2001
Karakura Town (空座町)
The wailing of sirens sprinting down the highway in broad daylight, swarming through the clustered traffic.
Honk!
The constant honking and swirl in the back were very disturbing, causing the boy to be disorientated. He was lying on the gurney, gripping hard on the rail, about to spew. The paramedic gave him an emesis bag as a precaution. The boy felt woozy, leaning too far on one side of the gurney.
“Oh, no, no!” A young girl’s voice said, holding his shoulders and bracing him back flat on the bed. A little support jolted him awake, staring back at the girl around his age. Her short and dark hair spiked at the sides, giving her a tomboy appearance.
The boy’s vision went blurry, only recognizing others by the color and shadowy tints. There were three in the ambulance by his side excluding the paramedic. Under the foggy eyes, he saw the orange colored by the door. Next was the spikey-haired haired who was right next to the gurney. To her right, he could see the black arch as in long black hair followed by the sound of stuttering sobs.
For such traffic, the ambulance was able to arrive swiftly, and the door immediately opened with the medical staff leaping up to the bottom of the gurney and carefully thrust it out of the back. The paramedic levied so the boy wouldn’t bump his head.
He started to faze midway through repeatedly, bits of his vision go black every five seconds. His hearing was still clear and sharp, hearing all the machine beeps and the rapid footwork after entering through the emergency room’s entrance door.
The stars are swimming all over the foggy space. The boy’s mind rambling symptomatic experiences that would be nonsense from the outsider’s perspective.
“Doctor!” the nurses called.
“Send him to the operating room,” the cold man’s voice replied.
The abrupt turn to the left, leaning his head to the right almost got him out of commission. Make this go away! His mind rambled once more, desiring to break free from the pain that originated in his entire right upper torso and both legs. He’s about to lose it, feeling a sudden weakness that flows down to his entire body.
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Beep!
“Doctor, blood pressure is dropping, risking a code blue!”
“Put him in anesthesia now!”
Ah, this is it. The boy thought and had a quick blackout.
0.2
The boy blinked after what felt like a long deep sleep. It felt harmonious but a quick jolt awakened once the anesthesia’s effects started to wear off. He attempted to lift and felt the tightness around his entire right shoulder down to his wrist. Articulating was difficult as he couldn’t get the grip that he switched with his left, rubbing his stubborn eyes.
“You’re such an interesting boy, you know that!”
He heard the girl’s concerned voice and turned to her. Forcing his eyes open, he saw her with his mother and the orange-haired tall teenager. “I don’t think so,” the boy groaned, attempting to lift himself up.
“No, you are. Losing half of your blood and still alive unfazed is the typical you.”
Ok, that’s harsh. The boy leaned against the stack of pillows the bed provided. “I wish the reunion would be a lot more fortunate than what happened today.”
He turned to his mother, asking for the estimated time of discharge.
“Darn, three days. I’ll be off flying back to America,” the boy muttered, feeling internal regret about going out to the store district today. “Damn it all.”
The girl walked to his bedside. “It’s okay, cherish the couple days you visited Karakura town. The whole dojo and we enjoyed having you around again, but please come back sooner than later.”
“Can’t promise, but I hope so,” the boy answered, struggling to grin.
“Ahh, look at the time. Well, this is an unfortunate goodbye.” The girl slapped the boy’s hand as a farewell gesture. She went to her seat, grabbing her bag. The orange-haired teenager stood from his seat. For someone to be closely acquainted with like the spikey-haired girl, he doesn’t show much verbal expression. However, he was understanding and compassionate despite the persistent scowl face.
The boy’s mother focused on the two as they left, waiting until the door closed. That was when she stood from her seat. She came right up to the boy, showing her fiery eyes as if she wanted to find out who attacked her son. Unfortunately, he can’t grasp the true image of what happened other than seeing the shadow of a spider-like creature about the size of a city block. After a glance, it was already gone from view as he couldn’t move his body due to the shock and only stared at his horrified mother and people sprinting for dear life in his peripherals.
“I don’t want to be in here,” the boy begged, casting out his internal struggle of being in the hospital.
She placed her hands on him for his comfort. “Hon, you need to rest. And don’t worry too much about today and get rest. We will be leaving once you are discharged.”
Her soothing motherly voice eased him a little, and she assisted him in laying back down on the bed. One kiss on the cheek, and she left the hospital room to do errands, leaving the boy alone in his room. He grew drowsy after a couple of minutes staring in space at the ceiling, eventually his eyelids slowly descended and drifted him off amongst the comfy pillows.