Hurting you to save me

The nights seemed to go by fast, and before Milo knew it, the new year had come and gone; school would be starting back up soon, and he knew that new classes meant he might not see Nora as much; as he looked at her asleep he decided to let her be as he closed the door to walk the halls, how had so much happened in these last couple of months it seemed like his life had started to change but he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. He liked being around her; something about her made his heart smile, but that wouldn’t last. It never lasted. He knew that he was a lot, and so was his diabetes. He didn’t want anyone to have to go through the ups and downs with him, knowing that he could fall at any moment or, worse, end up in a coma. It only happened once when he was younger, but it was something that he had never forgotten.

Without paying attention, Milo bumps into a small child, a young girl who has to be no more than five or six. Her bright red hair was short, and her face was filled with freckles; she was on oxygen, but she still had a bright smile. He bent down to apologize to her, but she waved him off,

“It's okay, mister. It seemed you were in thought, so I don’t mind.” Milo smiled a sad smile but nodded to her statement. She grabbed his hand and looked at him with so much life; even though the nurse looked miserable for the child, the little girl didn’t look unhappy.

“Mister, live for yourself and who you love, nobody else, because tomorrow that person might not be around, or you might leave this earth. If that happened and you didn’t get to live, then who or how would you be remembered?” her words hit Milo like a knife. He had never thought of that; who would remember him, besides his parents, when he left this earth? Would Nora remember him, or would she forget him? He felt a soft hand wipe something from his face; the child looked at him confused but still showed compassion for a stranger she didn’t know. She then wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him so tight he thought he would crumple from the weight of her hug.

“It is okay to cry, mister. Just remember that even if you are crying tears of sorrow or tears of happiness, those tears show and prove that you still feel even when you wish not to feel; never stop feeling, for even if you one day don’t wake up from a dream, your heart will still feel heavy for the ones that you left behind” The girl let him go as she and her nurse walk by, the nurse stopped to look at Milo tears running down her face, “ She will dye soon from a rare disease that has no cure yet she still finds hope in every little thing and body “ she stated grabbing onto the girl's hand as they walk away. At that very moment, the wind from Milo's lungs was no longer there; it was as if he had been sucker punched, and he couldn’t find the air to breathe in anymore. He fell to the ground, crying and hugging himself. This world was awful; children were dying, parents were abusing their kids, and death took whoever it could.

Milo didn’t know if he could withstand any more of this pain, this sorrow in this life; he had never encountered actual pain like this before. Yes, he knew he was living on borrowed time, but weren’t we all? Didn’t we all borrow time every day, and when time wanted it back, he took it? So, our time in this world wasn’t our time at all. It was time we borrowed from death, and when death wanted it back, he took it just like that. Milo had never thought about life like that till now, and it hurt and made him sick, but he had to pull it together. He knew others were watching him. He heard a nurse ask if he was okay, and though he wanted to answer, he couldn’t. he then took a deep breath in and out until he was no longer shaking; he slowly stood up, looking at the nurse. “I'm fine, thank you, ma’am,” he said as he walked back towards Nora’s room; he needed to tell her something important before it was too late because the little girl was right that tomorrow wasn’t promised; as he reached her room, he opened the door, and she turned around to look at him, but her look wasn’t that of happiness or sadness it was something he couldn’t pinpoint at all. He closed the door behind him and went to approach her, but she put her hands up to tell him to stay where he was.

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“Nora, I need to tell you something,” he signed. He then saw a sad smile on her face.

“ Milo, I need to tell you something too; I need you to leave me alone, go home, Milo, and never come back. I don’t need you, and I don’t want you.” She signed, looking at him with an unreadable face; he stepped back some now as her words hit him hard like a brick wall. He looks at her now, putting up his hands to sign, “ Did I do something, Nora? If I did, I am truly sorry. I wouldn’t do anything that would ever want to make you feel uncomfortable or upset with me, so please tell me what I did?” She sits on the bed, messing with her hands and signs, “I just need space, that is all. Can you give me that, please?” her request seemed mild. Milo grabbed his coat off the chair, smiled, bowed his head, and walked out the door. Once she saw the door close, she put her head into a pillow and screamed, but no sound came out. She was breaking apart and didn’t want anyone to put her back together, not even Milo.

He gets home shortly after seven and puts his coat up as his mom greets him with a hug. “ How did it go, and why are you home? I thought you would stay with her till she was released. He shrugged his shoulders, then went and sat down on the couch, “She told me she needed space, so that is what I am giving her,” he signed as his mother went to sit on the opposite side of him; she looked puzzled and confused, almost like she wasn’t expecting this outcome of all things. Milo smiles a sad but reassuring smile to let her know he was good. But she wasn’t convinced. “Milo, how does that affect you? You care for this girl, yet she pushes you away, saying she needs space for you. That is something she doesn’t need at a time like this.” She signs to him. He gets up, kisses his mother on the top of her head, and heads to his room.

Once there, Milo takes out a laptop and emails someone important.

Good evening, sanders.

Did you want a new project despite having a load on your plate? If you want to take on this project, here is the client.

He then attaches a picture of Nora’s broken hearing aid to the email, with the words Talk soon. After that, Milo closes his laptop and lies on his bed, knowing that school will start tomorrow. He wonders if he should take a semester off and focus on work. He wondered if he would ever see her again or if she would vanish like the others and never be heard from again. He was unsure of the outcome, but knew he didn’t want to think about it. So he closes his eyes and drifts off to sleep, Hoping that tomorrow will be better.

Authors note.

This is edited to the best of my abilities. Please don't leave negative comments; if you don't like my story, move along. If you have advice, you are always welcome to advise.