“Is… my brother still alive?” An overwhelming sense of despair hung in the air for the briefest of moments, only to be seemingly dispelled by the doctor’s blasé nod. “He’s still unconscious right now; there was a bleed in his brain. We repaired it, but there were slight complications during surgery, which we-” Lana’s vision began to blur and her head started to pound. Lana staggered backwards, placing a trembling hand on her own forehead.
“Miss? Are you-”
Everything went dark.
In the next few days Lana spent in the hospital, her food left untouched and she spoke to no one. The totality of her time was spent sleeping and lying in her bed. The nurses, of course, encouraged her to become active and social again, only to be rebuffed at every time. “Lana.” Her doctor walked in and Lana looked at him. “Your brother is awake.” Lana started towards the door, but a sharp pain in her side forced her to sit down again. “Please take it slowly, you won't be able to heal properly if you keep moving like that.” The doctor supported Lana as she gingerly stood erect, hobbling against him to her brother’s room. On the other side of the door, Axel was in the middle of getting his bandage replaced. Overcome with a sudden wave of emotion, Lana rushed to his side and wrapped herself around him, tears streaming down her face.
Axel’s body reflexively stiffened, but upon seeing his sister’s visceral reaction, he relaxed and comforted her in his arms.
“We only have each other now…” Lana, still in Axel’s arms, wept uncontrollably to the point of exhaustion, eventually falling asleep.
Axel watched over his sister and glancedat the doctor.
“How was she when I was unconscious?” he asked. The doctor sighed.
“She has not eaten anything and has been crying often.”
Axel placed his hand on his head, as if desperately trying to remember a vague memory. “Where are our parents?”
The doctor explained the situation and left him to deal with his grief.. Axel couldn’t find the words. Tears streamed from his eyes, quite like his sister’s, and an awful realisation dawned on him. How was he supposed to look after Lana? He only worked at an office job with a mediocre salary, which could pay for nothing. Axel felt like his mind was going to explode from frustration; he didn’t know what to do. He had never even considered the possibility that he would be alone with Lana. However, one thing is certain. Lana is the only family he has left, and he will do everything to ensure that they stay safe.
Weeks have passed by and the siblings recovered, at least physically, from the accident. A sombre funeral was held for the parents and now only Axel and Lana remained in their now bereaved home.
“Lana.”
Axel knocked on Lana’s door, holding a plate of food. After the funeral, Lana had not left her room and still refused to eat anything. He sighed and quietly left; he wanted to resume working as soon as he recuperated in order to afford to care for what was left of the household, but he postponed his return out of worry for Lana. Thankfully, his boss was understanding and allowed him, but he only managed to push it back a few days. As Axel turned his back, he heard the door creak and he looked back to see Lana in a dishevelled state. Her hair was messy and tangled and she had not changed her clothes since the day of the funeral. She had lost a significant amount of weight, to the point where you could almost see her bones.
“...I’m hungry.”
Lana mumbled, she was shaking and it was easy to tell that she was holding back her tears. Axel didn’t know how to handle this situation and sighed. “Go shower first, then you can eat.” Lana nodded and headed to the bathroom. Axel sat down and hid his face. His heart broke when he saw Lana but he didn’t know how to react or comfort her.
‘I need to make more money for the both of us.’
He sighed and scratched his head in frustration.
‘Maybe I should start working overtime…’
Axel then got up to set the table for Lana and by the time he finished, Lana had finished showering and went out. They both sat down.
“You’re going to go back to school on Monday.”
Lana looked at her brother after finishing her bowl of food and looked away. “I don’t want to.” Axel sighed. “I know you don’t but take any more days off like this and you’ll be behind on your learning. Besides, I won’t be able to look after you.” Lana couldn’t refute his argument and stayed quiet. “Fine…” she mumbled. They both sat there in silence. Back then, when their parents were still alive the table would be filled with their father’s delicious meals and they all chatted about their parents’ romance and the siblings’ bickering.
“I miss them.” Lana said.
Axel could only sigh. “They’re gone now, we can’t do much about it.”
Hearing those words, she felt her blood boiling. “Why would you say that?!” She raised her voice and shot up. “You act like that this doesn’t affect you at all, our parents fucking died!”
Axel was taken back by Lana’s outburst but quickly frowned. “Don’t you dare say that, I’m the one that has to look after you because there’s no one else left! You’re not the only one suffering.” He stood up and left the table in anger, leaving Lana crying.
Axel walked into his room and slammed the door behind him. He yelled in anger and threw himself down on his bed to calm down. He was upset about how he reacted toward Lana and that he left but he couldn’t come out now after that. A relentless tapping knocked against a nearby window, seemingly taunting the already seething Axel. It swelled in volume, forcing him to acknowledge it. “What the hell…” He got up and he saw what appeared to be a raven, tapping its beak against the window. Annoyed, he thrust open the window and shooed the bird away.
“Fucking bird.” he mumbled.
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