Chapter Six

Mira ’s POV

The chilly weather of the winter morning rests over my skin. My tummy churns up and I feel like throwing up, I should be grateful I didn't get that breakfast from the cafeteria. My heart thumps fast, and my eyes feel cloudy.

I race down towards mum’s hospital room. I can't wait to ask her, the questions: mum I'm I adopted? Did you know that dad has a daughter by the name Myra ? Why did you decide to name me after her?

There are other names out there, even Lily sounds great. No, it doesn't, sound too floral, for my liking: Cindy, Brie, Emma, Ava, and my goodness the database is full with names why Myra ?

Why choose a man who had to leave his wife and child to be with you, only for you not to be happy because guess what, he doesn't care about you. Why not achieve your dream of being a dress designer. I have seen several of your sketches mum, and there are well drawn. Why mum?

I have a lot of pent up emotion. Hot air escapes my lungs, as I storm down the hospital hall. My eyes catches mum and she is squatting; the nurse is trying to support her.

“Mum?” I rush towards her, my feet feels like jelly, my body is about to give up on. My heart racing “Is she okay?”

Her face drapes with sweat, I look towards her nurse “Is my mum okay?” suddenly I don't care about the questions in my mind. I have my mum, and that's all that matters.

“She is okay, just tired Mira ” the nurse replies

Mum looks at me with a weak smile "Honey, you forgot the money."

My feet staggers, my body is betraying me. I scratch my head and smile. "Oh, I forgot. I was going to the cafeteria. Mum, do you need anything?"

"No, Honey." She says reaching into her pant pocket; she must have picked the one I left on the table. She hands it to me.

"Thanks, Mum."

I raced back towards the hospital lobby. I hold back my tears

"I can't cry; if I cry, Mummy will get sicker."

I walked out of the hospital and my eyes catch a tree with a wooden bench; I seat down and begin to cry. Soon comes a dog and along it, a young boy.

I want to be alone and the last thing I want is anyone or a dog, taking that away from me.

“Go away” I say

I don't hate dogs, i have always wanted one but mum says something about her having allergies for anything with furs or was it a traumatic? I stopped talking about having one since age six, since i couldn't win these arguments.

The dog is very adamant, it waggles its tail and begins to lick my hand “I said, go away”

"Hollie won't bite,"

Comes the voice of a young boy with blond hair; he is smiling and a dimple runs down his chin. "Is that you, Myra ?" the boy asked.

I look closer, and around his eyes is a bandage. I remember him. He is the boy from earlier, this morning in a wheelchair with the dog, but how does he know my name when he can't see me "You can't see me; how do you know my name," I asked.

"Don't be silly," he says, "You told me your name; we met here yesterday morning, don't you remember?"

I’m about to respond, but Hollie barks. I trace my gaze towards a nurse, in a distance. That's what I call everyone on a scrub, here at the hospital. I can't differentiate them; they are all medical personnel’s are that what connect.com said when I checked the internet on our first day at the hospital, because I had no idea, who they were. She says " Ian , you can't be wandering alone without help."

"I'm okay, Nadia" the boy responded. "I'm here with Myra and Hollie," he adds.

The nurse, who is at a distance away, stretches, seeming to try to catch a glimpse of me and the boy, and then she turns around. "Okay, let me know if you need me."

"I will," Ian replies

I look towards the plain green field in which the nurse has disappeared. The rain begins to drizzle.

"It's raining," I say, now angrier because I will be stuck here with the strange boy who called me by my name though he has a bandage over his eyes.

I look above me and it seems the tree, I ran under is a decorated shed which I couldn't see well at first because I was crying and my eyes was blurry. I want to go back to the hospital and stay with mum though I'm not very confident because I might ask her, the questions tugging in my mind and I know mum, when she is sad, she breaks down crying. I can't watch her cry

"I love the rain," The boy’s voice break’s into my thoughts.

He is annoying. I change my gaze from the shed; instead, I glance at him; in his right hand is a white cane; he reaches his hand out, but for what?

"What are you trying to do?" I ask.

"Trying to feel the rain against my skin, like we did yesterday," he replies, pulling up the long sleeves of his hospital gown.

"But the cold water will make you sick."

I watch the boy with a bandage move his hand around, trying to find the rain droplet.

He is annoying me. All, I wanted was to be left alone, but he came and too that little peace from me. And now he wants to touch the rain, though it’s going to make him sick. Fine by me, it’s his body

But, what is it and today. I sigh and shake my head, but walk closer to him; from behind him, I push his arm a little further towards the shed which has the rain droplets. "You have to move a little closer."

He smiles. "I love how you smell; Myra - though you smell like Jasmine today.....”

"I didn't meet you yesterday; that wasn't me." I pull away.

His hand sweeps against mine; he hold on to it, then stretches it towards the raindrops.

"You are funny, trying to pull my leg like you did yesterday when we played hide and seek."

"Hide and seek? Are you five?" I throw him a glance. "And I keep telling you, that wasn't me."

I turn around and begin to step away, but his hand sweeps against mine again; something seeps inside me like an electric, when his fingers touches mine. It startles me though, for some reason i don't hate the feeling. He holds onto my hand.

"I need you to feel it with me like you did yesterday."

"I told you that wasn't me." I push his hand away and begin to walk away, but he holds onto her shirt, which was the closest to him. He is very persistent like, I want to liken him to a dog but she is just seating beside me, staring into the empty space.

I can feel his hand pat my back and i presumed he is trying to find my hand, which I pulled away from him.

This boy is strange; though for some reason, I feel sorry for him. The rain, I don't like or hate it though dad uses the rain or work as his excuse most of the times he doesn't want to come home.

I run my eyes over his wavy hair; its bang falls over his bandaged eyes. Why does he look sad to me, and what happened to his eyes, anyway. Why should i care, anyway?

He is still reaching for the droplet, though his hospital cloth is already drenched. Where is his nurse anyway? I remember the feel of his skin over mine and the electric feel. I want to confirm it again, if it was probably from the lightening, after all its raining.

And covered eyes; for some reason, she could almost see the sadness in his eyes. I sighed.

"Okay, let's play with the rain, but this can make you and I sick."

I reach his hand towards the droplet, my skin resting over his, a mixed of warm and cold temperature lingering over me; it feels good. "Just so you know, I'm not Myra ."

But my words are abruptly interrupted by Hollie's bark. In the distance is Nadia with an umbrella—she waves at us

"Are you okay with the rain?"

I know, he can't see the nurse, so I say, "The nurse is back."

"Oh no," he says, then waved his hand sideways towards me "I'm okay, Nadia"

I turned around and face where the nurse stands; I wave and say with a loud voice, "He is okay; we are under a shed."

The nurse gestures with a nod, I watch her, disappear into the hospital, the field, green along a steep hill; some tall trees with broad leaves.

"Doesn't it feel like you are alive?" His voice breaks me out of thought

“What does?” I watch him move his hand and mine along the droplet. The touch of his hand feels like a warm blanket on a rainy morning

“What does?” I feign ignorance

"The rain”

"The rain will make you sick," I say, again.

"I don't mind." His touch, now different, his finger tucked under mine, "My parents are dead, and I caused it."

He tilts his head down and a loud sobbing sound follows; I might have seen this coming. Not really. Okay a little but what I'm I supposed to do with him crying. I was here some minute ago to cry by myself by now I have someone else crying. He just mentioned that his parent are dead, that must be sad. Maria Regan and Dean , Clark are my parent, which unlike him are alive, but I leant today that I'm adopted, when I wasn't expecting such a truth and from my dad’s mistress. My pent up emotion still unreleased, so how do I console him?

At the moment, I heard the truth, it was like my whole world had collapsed right in front of me, and i know what i wanted someone to say to me.

I pulled him closer to my chest, gave him a warm hug "It's not your fault; none of this is."

He continuously sobs and I can feel tears, along the rain droplet dabble my face, streaming towards my white cotton shirt. I reach my right hand towards my face and wipe it.

“Myra , I'm beginning to forget what my dad and mum looked like” He pulls away “I know, its just a few weeks but their faces is blurry, in my mind”

I know what my parent look like, and with dad I can't forget his features, because though he doesn't come home at times I watch the evening news and he is always there; on TV not real life. If it wasn't for the TV, which captures him, i probably wouldn't remember him

“Don't you have their pictures?” I ask

“I do, Myra ” His voice sounds a little croaky “but people change as they get old and my parent wouldn't have looked the same”

I think of his words, mum probably didn't look this tired and weak some years ago, and I hope there was a picture which images of her that time, so it could tell me if she was ever not dehydrated or malnourished.

“At least you have something to remember them with, imagine people who cannot remember” I wipe my face immediately; I know he has a bandage over his eyes, but he shouldn't see me cry.

“That true Myra , and I just found my dream?”

Dream? Why is he talking about that, all of a sudden “What's your dream Ian ?”

I watch him, hold firmly to his cane “I want to capture peoples moment and memories”

“How? In words, video or pictures?” I ask.

“No, I want to be a Photographer.” he pulls away and Hollie wags her tail like she understands what Ian said. We both laugh.

We seat sat on the bench of the shed.

He asks, "Can I see you after my surgery? You are my only friend and I would like to see what you look like after the surgery."

What is this son of Adam asking? I don’t know him and can’t do attachment; I’m just waiting here for the rain to be gone s I can go back to my mum’s hospital room

“Whats with this rain?”

He takes a seat, on the bench in the shed. It’s like he has been here before. My damn feet have been hurting for a while, so I seat beside him

"My parents wanted to go to my aunt's birthday in Calitain." He rocks his leg back and forth. Why is he telling me about his parent, when I didn’t ask him

"I hated her stupid party, so I wouldn't listen to my mum and dad while they drove the car to the airport and then the accident happened."

"So, is that what happened to your eyes?" I say without realizing, that I was listening to him. “So is your mum getting better? I know you said she was sick” He asks.

My heart skips a beat, I glance towards him"I never told you that."

He laughs, "Okay."

"No, seriously, this is confusing; you might have me confused with someone else, but how would you know my name and about my mum being sick?"

My eyebrows furrow and I stand up from the chair and stared at him with my arms wrapped around my chest.

“Myra , about what you asked me yesterday?” he moves his cane like he is writing something into the air. “I will do it, but can you wait for me, at least till I turn twenty-two?”

“What did I ask you yesterday?”

Except I have amnesia and don’t seem to remember what I did yesterday, I haven’t met this strange boy before. I think about a time in the hall when someone called Myra and I wondered if her name was spelled with a C or a K. She must be the one, this son of Adam met.

His soft hand pulls to mine and I seat beside him, I want to resist his touch but my heart skips a beat. He pulls me closer and I know what’s about to happen; I have seen this a lot in movies. I should resist it, I should stand up and leave this strange boy, but I go along on his lead.

Warmth floods over me, my heart string tugging to the moment. This feels better than a warm blanket on a rainy day. His soft lips over mine, I haven’t kissed before, and to be kissed by someone I don’t know; I love, the way his hand runs through my hair. The soft caress of his hand over my back I think of a quote from William Parrish-You never know, lightning could strike.”

This son of Adam, has struck me like lightening and I’m beginning to rethink everything I thought about life.

" Ian ,"

A voice from a distance calls and we pull apart, "Oh, no, the nurse is back, isn't she?"

"Yeah," I reply.

With my finger over my lips, the sensation still lingering

“Myra , let’s get married when I turn twenty-two. I think I will be ready by then”

My eyes widen. What did I just get myself into? When did a kiss mean a marriage proposal? Am I ready to be tied down by any son of Adam now and in the future? I don’t think so. This was just a kiss. A mistaken kiss

The nurse walks closer. The field looks greener, the strong smell of earth fills my nose " Ian ?" the nurse in a purple scrub calls, she is running towards us; then behind the nurse, I see mum.

Ian waves his hand into the air, I know he is waving at me “Myra , promise me that you will meet me here on Friday evening. My surgery is that morning."

"Myra ?" Mum calls out.

"Mum," I turn around to Ian , who the nurse is now assisting. "I will see you later, Ian”

Maria is my adopted mother, but I’m grateful. She loves me in a way that, if I had not heard the conversation about me being adopted, I would never have known or questioned the truth. I’m happy, she is my mum but from today henceforth, my name remains Mira - pronounced and written.