Erinnerst du dich

I played with Kaylee. The sun came out and I walked on my feet and heard with my ears. I ate the bits, the bits that stay down and I work. I function like I’m a girl. I hate it because I know it will go away. The sun goes dark and chaos has come again.

-River Tam, Firefly-

I poked at a questionable looking chicken that was on my plate, instantly regretting my choice of dinner.

This is the hospital, I reminded myself, not Tony Roma's.

I sighed as I looked around the empty cafeteria, its silence a deafening roar to my ears...

The cafeteria, very much like the rest of the hospital, was the whitest of white, with hardwood floors which reeked of cleaning products; hardly appetizing, as one would say.

My unending hatred for this place was cut short as my body became enveloped with a comfortable warmth, the kind that you could get from-- I'd rather not say. 

I looked up in time to see the final rays of sun filtering through the glass paneled wall, its sight filling me up with a sense of serenity.

I slowly closed my eyes, savoring every bit of warmth that I could get.

I'm cold, mommy. Can we please go back?

You don't want to miss this, sweetie. It's going to be worth it, I promise.

But it's cold.

Daddy can give you a piggy back ride.

It's cold...

My back is pretty warm, Kristen. Come on--

Okay...

We're almost there. This place is really special, Kristen. You're going to love it.

This is where your I met your mommy.

"Are you trying to be a plant or something?"

A husky voice- a male's- forcibly pulled me out of memory lane, making me jump in my seat. I exhaled heavily, not even bothering to hide my annoyance.

"Dude," I seethed, my insides bubbling with anger, "What. The. Hell,"

"Sheesh," he huffed as he sat in the chair opposite mine, "I was just trying to be friendly,"

I pursed my lips, returning to my stone cold excuse of a meal.

You shouldn't have hit her--

But she took my toy!

What did mommy say about being the better person?

That's not fair! She gets everything that she wants!

How could you possibly know that? Did she tell you?

No... but she looks like she has everything.

And what did I say about sharing?

"I'm sorry," I said apologetically, setting my fork down, "I didn't mean to snap at you like that,"

"Don't worry about it," he said, "It was my fault,"

We sat in silence for a while, the both of us struggling with our respective meals. After about five minutes of cutting, I finally gave up with mine and decided to watch him instead (as creepy as it may sound).

He looked about my age, albeit more sick looking with ghostly pale skin that contrasted his jet black hair. His almond shaped eyes were a very light shade of green, quite unusual for someone of his heritage.

"I'm half German," he volunteered, completely throwing me off guard, "on my dad's side. My mother, on the other hand, is Korean,"

"Okay?"

"Relax, Red," he said as he took another bite of his chicken salad, "I get that quite often. In fact-- is that a cookie?"

"Yes," I replied hesitantly, "It's not that great. But I reckon that I deserve some kind of reward for eating this... thing,"

I awaited a reply only to realize that I wasn't going to get one, especially since there was a considerable amount of drool dribbling down his chin;

"You can have it if you want,"

"What?" he asked incredulously, his eyes the size of saucers.

"You can have the cookie,"

"For real??"

"You don't have to lose your mind over it," I shrugged, "it's just a cookie,"

"It is not just a cookie," he said as he snatched it from my tray, "it is a symbol of life!"

"Fine, whatever," I said, rolling my eyes, "What's with the cookie obsession anyway?"

He wolfed down the entire cookie without so much as a blink, putting me in a state of awe.

"Sorry," he swallowed, "I haven't eaten one of these in ages. My mom has been pretty strict with the diet thing ever since I was diagnosed,"

"Diagnosed?"

I was confused for a moment before my eyes began to take note of the set of white scrubs that he was wearing, making him one of the patients of this hospital.

"Yeah," he said, hastily wiping his mouth with his hand, "I don't really like to talk about it, though. It's not much of a party conversation topic, now, is it?"

"I guess not,"

"Well," he said as he got up from his seat, "it was fun talking to you, Red. But I've got to go before my mother finds out. Bis später,"

"It's Kristen,"

---

It was around 8 o' clock when I got home, and there was no one in sight. The usual flurry of activity that would be going on at this hour could not be heard, not even when I strained my ears.

Who's the skank?

Not now, Natasha. Kristen will be home soon.

Who. Is. She?

She is none of your concern!

So you're sleeping with her?

Do you know how stupid you sound right now?

So you are sleeping with her!

Why should I even bother-- Kristen.

"Hey there, stranger," a voice greeted from the living room, jolting me out of my reverie, "How was the hospital?"

The voice, as it turns out, belonged to Lena, who was waiting for my father to return from an important business meeting.

Something that my mother used to do before he left us for her.

"Slow and boring," I replied as I headed towards the stairs.

"I'm sorry to hear that," she said, following me from behind, "What about some hot chocolate? That might lift your spirits up,"

I took a deep breath in as I paused at the first landing, knowing how much these words might hurt her and hating how much she cared;

"I don't know about you, but you were a skank the last time I checked,"

And just as planned, she replied to my statement with a hard slap across the cheek.

That should make her hate me forever.

"Thanks," I said as I rubbed my aching cheek, "I needed that,"