The World Is Outside

Anna’s POV

I was staring ahead while lying on my bed. I wasn’t really on earth, just staring. I didn’t notice a nurse came in and checked once again my status.
“Anna?” she whispered but I didn’t hear her, I wasn’t paying attention to anything. “Anna!” she tried again when I didn’t respond. This time she spoke louder, trying to get me hear her. It was successful, I heard her now, but still didn’t bother to react. Why should I? It probably won’t be anything interesting, just the usual stuff.
I felt the tears burning in my eyes, trying to get away. I tried to not let them fall, I was tired of crying all the time. Then one lucky tear managed to escape and slowly rolled down my check.
Elisabeth, the nurse, watched me. I saw she was worried about me. But still I refused to move. I slowly blinked, trying to hold back the other tears.
“Anna, sweetie, please say something,” Elisabeth begged. She waited a few seconds and then left the room. A few moments later she was back and she brought another nurse with her. “She isn’t reacting to anything. All she does is staring ahead. I’m worried about her, Fiona.” So, her name was Fiona, nice to know.

“There’s no need to worry about her. How would you be when you lost your parents?” she replied. Her voice was hard and unpleasant. She was obviously annoyed about being brought here. “Look, Beth, I’ve got other work to do, okay? Just don’t worry about her. I bet she’s just fine,” she said, irritated. How could she say I was fine? I obviously wasn’t, didn’t she see that? If I was I wouldn’t be here! I would be jumping around and talking non-stop! I was not okay! I mean, look at me!

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Thanks for coming, though,” Elisabeth replied. What?! No! She wasn’t right at all! Were they blind or something? Open your eyes and look at me! Me, Anna, who just lost her parents! Hello, over here!

Who just lost her parents. Her parents. I’m all alone, there’s no one I have left. I suddenly burst into tears, again. I let my face fall in my hands and cried even harder. I couldn’t stop it, the pain was too hard. Fiona exhaled loudly and left the room. I was so angry with her. She doesn’t understand any of this!

Elisabeth quickly rushed to my side and wrapped her arms around my body. “Shh, it’s okay. It’s okay to cry,” she comforted. I hugged her close to me, afraid to let go. She was so nice to me, I loved her.

I tried to stop crying as I realized her clothes were getting wet. It worked a bit but I started sobbing really hard. “I… I’m sorry,” I whispered. She pulled away so she could look at me properly. I realized I probably looked like shit.

“What for?” she questioned confused.

“For being like this,” I whispered, “I’m probably like the worst patient ever.” She seemed a bit shocked but just hugged me again.

“Of course not, sweetie,” she soothed. “I’ve had worse you know. Like those horny guys who never wash themselves and stink all the time. You’re not half as bad as they are.”

“I guess,” I laughed a bit. She always knew how to cheer me up. That’s one the things I loved about her.

“Now, wipe those tears away and let the world see how strong you are,” she smiled and kissed my forehead. I nodded slightly and wiped my eyes.

“Thank you for everything,” I whispered.

“You’re welcome, sweetie. Call me whenever you need me, okay?” she gave me one last hug and then left the room. I lay back down and closed my eyes to catch some sleep.

***

“Sweetie? Wake up. It’s time for your medication,” Elisabeth woke me up a few hours later. She sat ready with my daily medication. I yawned and sat up.

“Gimme the pills,” I said and reached after them. She gave them to me, along with a glass of water. I put the pills into my mouth, one by one, and took a large sip of the water. I handed the glass back and lay back down.
Elisabeth sighed and left the room. I closed my eyes again and tried to sleep. I already was half-unconscious when suddenly the door of my room opened again.

“Anna Watson?” a male voice asked. I rolled over confused to look at the person standing in the doorway. I didn’t recognize him.

“Yes?”

“You’ve got some visit. Can I let them in?”

“Yeah, sure,” I said, shocked. Who would visit me? Maybe it was my best friend, Lisa. Yeah, it’ll probably her. Who else? The man nodded and turned around, leaving the door open.

“You can go inside now,” I heard him say. I nervously watched to door, waiting for them to come in.
Then my cousin Jared walked in.

“A… Anna?” he whispered.

“Oh, Jared!” I said and began to cry again. He walked over to my side and pulled me into his arms. I noticed he was crying, too.