Tale Zero: Screaming Scorpion (8)

Arriving at Emma’s room, I could only describe the atmosphere inside as ‘depressing’. Completely empty, no other beds except for hers with any sign of having been occupied recently, the negative emotions in the place could be felt at a glance.

But then, inevitably, one’s eyes would shift to the room’s only occupant – Emma. She seemed like she was peacefully sleeping, showing no signs of external pain. But if you looked a little closer, you could see the many wounds on her body, some of which were still open. Her peaceful face was stained with the marks of someone who’s been crying recently.

I didn’t think I could bear to watch her like this for too long, my mind was telling me that staying would only make me feel worse, but I couldn’t get my body to move an inch.

And shortly after – she woke up.

Slowly opening her eyes, she seemed confused that there was someone else in the room with her. Her eyes stared at me blankly, not recognizing my face as the one of the man she’d had such a violent fight with just a few days prior. Even though that was the case, I did my best to force a smile. Just the tiniest bit.

“Mmm? Who are you…?”

So she said, her eyes still half open and her mind not fully awake. This was the first time I was hearing her voice properly, and the difference between it and her monstruous screams almost tricked me into believing they were two different people, or that her psychotic attack had been but a nightmare. Sadly, my still unhealed neck wounds were there as proof of the contrary.

“Hi, I’m James. It’s… nice to meet you, Emma.”

“How do you know my…”

Her expression suddenly snapped into one of realization, her jaw dropping and her eyes almost popping out of their sockets. She crawled back in her bed, clumsily getting away from me, but she didn’t realize-

She almost fell out of her bed and smashed her head against the floor, but somehow, I managed to catch her arm just in time.

She was shaking.

Violently.

I pulled her up into her bed again; she didn’t resist even a bit when I covered her with the bed sheets. Her whole body was shaking and through her face ran a sea of tears. It was a pitiful sight. One I wish I never had to see, one that I hadn’t even imagined possible.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry!”

“…”

“D-don’t come close to me… If you do, I’ll hurt you… If you do, I’ll kill you, and then I’ll cry but it’ll be my fault, it’s always my fault, so don’t come close to me or all I’ll do is hurt you-!”

I hugged her.

As tightly and as strongly as my shaking arms would allow me to – I embraced her.

I didn’t know what to say. No, rather – there was nothing I could say. So all I could do was stay like this, my body heat slowly permeating her ice-cold hands.

After a while, she hugged me back, her shaking slowly educing as her tears went down my shoulders.

I knew she had hurt me, and I’m sure she’d hurt many others, but I knew just as well that it had not been her fault. Even though she’d been the perpetrator, even though her own hand had caused the damage, it wasn’t something she could have controlled. It wasn’t in her power to prevent it; she shouldn’t be blaming herself for it. But it was human nature to do so. It’s much easier to blame oneself than to accept that it couldn’t have been prevented, that it would have happened no matter what.

…

What a hypocrite I am.

But if I can’t help myself yet, I’ll do what I can to help this girl…

That’s what I said in my mind, completely decided to carry through with it. Until Emma stopped needing me, I would be by her side, doing my best to help her believe in herself one step at a time. Because when I saw her, I saw my own reflection – one who’d had to suffer far more than I could possibly conceive, one who had more to teach me than what I could possibly have done to repay her.

…

I didn’t know how much time had passed; I don’t think she did either.

But eventually, our bodies separated, ending the embrace we had shared for those precious moments.

We kept each other company in silence for a few more minutes, neither of us uttering a single word. Not even glancing at each other; knowing of the other’s presence was more than enough to eliminate whatever worries we had in our minds.

I stayed like that until it was time for lunch; as much as I didn’t want to go away, starving wasn’t much of an option either. I thought of going back to her side after having my snack, but when I asked the person in the reception, she told me there was another visit for her at the moment. I judged it best not to intrude.

I stopped to think about what I would do next.

It had been a few days since I hadn’t stepped inside my house, but then again, none of my relatives had made any effort to come see me.

Not even a call.

Not even a message.

Not that I was surprised. Wasn’t the first time, wouldn’t be the last. Guess I really could just appear back home to sleep and go out the next day to do my thing. Oh wait – school was a thing. Crap.

I had already been walking back home, but I turned around and started running towards the hospital. Hopefully Doctor Philip would still be there in his office-

“Oh, he’s just about to end his shift, but he’s probably still around in his office. I’ll tell him you’re going.”

The receptionist said as I thanked her and ran towards the already familiar office.

“James? What’s up, what happened?”

He looked worried when he saw me, but his anxious expression gave way to a gentle smile when I told him what I needed.

“Hey, Philip, could you maybe… give me a document that certifies I’ve been hospitalized these past few days? I need it for school, they’re gonna be asking what happened but they won’t believe me if I don’t have the paper…”

“Ahahaha! Yeah, give me a second, I’ll make you something real quick. Don’t lose it, yeah?”

“Of course I won’t.”

Unlike what stereotypes might make one think, not all doctors have terrible handwriting, far from it. I’m fact, Philip’s handwriting was really nice and easy to read. I thanked him for the help and apologized for the trouble, and went back the way I’d come.

“It’s nothing, James, this is what I’m here for. If you ever need anything, you know where to find me.”

With that, after all these days of mixed feelings and life changing experiences, I finally left the hospital. I hoped I wouldn’t have to come back soon as a patient.

And within no time, I walked back to my home, opening the door with my keys only to find it deserted. Nothing too uncommon. For once, I didn’t go straight to sleep though; instead, I picked up a pencil and a piece of paper and tried drawing something. I sincerely hoped she would like it when I showed it to her.