Autumn Leaves {solo}

When Emelia got off the plane at 3:23pm in Sydney, she had never felt more emotionally and physically drained. At Beata, it was past midnight, and she should have been in bed in the Summer dorm, comfy in a place she had begun to consider home. Jet lag pulled at her limbs and a headache pulsed at her temples. Her legs ached from sitting on a plane for so long, and worry had kept her from getting any sleep.

Her mother hadn't given her much detail, just that her brother was sick and she needed to come home. But Emelia knew. She felt it in her body, the way the poison was slowly infecting her. Every day, she woke up worse than the day before. Sammy must have been going through the same thing. But if the best of the world's magic doctors couldn't figure out a way to help her, then what chance did he have? What chance did either of them have?

No. She couldn't think about that. She had to be positive. If not for her, then for him. Sam was only nine, after all. Emelia had always been his protector, and she had to at least give the illusion she could protect him from this, even though she knew there was nothing she could do.

Before she left the airport, she stopped at a Starbucks and grabbed herself a coffee, knowing she'd need all the help she could get to make it through the day. From there, she grabbed her luggage and found a taxi, telling them which hospital she needed to get to.

Alone in the back seat, she allowed herself a moment of weakness. Once she made it to the hospital, she'd have to put on a brave face for both her mom and Sammy. But here, there was no one to be brave for. She let herself cry, letting out all the panic and fear that had been building up inside her since her mother had called two days again. The driver looked back but said nothing until they made it to her stop. Before he drove off, and gave her a sympathetic look and patted her on the shoulder, reassuring her that whatever she was going through, it would work out in the end. Emelia wasn’t so sure. Still, she appreciated the gesture.

Standing outside the hospital, she wiped away her tears and composed herself, preparing to face whatever was in store for her.

When she walked inside the building, the overpowering scent of hospital (what she assumed to be bleach and sickness) made her queasy. The air was too cold, the florescent lights too bright. It all made the situation that much more real to her.

The lady in front sent her in the direction of the room her brother was in with an indifferent expression as she typed away at her desk. Emelia followed the woman's directions and stood outside of the elevator, coffee in hand as she waited for it to open. She could feel the heat radiating from the cup, and knowing it was there calmed her nerves a bit. A placebo of false energy.

The elevator opened and she stepped inside, pushing button 4. There was only one other person in the elevator, an Asian girl around her age. She was eyeing Emelia's coffee with dark eyes. They stood in silence for a moment, Em lost in thought, until the girl spoke up and broke her out of her respite.

"Can I have some of that?" She asked flatly, no sense of false niceties.

Startled, Emelia laughed, until she realized the girl was serious. "I uh, I don't think you're supposed to share drinks with strangers. Especially in hospitals." She stammered out, clutching her cup even tighter.

The girl rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. "Well, that's a stupid rule. Fine. I'm Kenzie. Now I'm not a stranger. Plus, I'm pretty sure I’m not contagious." Kenzie said flatly, raising an eyebrow and reaching out for Em's cup, making grabby hands. She was really leaving her no option, and Emelia was nothing if not a kind soul, so she passed the drink over uncertainly.

Kenzie took the drink and chugged it, taking half in one go while Em watched helplessly, silently mourning the loss of her caramel macchiato. The stranger- no, Kenzie pulled it away from her and wiped the cream off her face. The elevator beeped and the doors slid open, and Kenzie flashed Em a bright smile, making her look a bit like an angel, not someone who stole coffee in hospital elevators.

"Thanks babe." The girl purred, eyes lit mischievously under straight cut bangs. She strolled out, and as the doors slid shut, Emelia noticed for the first time the hospital band on the girl's thin wrist.

When she entered the little hospital room and saw her family, all the built up nerves left her body. Sam sat in his bed, hair as messy and eyes as bright as always. He was pitting a monster truck against a Barbie doll, and from what she could tell, the doll appeared to be winning. The only sign that things were wrong was the hospital gown and bracelet he wore, and way his skin was slightly more pale and sickly than a healthy nine year old boy should be. That, and the sadness she caught in her mother's eye as she sat to the side. However, it was only there for a moment before they both caught notice of Emelia entrance.

“Emi!” Her brother immediately jumped off the bed and ran into Em’s open arms as she laughed. His head didn't even reach the crook of her neck, and she marveled at how small he was. Still, she could tell he had grown since the last time she'd seen him, many months ago.

Her mother stood, and though her eyes were still sad, Emelia could tell she'd brightened up considerably. “Darling, how was your flight?” She asked as she pulled Em for a hug.
“I've got a bad case of jetlag, if I'm honest, but I'll be alright.”

Her mother nodded a response, and they began catching up. Emelia hadn't realized how much she'd missed her family. She'd talked to them constantly at Beata, but it wasn't the same as seeing them in person. She didn't get to watch Sam grow every day, and didn't get to hug her mother when she was having a bad day. As Sammy told her about his new ‘girlfriend’ and how him and mom found a cat and had decided to keep it and name it Cloud, she tried to pretend they were sitting in their cramped living room on their worn out couch, instead of the too spacious hospital room under florescent lights. She didn't understand why he had to be here. Too her, he seemed perfectly fine.

Then, in the middle of him telling a exaggerated story on Cloud knocking over the milk and drinking it all, Sam began coughing. Vicious, body shaking coughs. Emelia's eyes widened as her mother grabbed him and held him close as he shook. Blood and a bright green substance that Emelia recognized as poison sputtered across the bed sheets, and tears were forced out of his eyes. A minute or two later it subsided, but he looked paler than before, and extremely worn out.

“I think you need rest, darling.” Her mother said as she gently ran her hand down his face, wiping off the dappled blood on his chin. He looked downcast, but nodded nonetheless, too tired and miserable to object.

Once he had fallen asleep, Emelia's mother forced her out of the room. A sick feeling had settled in Em's chest the whole ride home, and neither of them talked the majority of the way.

“That happens a lot.” Em said, more of a statement than a question.
“Yes.”
“How bad is he, really?”
The lights of the city reflected in her mother's glassy green eyes when she looked over. She seemed like she was looking for the words. “He's strong like you, Emi. He's got a strong heart. But his body… it just can't handle it all. I don't know… I don't know how long. They don't know either. We're just waiting it out.”

Emelia's heart sank, but she had figured as much. Tears pricked at her eyes, yet she refused to cry. Her mother needed her to be strong. After all, she'd already lost so much. The rest of the way was filled with silence, and when she made it to her house, she didn't even have time to dwell in the nostalgia of being home before she fell into bed and collapsed from the day's exhaustion.