saya. (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
squelching) wrote2023-10-17 09:19 pm
squelching) wrote2023-10-17 09:19 pm
Entry tags:
memshare: give me a little time.
It's been a few days since you met Fuminori.
Every night, taking advantage of the duty nurse's shift-change at 3AM, you sneak into his room to talk to him just as he requested. And for the past few days, even while you share the details of your life with him, explaining how you've been searching for your missing father — he still shows no signs of realizing the truth. Even as you smile nonchalantly, sitting on the bed opposite to him, being careful not to stain the white sheets while your body suppurates.
Even then, Fuminori fails to notice that you are not human.
"It's so big that I never run out of places to hide," you tell him, after he stares at you in surprise when you explain that you have been living in the hospital for the past two months. Not as a patient, but as a girl hiding under the nurses' noses while searching for your father, who used to work in this institution.
"Don't you have to go to school?" he asks, a bit dumbly.
But you shake your head, laughing. Even if you wanted to, there's no way someone like you could go to school. "No, Dad taught me everything I need to know. I'm really smart."
"Aren't you worried you might get caught?"
"Nope! I don't have to worry about food here, and it's a lot more fun than staying in Dad's house by myself," you answer cheerfully. When he continues to stare at you, baffled, you laugh and grin before adding to your story. "I looked through the patient lists and found the ones who have mental problems," you admit. "Sometimes I sneak into their rooms late at night and scare them. Even if they raise a fuss, no one believes what mental patients say. They just brush it off as a bad dream."
The hospital is famous for its ghost stories. You can see the precise moment it all clicks, and he looks at you with a strange expression on his face. "So that's why you came to my room the first time?"
"Yeah," you reply, suddenly feeling bad now that you've said it. "Sorry. Are you mad?"
"You shouldn't do it anymore," he says, which is neither a yes or a no. But then he adds, "Will you come talk to me instead?"
"Yeah!" You nod, beaming at him. "That's more fun for me, too!"
And so, you do.
The weeks pass and, before you know it, the date of Fuminori's release from the hospital creeps up on you.
You head to his room on the last night before he's allowed to go home and enjoy the last bit of conversation you'll have for a good, long time. He's the only person you have been able to actually talk to besides your father, and you know that you'll miss him when he's gone tomorrow, but there isn't anything you can do about it.
"Are you going to stay here forever?" he asks you, during a lull in your conversation.
"Yeah," you reply, smiling even though it doesn't quite reach your eyes. "I couldn't learn anything about my dad, but it's not like I have anywhere else to go. I guess I'll stay as long as I can hide."
Fuminori hesitates for a moment and then, quietly, he asks:
"Why not stay with me?"
"Huh?" you say, eloquently. The question is so unexpected that all you manage to do is stare at him dumbly, unsure if you heard him right.
"My family's gone," Fuminori continues, "so I have plenty of room! You won't need to hide, and it's not a bad place to live!"
"... You want me to live with you?" you respond after a moment, part of you still not fully convinced of what your ears are hearing.
He nods, speaking in a rush like he's, for whatever reason, scared that you'll say no. "In exchange," he says, quickly, "I'll help you look for your father! I'll find him no matter what!"
"I think that's gonna be hard," you say, slowly, because Fuminori has no idea what he's offering and now it's a little embarrassing to explain. "Dad probably did something bad and had to leave the hospital. We can't get the police involved. You'll have to be as discreet as possible."
But Fuminori is undeterred. "I'll do whatever it takes! I..." he says, sucking in a breath before he continues. "I can't be apart from you."
You don't understand. He doesn't understand. He doesn't really know what you are, and you can't just tell him. He's the only person you've been able to hold a conversation with in months. You stare at him, absolutely bewildered, before your expression evens out and you simply say—
"Give me a little time."
You cut your visit short and leave the room before he can respond one way or another.
Every night, taking advantage of the duty nurse's shift-change at 3AM, you sneak into his room to talk to him just as he requested. And for the past few days, even while you share the details of your life with him, explaining how you've been searching for your missing father — he still shows no signs of realizing the truth. Even as you smile nonchalantly, sitting on the bed opposite to him, being careful not to stain the white sheets while your body suppurates.
Even then, Fuminori fails to notice that you are not human.
"It's so big that I never run out of places to hide," you tell him, after he stares at you in surprise when you explain that you have been living in the hospital for the past two months. Not as a patient, but as a girl hiding under the nurses' noses while searching for your father, who used to work in this institution.
"Don't you have to go to school?" he asks, a bit dumbly.
But you shake your head, laughing. Even if you wanted to, there's no way someone like you could go to school. "No, Dad taught me everything I need to know. I'm really smart."
"Aren't you worried you might get caught?"
"Nope! I don't have to worry about food here, and it's a lot more fun than staying in Dad's house by myself," you answer cheerfully. When he continues to stare at you, baffled, you laugh and grin before adding to your story. "I looked through the patient lists and found the ones who have mental problems," you admit. "Sometimes I sneak into their rooms late at night and scare them. Even if they raise a fuss, no one believes what mental patients say. They just brush it off as a bad dream."
The hospital is famous for its ghost stories. You can see the precise moment it all clicks, and he looks at you with a strange expression on his face. "So that's why you came to my room the first time?"
"Yeah," you reply, suddenly feeling bad now that you've said it. "Sorry. Are you mad?"
"You shouldn't do it anymore," he says, which is neither a yes or a no. But then he adds, "Will you come talk to me instead?"
"Yeah!" You nod, beaming at him. "That's more fun for me, too!"
And so, you do.
The weeks pass and, before you know it, the date of Fuminori's release from the hospital creeps up on you.
You head to his room on the last night before he's allowed to go home and enjoy the last bit of conversation you'll have for a good, long time. He's the only person you have been able to actually talk to besides your father, and you know that you'll miss him when he's gone tomorrow, but there isn't anything you can do about it.
"Are you going to stay here forever?" he asks you, during a lull in your conversation.
"Yeah," you reply, smiling even though it doesn't quite reach your eyes. "I couldn't learn anything about my dad, but it's not like I have anywhere else to go. I guess I'll stay as long as I can hide."
Fuminori hesitates for a moment and then, quietly, he asks:
"Why not stay with me?"
"Huh?" you say, eloquently. The question is so unexpected that all you manage to do is stare at him dumbly, unsure if you heard him right.
"My family's gone," Fuminori continues, "so I have plenty of room! You won't need to hide, and it's not a bad place to live!"
"... You want me to live with you?" you respond after a moment, part of you still not fully convinced of what your ears are hearing.
He nods, speaking in a rush like he's, for whatever reason, scared that you'll say no. "In exchange," he says, quickly, "I'll help you look for your father! I'll find him no matter what!"
"I think that's gonna be hard," you say, slowly, because Fuminori has no idea what he's offering and now it's a little embarrassing to explain. "Dad probably did something bad and had to leave the hospital. We can't get the police involved. You'll have to be as discreet as possible."
But Fuminori is undeterred. "I'll do whatever it takes! I..." he says, sucking in a breath before he continues. "I can't be apart from you."
You don't understand. He doesn't understand. He doesn't really know what you are, and you can't just tell him. He's the only person you've been able to hold a conversation with in months. You stare at him, absolutely bewildered, before your expression evens out and you simply say—
"Give me a little time."
You cut your visit short and leave the room before he can respond one way or another.