Act 6

"Emília," Marco called.

"Hi?" I replied, feeling a little strange about their expressions.

They looked at each other before speaking, which made me even more suspicious.

"We've been thinking a lot about what you said earlier, and..." Mauricio started to explain, but stopped before he could finish. He couldn't continue.

Everyone stopped talking to pay attention as Marco continued what Mauricio was supposed to say.

"Many people are dying in the hospital, and that scares everyone. I'm especially scared because I've been here for so long that I don't know if I'm going to get better or if I'm going to live my life in this hospital".

He was right, I had the same fear, it was always on my mind, and I bet the others were thinking the same thing.

"I love football as much as you love dancing. Not being able to play when I'm so healthy..."

"Marco, if you're here, you're not healthy," I interrupted.

"Of course not, look at me, do I look sick?"

"No, you don't."

"Do the others look sick?" He asked, pointing to those sitting.

"No, they don't."

"And you? You were dancing and jumping up and down. You were healthier than any girl your age."

"I look healthy too."

"The only thing that shows we're sick are these damn bracelets!" Marco shouted angrily, pointing to the one on his wrist. "And who put them on us? The hospital staff. That means they lied to us. They put these handcuffs on us."

It couldn't be that Rose had been lying to me all along. The same Rose who believed in me and my dream, who taught me to dance, and most importantly, who told me to stay positive, that everything would be okay. I became irritated.

"They want to keep us here," Mauricio said, standing up next to Marco.

"If we're all healthy, how come people are dying? Have you seen how many people with red wristbands have died in these years? Some days it felt like a constant stream of deaths from this hospital."

They hesitated for a moment, as if they knew I was right. It didn't make sense for all of us to be healthy while people were dying in the hospital.

I thought I had convinced them, but Marco didn't seem to have given up yet.

"If we're going to die, I'd rather enjoy life while I'm healthy and live my dream outside of here, playing soccer. That's why, Emília, we should escape."

"We can escape now, there's no one watching us, and security is minimal. As far as I've noticed, they put guards on patrol at night, expecting escapes or break-ins," Mauricio explained.

"Do you agree with them?" I asked, pointing to those who looked frightened.

"I don't want to stay here and die," Rafael said.

"We can follow our dreams," Beatrice said.

"And we can live happily outside," Ana added.

I couldn't believe the madness of it all.

"You're joking, right?" I said, laughing nervously.

They didn't answer and remained serious. That only made me angrier.

"If we run away now, we'll really be throwing our lives away. We'll die, and if we die, we won't be able to fulfill our dreams."

"But you said you were fine," Mauricio said.

"Yes, but that's because I'm being treated, just like you. If we stop, the disease could come back even worse than before."

"Or that's what they want us to think. Have you ever stopped the treatment to find out?" Mauricio asked.

"No, but that's the way diseases work. Rose would have told me if something was wrong with the hospital."

"Don't you see that you are being deceived?" Marco asked.

At that moment I gave Marco a sideways glance, which was enough to silence him.

"Don't you dare speak ill of Rose. What do they have to gain by deceiving us?" I asked, knowing they wouldn't have an answer.

"I don't know, but if we're doing so well, why can't we leave?" Mauricio tried to lighten the situation.

"Everything is connected, don't you see? You don't want to go back into the machine, and you just showed us that you dance so well that you could be successful, even if only for a short time. That's why we should escape. You should show your talent to the world, fulfill your dream," Marco strongly encouraged.

"I don't want to, but I have to. I am going through all this for a chance. We can be cured if we escape now."

Marco looked at me with disdain; I imagined he despised my idea of staying and disagreeing with them. He was sure that I would agree with them, that I would follow my dream with everyone else, even if it meant my death. But I was already doing that, staying in the hospital and fighting.

So I raised my voice and let out all my anger in my words.

"I won't run away, especially after all I've been through. Do you know how many years I've been in this hospital? Looking for a chance to get better? How much I've lost? Do you think I wanted to be here? How can you be so insensitive?"

I shouted, very angry, while everyone else was silent. Marco, who had been talking, fell silent. I would say he was silent for too long. And while I was arguing with them, Marco's facial expression began to change and foam came out of his mouth.

Suddenly, Marco was on the floor, writhing in agony, looking like he was in so much pain. I was paralyzed, and the other boys immediately ran to call the doctors and nurses. They were screaming for help all over the hospital.

It was all so frightening to me. The boy was writhing and screaming on the floor and struggling with the doctors when they arrived.

"I don't want to go back into the machine, not now! Let me live!" were the words he cried out, and they seemed to come from the depths of his soul, showing all the suffering he had endured. His struggle was in vain, for the doctors were much stronger and gradually restrained him.

It was my fault.

I couldn't bear to look at it anymore; my greatest wish was for it all to end. I wanted to skip this part, not see it, and go back to sleep. At the same time, I wanted my illness to be over once and for all, so I wouldn't have to go through any of this.

On an impulse, I ran to my machine, set it to maximum and used it.

The pain was unbearable; I passed out, but I could feel the pain for what seemed like hours. It gradually diminished until it disappeared. Everything went black and silent.