Chapter 3: How sick am I?

Dinya could tell something was wrong as soon as he woke up, he did not know where he was, or how he had gotten there, but he definitely was not in his shelter anymore. It was too warm, too soft, it was more comfortable than anywhere he had been in years, had he not been so nervous he would have been able to relax. His head felt heavy and he could hear something beeping nearby, but as he tried to open his eyes to look around the bright overhead lights caused him to whimper and squeeze his eyes shut again. Deciding he could not rely on sight to help him this time he focused on his other senses instead.

The sheets were soft but stiff and the mattress was not the most comfortable, but was still far softer than the cardboard and stuff he had gotten used to sleeping on over the years. The room smelled clean, too clean to be a room in a home or shelter, it smelled like antibacterial cleaners and rubbing alcohol, it reminded him of how the nurse’s office at the school he had attended before he was abandoned had smelled. Beyond the rhythmic beeping that was making his ear ring he could hear a pair of voices talking softly, at first he thought perhaps it was his parent’s, maybe he had gotten sick in the rain and the last ten years had been a dream. No, that couldn’t be, the voices were too soft, too pleasant to be his parent’s voices, his parents had been fighting more often in the months leading up to the day they had left him alone in the park.

As he started to try and move a little to see if he could feel just how big the bed he was in was he hears the voices stop, and the soft footsteps coming towards him from across the room, followed by a gentle, feminine voice and hand lightly pressing against his forehead.

“Hey there sweetie, it’s ok, you’re safe now. You’re in the hospital; can you open your eyes for me?” Opening his eyes slightly he whimpers, quickly closing them once again against the bright glare of the florescent overhead lights. The hand pulled away from his forehead just then and he heard footsteps somewhere across the room before the woman spoke again.

“Try again sweetie, we’ve dimmed the lights now, it shouldn’t bother you as much this time.” After a moment’s hesitation Dinya did as he was told and slowly tried to open them again, this time the light didn’t sting his eyes, though his vision was blurry, almost as though he were looking through fogged glass or had been crying recently. He could hardly see, but as he tried to look around he could make out the shapes of the woman beside him, the other person in the room, the second voice he had heard before, seemed to be a man, though he couldn’t tell for sure. The room seemed to be small, a bit crowded with what he thought was a chair and the source of the constant, steady beeping that.

“There we go sweetie, that’s good. You have been asleep for close to three days now, we were getting pretty worried about you. Can you tell me your name, or how old you are?” He had learned not to trust people he did not know, but this was different, this time he had to trust them, if he was in a hospital, and he guessed he really was, they could help him get over the cold he had. Opening his mouth to speak Dinya was scared when all that came out was a hoarse crack instead of his name; his throat was scratchy and sore, and the inability to talk, or to yell for help if he needed to, scared the hell out of him. It was then that he felt the gently hand return, this time to take his hand instead, holding it gently as the woman spoke to him again.

“Shhh, it’s ok sweetie, it’s probably from the coughing. You are very sick right now, but the medicine should help, the coughing has already started to become less frequent. I need to ask you some questions ok? Let me get you something to write with so you don’t irritate your throat anymore for now.” Nodding his head Dinya let go of the woman’s hand, listening as she walked slowly across the room, the sound of heavier footsteps coming towards him at the same time, followed by the rustle of clothes as someone sat in the chair beside the bed, and a larger hand touching his face lightly. Tensing up slightly Dinya whimpered, a wave of nervous fear rising inside him at the touch of the person he assumed was the man he had heard talking to the Nurse before. The voice he heard next was clearer than it had been when he had heard it earlier, but it was somehow familiar to him. He could not place where he had heard it though, and that worried him a bit; it was the man’s words that told him why it was familiar though.

“You’re a lucky kid, if I hadn’t found you when I did you might not be with us now.” The man’s hand was gentle against his face, despite its size, and it made Dinya feel safe as he closed his eyes, turning his head slightly to nuzzle into it. Jerking his head away and opening his eyes again Dinya bites his lip as the nurse comes back over with the pen and notepad.

“Here you go sweetie, you feeling alright? I just have a few questions for you, then you can rest some more.” Nodding slightly as the nurse sets the pad down and puts the pen in his hand he looks at her, his vision becoming clearer. Whimpering softly Dinya took the pen and paper the nurse offered him, scribbling a small note on it. While his handwriting was a bit shaky, but not illegible.

‘Thank you’

Smiling, the nurse brushed back Dinya’s hair as she spoke. “You’re welcome sweetie, what’s your name?”

‘Dinya’

“That’s a very cute name. Now, Dinya, you were found on the streets. We need to know where you live, is there anyone who we can call for you?”

‘No…abandoned…all alone…no family…no home…’

Glancing at each other the nurse and the man both frowned, their eyes seeming to communicate silently while the nurse petted Dinya’s hair gently before speaking again.

“How old are you sweetie, how long have you been on your own?”

’18….been alone almost 10 years….since I was 8 when parents left me…’

Sighing softly the nurse stepped back, motioning the man to follow her as she walked across the room. Dinya could still hear them when they spoke, despite their attempts to keep their voices soft, and what he head both made him nervous, and relieved him slightly.

“What are you going to do Ethan? He’s 18 and a black cat Neko…As soon as he no longer needs to be watch 24/7 the hospital is going to want him out of here so they can have the room for other patients.”

“I Know Rose, I know….” A moment of silence later the man, Ethan, nodded slightly and spoke again. “I’ll take him back to my place, I’ve already got just about everything he’ll need at the clinic, he should be comfortable there.”

“But Ethan…you have to work, can you handle it? And you’ve only got one bedroom…one bed, where will he sleep?”

“The bed is a king Rose, there’s plenty of room for the both of us, more than enough. Besides I can always sleep on the couch, it would not be the first time I have slept there instead of my bed, and it is not that uncomfortable either.” Reaching over Ethan brushed the nurse’s bangs aside and smiles at her reassuringly.

“Well…Alright, as long as you’re sure, you know you can ask me to help if you need it to…and I’m sure Brian will be willing to help however he can to lighten the load for you too…”

“I am, and I know you two will help if I need it. I found him though, so since he has nowhere else to go I will take care of him. Besides, I always have had a habit of picking up strays you know.” Grinning Ethan tries to lighten the mood a bit and follows Rose back over by the bed. Laughing softly and shaking her head Rose smiles at Dinya and starts checking the machines and his I.V.s. The silence made Dinya slightly uncomfortable, despite being fairly used to it after the years of living mostly alone in the library and on the streets. He wanted to know what was wrong with him, and it seemed the only way for him to find out was to ask.

‘What’s wrong with me? Am I going to die?’

Frowning again, Rose glanced at Ethan before answering him. “You’re going to be alright sweetie, you’re not going to die, but you are pretty sick. You are highly malnourished for starters, you have not had enough nutrition to keep you healthy, especially in the weather we have been having lately. You also have a mild case of pneumonia, and were on the verge of frostbite as well.”

Taking in the information Dinya blinked and tilted his head back to stare at the pristine, snow-white ceiling above his bed. He wanted to ask about his stuffed toy, he knew it was not in the bed with him, but did not want to hear about it if it had been left behind on the streets, or thrown away. Tears began to gather in his eyes, though he was not sure quite why, whether it was the thought of his poor toy, or the lights that were slowly starting to become a bit brighter.

Walking over to the chair Ethan pulled something out of the pocket of a coat that was hung over the back of it, holding it up where Dinya could see it if he looked. “Hey, Dinya, I think you might want this right?”

Turning his head slightly Dinya’s eyes lit up at the sight of his toy, at first wondering if it really was his, until he saw the braided cloth collar he had made for it. His attempt at a smile made Ethan chuckle as he set it down beside the boy’s hand. “It was pretty worn and dirty, so I put went ahead and washed it so you could have it back. The way you were holding it I thought it must be pretty important to you.”

Picking it up Dinya pulled the toy closer to himself, it smelled clean, and was soft again, like the day he had swiped it when he was young. Closing his eyes Dinya let the tears flow from them, the feel of Ethan’s large but gentle hand soothing him as silence fell in the room again. This time it was a calming silence however, and it did not take long for Dinya to drift off to sleep, warm and comfortable between the starched sheets of the hospital bed.