EARLY MORNING (MONDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2021)
NYU LANGONE HOSPITAL, MURRAY HILL, MANHATTAN, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
Ella sat straight up but the searing pain in her chest made her catch her breath and she started coughing, which just made it hurt more. She began swearing.
“Dhee, lie down.” Her mother’s voice. “And watch your language.”
Her mother was sitting in the chair next to the hospital bed. She always had the same serene look on her face, but the fact that she was wearing the shawl that Ella had knit her was a tell that her mother was anxious.
“Now you need to sit still and not move. The nurses will be here soon and that nice doctor, he spent a long time stitching you up in the emergency department before you came here.” And here it comes, thought Ella, “…and he is very handsome. Gujarati boy.”
“Be, I was just stabbed. And you are trying to set me up with the doctor.” Could it be anymore stereotypical?
Her mom adjusted that eye-sering horribly-knit orange-pink shawl hanging over her shoulders. The one Ella had knit for her when she had been a child. The one her mother always wore when she was worried.
“Now, now. You are fine now. Your father will be here soon. He went home to get some things for you and was taking the subway since traffic was so horrible.”
Her mother was still dressed for work under the stole. She must have come directly from her hospital to this one.
“Where is this?”
“NYU hospital, dhee,I spoke to the attending here while you were resting and they said the wound was…”
The door opened and Eesha watched her father walk in. His tousled brown hair was matted, and his clothes rumpled. His eyes, which often changed by his emotion, were hollow, betraying his exhaustion.
“How are you doing my little chickadee?” Her fathers cheerful demeanor was countered by his obviously worried expression. “I am chuffed to see you are up.” He leaned over the hospital bed to hug her and stopped when she winced a bit.
“I’m fine papa. Just my side hurts some. And it seems kind of bright in here, can we dim the lights?”
Her parents settled in for a while and then the nurse came in to check on her. Eesha tuned out her mom’s long diatribe about staying safe as the pain meds kicked in. But once it became quiet, Eesha ventured a small query.
“What happened? I was out with friends and everything was going fine and then some psycho came up and stabbed me. That’s all I remember.”
Her mother told her what they had heard from Charlotte in the aftermath. Eesha had fallen down and both Jade and Charlie had screamed. Charlie had apparently taken the beer bottle she had been holding and bashed the assailant on the head. Jade’s brother, Craig, who had moved to indoor duty had come over to grab the guy, but whoever it had been had managed to get away.
“I would run if Craig came after me,” Ella said feelingly.
The ambulance had come and picked up Eesha and her friends had stayed the morning. While Eesha was getting patched up, they were answering police questions and had left to get some sleep around noon. The police hadn’t found her attacker, and remembering the glowing dagger, Eesha didn’t think they would.
Her mom gave her a dry, clinically-exact description of how she had been stabbed through the liver and diaphragm, the assailant angling up, but her lungs and heart were okay; unwilling to let emotion color the report.
“The doctor said the damage was luckily minimal - so they won’t be keeping you much longer and we cleaned up your room so you can rest.”
Ella knew she wasn’t getting out of staying at home for some period of time, and it felt pretty futile to indicate she didn’t feel all that bad. Surprisingly good, actually. While the police were still looking for her attacker, Eesha remembered the glowing dagger and thought that whoever or whatever it had been, they wouldn’t be found.
There was a gentle knock at the door and it opened to reveal Jae-Young. He had some flowers in hand and looked hesitant to come in.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to interrupt. I brought you these.” He stood there for a bit while Eesha’s mom looked back and forth and with a smirk motioned Eesha’s father out.
Jae-Young looked pretty awkward standing there. He tentatively spoke, “I suppose a hospital visit and flowers might be a bit premature after one date?”
Ella laughed a bit but stopped since it hurt. “It’s alright. It was kind of an intense date.” She lowered her voice, “and besides, this was related to well… you know.”
He moved closer and almost dropped the flowers in his hands.
Her voice lowered even further as she described the glowing dagger, and even worse, how the attacker had been moving slowly right in front of her. She remembered that feeling with a shudder, she had watched him draw that dagger, had seen it begun to glow, and even as he had stabbed her… but something had prevented her from reacting, some sort of strange lassitude. She couldn’t remember what the attacker looked like either.
Jae-Young said, “when I was younger I maybe saw one or two things like me. But, lately, I am seeing more and more things. I find myself hiding and avoiding many things that feel off. I thought it was like a hidden world where I am a member but I didn’t know the rules or the game.” He gestured to her, “But this? This is no game”
Ella couldn’t even help herself, “Shit got real yo!” And started her painful laughing a bit. Okay, maybe she was a bit punchy on meds. Jae-Young gave her the most appalled look.
“What did you tell your parents?”
“What could I tell them? I sure as hell wasn’t going to tell them the truth. Hey Pops, I was at the club partying when a guy came up, pulled out a glowing knife and stabbed me. Oh, and it was all in slow motion and even as I watched him, I did nothing? Yeah, that is a quick trip to the loony bin. Oh, and by the way, the new guy I am seeing is an elf. I was also stabbed two months ago and that changed my eyes into crystal flashlights, and I think I am going crazy! And my eyes are so fucking dry from wearing contacts all the time.”
Her hysterical rant ended on a high pitch as she ran out with her breath, her eyes a bit glossy with unshed tears.
Jae-Young sat down next to her on the bed and Ella threw her arms around him to sob. After she calmed down a bit, sat back and looked up to him, “I am being ridiculous.”
“Hardly. You have been stabbed twice now, you are in the hospital, and…” pointing at the empty small bag hanging from the IV pole, “I am pretty sure you are high as a kite on that Dilaudid drip there.”
She smiled at his kindness. “Well, I am supposed to get out of here tomorrow. So at least this isn’t too serious.” She paused a moment to ask, “So did you come here to ask how I am doing and bring flowers? Or to find out if I told my parents? Don’t worry your secret is safe.”
He looked down with obvious guilt. “I guess both? But if I am being honest, it’s probably my secret.”
“No, don’t feel bad. I figured. We only went on one date. And well, what happened that night was more about me than us. Ummm… does that make sense?”
“Yeah. I guess so. So where does that leave us?” Jae-Young actually had a forlorn look on his face, as if he was lost.
She gently smiled, “Another date? But don’t expect to get lucky again so quickly.”
Watching him blush a bit was worth it. “No. I never expected that!”
“Well maybe, if you play your cards right.”
He turned even more red. Making her laugh. “Oww. oww. I should stop making jokes. It hurts.”
They talked about inconsequentials for a while longer, and even set up another date, if uncertain when. There was another knock at the door and Ella’s brother peeked his head in.
“Yo.”
Jae-Young looked at her, his hands holding her left one. “I had better go. I hope you recover soon.”
She let him leave as her brother let him by and came into the room. His backpack hanging loosely from his hands. His headphones were still blasting music that she could hear clearly1, resting around his neck.
“Yo.” he said again, perhaps unnecessarily, and then continued, “I heard you got cut up. Shit, sis. That is f’ed up, no cap.”
“Turn that thing off. You won’t be able to hear shit in five years.” Ella didn’t really want to be scolding him right away, if only he didn’t lend himself so well to it. “Yeah, some crazy stabbed me. But I’m gucci.”
“Ah shit, don’t talk like me. You can’t pull it off.”
“Well, it is great you here stanning for me…” she paused for a moment, “well shit, that is all I got for kids slang. I am too tired to figure out how to work yeet into this or on fleek or whatever.”
“Shiiit. Nobody says that anymore. You are big extra doing it anyway.”
“Whatever. I have no idea what you are talking about anyway most of the time.”
“I came yesterday while you were out, mom and dad both stayed here all night and I stayed over at Rafe’s place and then had school.” He rushed through the next bit, “I came as soon as I got out. I am glad you are okay!” It had been so long since Eesha had heard Harish speak earnestly, and the way he spoke, you could tell he was uncomfortable with the honest expression of emotion.
“Well I am all good. Be out of here tomorrow I think. But I am glad my little brother Harry found time to see his sister!”
Returning to their usual teasing and banter relaxed him. “Well, I am going to just chill out here for a bit and do my homework. Mom and Dad are out grabbing some food and then said I have to go home with them.”
Eesha was touched that he wanted to stay. He started doing his homework while she sat in her hospital bed and started flipping through her text messages. Charlie was excited to hear she was awake and her and Jade would try and swing by her parent’s the day after tomorrow.
After a while, Harish put up his headphones and started rapping along to whatever he was listening to under his breath. Ella fell asleep and he was gone with a note left where he had been sitting.