catch up with her, she had been struggling to sleep lately. I guess it was a mixture of the pain of her illness, the discomfort of being hooked up to a million things, wearing a hospital gown, being on strong medication, and perhaps it was the eerie quietness of the room that seemed to be calling to your thoughts.

I loved my grandmother and I just wanted things to go back to how they used to be, where we would have fun together, not having to think about the danger she was in. But somehow, even if by some miracle she was cured of her sickness, it just felt as though things would never be the same. We couldn't be as careless anymore; every day I'd be hoping we could be given another to live together. But the bitter truth that my mind told my heart, was that everyone had to die one day, and it was always more likely she'd go first.

Even though I wanted a miracle to happen, for the moment, I was just happy to see her face and her rising and falling chest matched with the sound of her breathing. My throat closed as I pressed my lips together, the overwhelming pain in my heart was hard to contain. The feeling of grief for what was coming, helplessness because there was nothing, I could do about it, and love, love that I knew would never leave, even if she did. I missed her. Even though she was still here, I couldn't help but wish I had more time.

The clock continued to tick as did my mind. The near dead silence caused me to get lost in my thoughts, until, however long later, I snapped into awareness as my grandmother began to stir. "Granny?" I called quietly, my voice barely escaping my throat. "Who is it?" my Gran Shelly asked a little drowsily. "It's me, Kota." I said with a slight smile. "Ah, Kota, my boy". She turned her head to the side and looked into my yellow eyes with her hazel ones. Her greyish white hair was messy from sleeping and her skin was pale and clammy looking. She had aged well and although she was eighty-four, you could still clearly see in her face the beautiful young lady she once was. She had wrinkles that gathered in the corners of her eyes and lips, her skin sprinkled with sunspots and scars, from the hard labour she used to do in her youth. When she spoke, although her voice was tired, it also carried the sound of wisdom, calm and kindness.

"What's the time my dear." Gran Shelly asked, as she continued to look at me, too tired to move her head and look at the clock that ticked above her. I glanced up, "2am". She nodded slowly. "Are you feeling okay Gran? Can I give you something?" I asked, my voice quiet. I was eager to give her the gift I'd bought for her at Mr Moore's, but the last thing I wanted was to bother her if she wasn't feeling well. I waited patiently and silently for her response, eager to hear her voice again every time it stopped. She began to nod, slowly, but then stopped. "Can you press that button for me dear." I followed her gaze to a button that sat on her arm rest, which was used to call in the nurses. "If you need something I can-'' I began to say before I saw my Gran Shelly's face, suddenly paper white as her eyes began closing.

My heart leaped with panic and my hand shot out to press the button to alert the nurses. The sound around me began to blur in panic. I didn't hear what the nurses said as they rushed in, leading me out into the waiting rooms, carrying Gran Shelly's gift box with them. My heart pounding, I sat and prayed my grandmother would be okay.

🏴‍☠️

I sat in the waiting room for what felt like hours. I looked over at another clock that was hanging from the wall, it read two thirty. I sighed to myself, returning my head to my hands, my elbows resting on my knees. My ears buzzed from the silence around me, only broken by the occasional whisper or cough from one of the other people waiting in the waiting room. The silence was broken once more, but this time from the vibrate of my phone, which sounded immensely loud in the quiet. Some people looked in my direction at the sudden sound, so I pulled out my phone from my pocket and sat back with another sigh, crossing my outstretched legs over Gran Shelly's gift box.

I had received a message from my landlord, which as I expected, was more warnings about paying my rent. I rubbed my forehead with my fingers to ward off the incoming headache. I reached for my hair elastic, pushing it further down my short ponytail to release some of the pressure from my head. As the pain in my head began to ease slightly, my eyes began to close and my muscles all relaxed; darkness engulfed my vision and left me unconscious.

After some time of only darkness, I began to see flashes of the past. Flashes of the illustrated books Gran used to show me when I was young, or the stories she used to tell. "And the map was hidden away, and after all these years, it is yet to be seen again." my Gran's words echoed in my mind as I looked into her hazel eyes. "Where do you think it is?", four-year-old me asked, the passion and curiosity in my eyes matching hers. "I don't know its whereabouts any better than you. But I hope it's found soon, time is ticking."

"Kota." suddenly a crisp voice said, startling in comparison to the distant unclear voices I'd been hearing. "Kota." This time the voice was even crisper than the last one and I jolted awake, turning my head to see a nurse. "She's ready to see visitors." the nurse said. Suddenly I remembered everything. Grabbing Gran Shelly's gift from in front of me, I quickly followed the nurse back into the room.

Fear and hope rose inside me, the two emotions clashing in my heart, making it tight and sore. I stepped into the room where Gran Shelly lay and saw her body lying peacefully on the bed. "Please press the button again if you need anything." The nurse said softly.

"Hello Kota." Gran Shelly said softly, a weak smile on her face. "A-are you o-okay?" I asked, I tried to stop my voice from shaking but failed. I inhaled deeply and straightened my back in an attempt to compose myself. Gran Shelly noticed this, and her eyes softened for me. "I'm okay Kota". I knew she was pained to see me worried about her, but I couldn't help it. Selfish. The word repeated itself in the back of my mind, only broken when Gran Shelly began to speak again. "My condition has gotten worse, Kota, you must know this." A sharp pain ran through my heart, giving me the temptation to rub my heart and soothe the pain away, but deep inside me, I already knew this information, it was just more painful being heard aloud.

"They removed and cleaned all the organs they could, but I'm afraid by then it was already too late. The cancer had already begun to infect my heart, you remember?"

My hands gripped and tightened around my hair before I swung up my head to face my Gran, brown hairs still gripped in my fingers. "But they treated that already! last year Gran! I don't understand why this is happening!" I began to yell again, this time, tears were rolling down my face as I mentally berated myself for showing my vulnerability. "Ssh, it's okay Kota." My Gran Shelly's words only soothed my aching heart because they came from her mouth. I rested my head on the edge of her bed now, my tears instantly wetting the white bed sheets, as both my arms lay around my head.

Gran Shelly's hand slowly lifted and began petting my head. "It's okay Kota, I'm lucky it took this long for it to return, I'm lucky I've had this long to live, to spend with you." She said calmly and soothingly. You couldn't tell from her well-aged face, but she was 85 this August. Two months from now. My heart's ache increased as I realised, she wouldn't make it to August. I squeezed my eyes shut and placed my hands over hers, which sat atop my head. I held it firmly but gently, cherishing her touch too much to let it go.

My body shook with pain, and I began sobbing softly into the sheets, too distressed to berate myself in the moment.

🏴‍☠️

Some time had passed before I drifted away into sleep, my body exhausted from stress, only finding comfort when I was beside Gran Shelly.

My eyes blinked open, dry, sore and puffy from crying. I glanced at the clock and saw it was 7am. I mentally told myself I could skip today's work. I knew it wasn't smart, but I needed to be with Gran Shelly now.

"Good morning, Gran." I said as I saw her open eyes. "Good morning, Kota, feeling better today?" She asked as her hazel eyes met mine. I shrugged in response and smiled. There was only so much better I could feel at a time like this.

"How about you take your mind off it and tell me about yourself." I knew the last thing I wanted was to talk to her about the struggles of my life, while she lay dying in a hospital bed. I racked my brain for an alternative conversation, when I remembered with a start, the pottery vessel I was meant to gift her.

"Oh, I recently went shopping and look what I found." I said as I lifted the box that I had placed beside my feet and heaved it onto my lap.

"Oh, wow Kota, what is this?" Gran Shelly asked, her curiosity piqued. I unboxed the vessel and threw the packaging onto the floor beside me, turning the vessel to face her.

"I got it from the marketplace, I saw it and instantly thought of you and the stories you used to tell me about pirates and artefacts." I said with a smile. Those stories had been an important part of our relationship when I was young, it was how we bonded and enjoyed each other's company. The stories eventually slowed down as I grew older, until they died away completely, for no particular reason; perhaps it was a mixture of our responsibilities increasing and Gran Shelly retiring. Now, they were a distant and fond memory of when we used to be happy and well, despite all our troubles, we would engulf ourselves into the stories with passion, forgetting all our problems for the moment. Perhaps it was because I had so many troubles that I found myself enjoying living in another world, as someone else, for as long as the story went on.

"I remember telling you those stories." Gran Shelly said, her eyes gleaming with happy memories and nostalgia. "What a good time we used to have. Oh, how you've grown since then. Thank you for your gift, Kota, hold onto it tight when I'm gone won't you". Her words were said soothingly, but yet they felt like vinegar on a sore wound. I swallowed and nodded in response; my throat suddenly dry.

My eyes wandered toward the vessel in my hands, seeing all the engravings of stick men figures running. "It's a curious piece, but I thought it was interesting." I said thoughtfully to Gran Shelly, who nodded in response. "Interesting indeed." She said a little absent-mindedly. "Kota" she began, and I looked up at her. "Do you remember the story I told you on the first day we met?" She asked. I sensed she wasn't simply saying this to be nostalgic, "of course, how could I forget?" Gran Shelly nodded, then continued. "You remember the locket that I described in the story?" I nodded in response. "I have a similar looking one back at home, could you fetch it for me, it's yours now."

She tried to sound casual, but I noted the underlying tone of seriousness in her voice.

-Interdimensional Pirates
-April Bluebird/@BlueWhiskers1
-6/Oct/2022- 12/Jan/2023
-Chapter 2: Love and Pain
-2,238 words
-99👁‍🗨, 13 🌟, 15💭.