She lets out a deep sigh, and looks down at her food with eyes that have lost their appetite. I have to believe in my instincts, I have to trust her.

“Okay, because you’re my best friend, and because of everything we’ve been through together, I’ll think about it. But can you do something for me in return?”

“Of course.”

“Please, don’t go getting yourself into danger situations anymore. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

‘Oh.’ This kind of seems like an almost impossible promise to keep, considering life is always full of danger. But, I guess I could promise to not go towards it anymore.

“Okay, I promise Jill. I will stay away from dangerous situations.”

“Perfect! Now let’s eat before our food gets cold.” She claps her hands together and look back down at her food with a ravenous look on her face.

I felt a warmth in my heart at the conversation that had just taken place. She may not entirely believe everything that I have told her, but she hasn’t shut me down either. I just hope that when it comes for her to see the truth it won’t scare her, but help her to believe in what I have been saying for so long. I just don’t know what I’d do without her, she’s the only friend I have. I can see that she somewhat believes in me, and that causes a lump to grow in my throat and tears begin to fill my eyes. ‘This won’t be like last time. Things have changed, and now I have people who support me. Everything is going to be just fine.’ and for the first time in a long time, I believe that it will be.

“Thanks Jill, for listening. And not shutting me down.”

“That’s what friends are for. I’ll always be here for you, no matter how crazy you are.” She winks, with a little food stuck to the corner of her mouth that same big smile that she had the day she announced us friends appeared on her face. “So, what are your plans for the rest of the day? We could go back to my house and splurge on ice cream and movies.” She says as she wipes her face with a napkin.

“I’m actually going to the hospital with my mom at four.”

The smile disappears from her face.

“You’re going to visit him aren’t you?”

“I want to make sure he’s okay-”

“That’s why they have doctors. You promised you would stay out of dangerous situations.”

“He’s not dangerous Jill, He was just shot. I highly doubt he has much strength to do anything, let alone put me in a dangerous situation. Also, he has answers to what happened ten years ago.”

“How can you know that? You don’t even know his name.”

“I don’t know, I just… know. I promise I won’t be in any danger.”

She looks me over, the wheels turning in her head as she tries to decide if she should believe me or not.

“Alright, fine. Just be careful.” She said as she waves a finger in my direction.

“I will. You could come too. You said you needed proof anyway.”

“Hah, I don’t think I’m quite ready for that. You just go and be careful. And if he tries to do anything at all, you let me know and I’ll be sure to put him in his place.”

***

The rest of lunch went fairly well. Jill went off on multiple tangents; talking about college and where she was planning on going, our plans for graduation night, her future career as a fashion designer. And when the waiter returned she continued to flirt with him, and ended up getting his number before leaving. After which she drove me have home, so I could meet my mom at four and go up to the hospital. She had to run a few errands in town before going to work, so while she was gone I finished up my homework for Monday classes. After mom got home we put groceries away, and got in the car, now heading towards the hospital.

“How was your lunch with Jill?”

“It was good, she was upset that we didn’t have a sleepover last night… And I told her about what happened.”

Mom shoots me a questioning look, but her attention is called back to the road when the car in front of us break lights turn on. I can feel see her trying to decide if that was a dumb decision on my part, or if it was actually good for me to have someone to talk to. We drive in silence for a few moments before she asks, “And? What did she say?”

“Well she certainly had no problem telling me the truth; that being that although she loved me, it is still hard to believe. But, I can understand her uncertainty. I wouldn’t believe myself if I were in her shoes. But she said she’ll think about it and let it all sink in before deciding to completely believe me or call my crazy.”

“Well, that makes sense I guess. She’s a good friend, sweetheart. And she’ll come around and support you like she always has. But also, don’t be disappointed if she doesn’t.”

“I know. And like I said, I don’t blame her for her reaction. But, now I’m curious… when then, did you and dad believe me so easily last night? I honestly thought your reactions would be the same as Jill’s.”

“Sweetheart, your dad and I raised you never to lie; when you got lost that day in the snow,” she chokes back her emotions, as if she’s reliving the entire memory all over again, “and after your dad found you on the porch, in the hospital you told us what you saw; you were only eight years old, and although we taught you never to lie we knew that you would be a little out of it because of the cold. So, when you told us that you saw a young boy turn into a wolf after carrying you out of the forest, we chucked it out to be your mind playing tricks on you. But, last night… I saw the fear in your eyes, the fear of telling us the truth, but you did it anyway. You should us bravery and trust when you told us what had happened. And more importantly we saw no signs of lies as you told your story. You did the right thing in telling us, sweetheart. We love you and we are going to get through this, together.”

She reaches over and squeezes my hand; I fight back the tears burning my eyes. They never actually thought I was crazy. They just thought it was my eight year old mind playing tricks, because of the cold.

“Thanks mom, you have no idea what it means to me to know that you and dad believe me, and never thought I was crazy.”

She gives me a tender smile, one that only mothers can give. And I can start to see the silver lining in her eyes, as she blinks away her tears. She pulls the car into the parking lot of the hospital, and I start to feel the nerves churn in my stomach. Everything looks so big, and mysterious, and… changed. Almost as if she can read my mind, mom asks,

“Are you sure you want to do this? It doesn’t have to happen right now, you can wait till you’re ready.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever fully be ready. But I also don’t think I can wait any longer,” I stare at the massive building in front of me, the building that holds all the answers I’m looking for. That alone makes my stomach tighten with anticipation. “I need answers, and somehow, I know that he has them.”

“How can you be so sure? I don’t want to sound melodramatic, but I also don’t want you to be disappointed.”

“I can’t explain it, I just… know. Call it a gut feeling.”

Gut feeling, the only way I can think of describing this knowledge of people that I have when I see them. Something that I don’t know how to explain, or even describe to my parents. At first I thought it was normal, something that everyone could do; but when I was ten years old there was an incident where the city mayor was caught laundering money from the community. Everyone seemed so surprised when the truth came out. I even heard my parents say that they never would’ve suspected the mayor doing such a thing. That was the day I realized I was the only one who knew the type of person the mayor actually was, even at ten years of age. Seeing him on posters in town, and on T.V. I always got that gut feeling that he was a bad man. Somehow I knew that he was taking people’s money… and just as I had that gut feeling then, right now, sitting outside of this hospital I get that same feeling that this man has all the answers that I’m looking for.

“Alright sweetheart, I trust you.”

She parks the car in an employee parking space, and grabs her purse after pulling the keys out of the ignition and then tosses them into the front pocket. We both get out and walk into the front entrance of the hospital.

“Do you need me to come with you?”

“No, I’ll be okay. Plus, I need to do this on my own, thanks though.”

 She looks me over, double checking as any parent would that is concerned for their child. Finally, after deeming me safe enough to go alone she hugs me.

“Alright sweetheart. But let me know if you need me to come and get you.”

“I will, thanks mom.”

She kisses me on the cheek, and with that we part ways. I ask the nurse at the front desk which way I need to go and she gives me the directions to my destination. Walking through the vast hallways I’m reminded at just how big the hospital actually is. There are three different levels, each with its own purpose. If you were to walk to the very center of the hospital you’d find a pathway that leads to either the North or the South Wing of the hospital. The ICU is located in the North Wing on the second floor, where the young man is being roomed, and my final destination.

Luckily having a mother who works here provides me the knowledge of where everything is located, so I don’t get too lost in the maze of hallways, one almost identical as the next. As I walk down the hall towards the elevator I stare out the massive window that runs all the way down the wall making way for as much sunlight to fill the giant tunnel. I reach the elevator and press the up button and patiently wait for the doors to open. The number above the door slowly counts down until it reaches one, dinging as the metal doors slide open. The inside is huge, big enough for at least two gurneys to fit next to each other. I step in and press the button to the second floor. The doors close and the box gently begins to move upwards, fast enough that I can feel the upward sensation in my stomach. There is a soft, calming tune playing over the speaker pushing back the silence of only having one person inside. The number at the top of the door shifts from one to two and again dings as the doors slide open. I step off and turn left towards the ICU, letting my memory lead the way. And if my memory serves me well, it’s just two more hallways down.

I make a right turn down the next hallway and then as I turn left down the second hallway I see the main desk to the ICU, with multiple doors facing it. ‘The nurse at the front desk said that he was in room 231’. I near the desk and notice a handful of nurses running into a room… not just any room, above the door reads the number 231 and my heart stops. I can feel my feet pick up their pace as I near the door, my hands now shaking. When I reach the door and peer inside and I am completely shocked with what I find. Inside on the bed is the young man, with six male nurses trying to hold him down as he fights against their them, but the six of them don’t seem to be having much of an affect. He is still managing to lift his torso off the bed, and nearly throwing one of the men onto the floor. A small petite nurse tries to reach for his I.V. with a needle in her hand to sedate him, but he manages to get an arm free and throw her against the wall before she can even reach the tube. There is a fury in his dark black eyes that sends chills down my spine as I stand at the entrance of the room wide eyed, watching the struggle go down in front of me. It seems the angrier he gets, the more strength he gains because the male nurses are now struggling to hold him down as one of them lets go to help the petite nurse back to her feet. Next to the bed, on a table, is a pitcher full of water, and in his attempt to free his arm to hit one of the male nurses his fist slams into the glass pitcher, sending it flying through the air, shattering right next to me on the door frame. I let out a blood curdling scream as I shield my face from the glass. I can feel bits of it burying into my arms and face, along with water soaking the entire front of my body. Everything goes quiet and I look back over towards everyone, my arms still up as if defending me from the rest of the glass. Water mixed with blood runs down my nose, dripping onto the floor. And as I look back over towards the bed my gaze meet those black eyes, that have now lost any trace of anger and have been replaced with a dazed look, almost as if he were caught in a some kind of a trance. The petite nurse takes another chance, grabbing the tube, sticking the needle inside, and injecting the calming liquid into his blood stream. The men continue to hold him down as his eyes glaze over from the sedative, a precaution that he might get violent again, but he doesn’t break eye contact with me at all. It’s as if everything around him has completely faded away and now I am the only thing that his world evolves around. My face and arms sting from the small bits of glass that have dug into my skin, but it all seems to fade away as I am lost in the mesmerizing black abyss; there is a sadness in those eyes as the sedative begins to pull him into a deep sleep. When they close all I can do is stand there, completely speechless; shocked by what just occurred. Behind me I hear someone shouting.

“What in the world is going on here?” Doctor Halifax demands, walking up behind me. I slowly turn around and he stops mid-step, his face turning as white as his some of his hair. “Natty, what happened to you? Are you alright? Why on earth are you bleeding?” He gently lefts his hands to examine the glass shards in my face and arms, then he notices all the nurses in the room behind me, still holding down the young man who was now passed out from the sedative the petite nurse gave him. He looks down at the glass scattered all of the floor wet from the remaining water, then back up at me. He turns to a young female nurse in the hall, “Get her to a room and clean her up. Natty I’ll be with you in just a minute.” He tenderly places a hand on my back and gestures me towards the nurse, she smiles and takes my hand, carefully aware of the glass shards sticking out. I can’t find any words as she leads me away. Doctor Halifax steps into the room. The male nurses release the young man as he goes to examine his healing bullet wound. He then turns to one of the nurses and demands an explanation. That’s all I see until the nurse takes me to a room around the corner.