Chapter Thirty-Seven: Strange Acts
Estelle
As soon as the two cans hit the bottom of the vending machine and created a metal-like sound, Hana immediately grabbed both of the sodas and handed one to me. It's almost ten minutes since we left Conrad's room because he needed to rest more for a faster recovery. At first, he insisted that I should stay by his side because everything seemed unfamiliar to him. He just whispered it to my ear but if Hana heard what he just said, surely, she would grab his ears and tell him that he was talking nonsense.
After all, why would he be unfamiliar with things like dextrose, pills, and other things around him when he's been staying here longer than I am?
"The moment he woke up, he's like that," Hana said before drinking her soda. "A little bit crazy on the head. I mean, he's already crazy as it is but crazier this time."
"But the little girl's music box didn't even hit his head?" I asked in confusion. I was joking, obviously, which Hana immediately understood and let out a small chuckle and a pat on my shoulders.
"It would've been better if it did hit him at least we knew the reason why he's like that."
"Yeah," I shortly replied and took a sip from my soda. Hana started walking towards a bench that was just vacated by three people so I just started walking behind her and when we were there, we sat beside each other. That's when Hana started to talk again about Conrad.
"He was just staring at the ceiling the moment I entered the room. When I asked him about his condition, he just ignored me and scanned the room instead. Isn't that weird?" she said and I nodded, just to signal her that I was still listening.
"But you know what's the weirdest part of it all?"
"What?"
"He called me 'Adela'" Hana's grip on the can crushed it and before I could even ask her why would he call her 'Adela', she stood up and threw her trash in the bin, just almost five steps away from us. But at that time, I felt something weird.
"Adela?" I asked myself as if I had heard of that name before. It just seems so familiar.
Well, personally, I don't even remember encountering someone named Adela but it just really sounds a bell.
"Lost in thoughts?" Hana said as soon as she came back.
"Not really. It's just that, why would he call you Adela?"
"See? Even if you are confused. Maybe he hit his head on the wall or something and we just didn't know," she said almost whispering which made it even funnier for the both of us.
"That is so mean!" I inserted while still laughing.
"And Estelle, you know what's the strangest of the things he has said to me while I was attending to him?"
"What is it?"
"He complained so much about how weak his body was. He said that he never felt so weak like that before. Strange because all his life, he's been weak. Why would he even complain about it on just a random day?" Hana said. She was about to add more to it when suddenly, a nurse who had the same uniform as Hana went straight to us and told her that one of her patients was looking for her so we had no choice but to bid farewell to each other.
As she was already walking away from me, she suddenly stopped and turned around her head, "Oh right! Aren't you gonna be discharged tomorrow?"
"Yes, but I would leave at around afternoon," I said to her. Sophie was so insistent that she wanted to pack with me so I had no choice but to wait for her to arrive here after her classes ended.
"You should take a rest now. I'll be sure to check up on you before I go, so wait for me. Okay?!" she's almost shouting already saying the last lines so I waved my hand and gestured her to go away already. That patient might be already waiting for her.
When she was already nowhere my sight, I couldn't help but think how wonderful it was for me to meet Hana there. I at least have a companion in here. Sometimes I can't also help but think how dedicated Hana is to her work. She's just so observant, sometimes strict but most of the time, she can incorporate some sense of humor into it. She pays a lot of attention to details especially when it comes to Conrad.
"Is he that important to her?" I said to myself which made me gasp, "What am I even thinking?"
What was that? Why should I even care if he's that important to her? Of course, he's her patient so she should make sure that he's been well taken care of. It is part of her job.
I stood up and walked back to my room trying to shake off that thought. That's the weirdest thing I have thought of for a while. It's just like I was thinking of it unconsciously.
"Ah, I really need to rest," I said after affirming to myself that I was just tired and the moment I reached my bed, I slammed my body on it and fell asleep right away.
Here I am again...
My body is walking on its own.
Oh, Sophie? Why is Sophie here?
Her clothing is strange, and so is mine.
She's speaking... Going where?
The scenery changed again.
Scary! A cave with a large hole.
That's Sophie's voice...
Why are we arguing?
Sophie... Sophie, help me.
Huh?
She... She pushed me. I'm falling!
The moment I woke up, I was covered in sweat. My heart was beating so fast as if I had come back from running for miles. Another scene has appeared again in my head. I cannot even identify if those were just dreams or figments of my imagination. It was so vague yet it greatly affected me as if it was once a part of me.
My head was still spinning from the dream that even though I wanted to forget, I could not, when suddenly my cell phone on the table beside my bed, rang. I immediately picked up and the cheerful voice of Sophie welcomed me from the other side.
"Good morning! Are you packing already?" she said from the other line.
"No, I just woke up actually," I answered as I got out my bed and tried to stretch my whole body.
"Good! Don't pack until I have arrived, okay?"
"Yeah, yeah—
"Or maybe, just start packing! But don't pack it all. I want to help you pack!"
"I can do whatever I want—" Again, she didn't let me finish what I was about to say.
"Bye, Professor is here!" With that, she ended the call and left me hanging. For a reason, I was reminded of the dream I had last night. The dream wherein she pushed me off the cliff after I argued with her.
"It's all in my head. It's all in my head..." I repeatedly said to calm my nerves as I headed to this room's bathroom to start preparing for my day ahead.
But even though I don't want to think about it, it would just appear in my mind without my permission. It just bothers me. Yet, even though I should be worrying about it, it feels like the lingering feelings that were left in that dream were a relief.
"Why would I feel relieved?" I stared at my face in the mirror after washing it. "This is so strange."
Something is missing and I feel like I should know it. Yet, what's more important is that I should be at the moment. That's why even though I am still bothered by it, I don't have any more time to spare.
After taking care of myself, eating breakfast, and having some fun time scrolling on my social media for a while, the moment the clock struck three in the afternoon, I started packing my belongings.
While doing so, I heard a knock on my door so I got up immediately thinking that it was Hana but to my surprise, Conrad was standing in front of me.
I looked up to him and this time, it felt like he was standing with authority and power. I am not really used to it because most of the time, he would slouch. At that moment, he seemed like a very different person in front of my eyes. I didn't even realize that he was that tall.
What is up with him? Did Hana tell him about my discharge?
I saw his lips curve upward and later on, even his eyes light up.
"There's a garden here as Lady Adela mentioned when I asked her. Would you like to take a stroll with me?"
I almost raised my eyebrows when he asked me about it. Not only his way of saying is different but he also suddenly just became a gentleman and out of nowhere, offered his right hand to me. As if he was trying to guide me or something.
"Uh..." I looked at the bags I was packing at my back before looking at him again. "Y-Yeah, sure. I guess."
Well, Sophie will help me later on, and even though this man in front of me is acting strange right now, I just couldn't find a reason to drop his offer. Though I could definitely turn down the hand that he strangely offered.
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