Faded Memories

I hear whispering far away. No, it’s not far away, its right beside me; no, it’s not whispering, it’s talking. The voices sound familiar to me, but I can’t put my finger on who is speaking.
“Save her now or-”
“-u know I would but I-”
The voices are so familiar. If only I could open my eyes. I use all my energy to open my eyelids but I tire myself out. Everything fades away again.
When I wake again the voices are clearer.
“Hatori, heal Ruki!”
“Kyo, I am trying to but I can’t diagnose her illness while she is unconscious! I need to ask her questions so I don’t hurt her!”
Hatori, Kyo, is that you? I try to push the message out of my mind so they could hear it but I am too weak to open my mouth. I try to open my eyes again and light filters through my pupils.
I turn my head and look at Kyo and Hatori standing about a foot away. Kyo is facing my direction but I don’t know how to get his attention. I try to push words out of my mouth again but all I do is let out a breath. Kyo looks at me and moves to stand beside me. “Ruki? Are you alright. Can you hear me? Can you see me?”
I can only mumble a quiet, “Kyo…”
Hatori moves to stand beside Kyo. “Ruki, are you experiencing any hunger?”
“Yes…”
“Any unusual thirst?”
“Yes…”
“Are you nauseated?”
“No…”
I watch Hatori put things together in his mind. “Have you experienced any drastic weight loss?”
I try to lift my arm but I cannot. I look at Kyo. He lifts his hand and places it at the bottom of my rib cage. I watch his face change to one of pain and fear. “I can feel each individual rib.”
Hatori places his hand at the bottom of my rib cage to and his face changes as well. “I think I know what’s wrong with her, but I’ll take a blood sample to be sure.”
I feel the needle slide into the skin on the inside of my left elbow. I want to flinch away but I am too weak to. I watch Hatori exam the blood and I think about every medical type thing I have ever heard of. My mind races for minutes until it finds what it was looking for.
Hatori gives Kyo my diagnosis the same time I whisper it. “Type 1 Diabetes.”
Hatori continues. “She is so weak because she needs insulin to retain nutrients from food. I think she vomited because she was so weak and tired.” Hatori walks away and comes back with a plate of food. The plate has a few slices of bread on it. “Eat this; it will make you feel much better.”
Kyo takes the plate from Hatori and helps me sit up. “I’ll feed you so you don’t pass out.”

I stand up and move my arms at my sides. “It feels good to move again without straining.” I pick up half a loaf of bread and a glass of water.
Hatori left to drive Kyo home, so I am alone. I walk outside and feel the cold spring air hit my face. I will now be homeschooled by Hatori, which is a good thing where I have learned I have Type 1 Diabetes. I take a bite of bread and drink some water.
“Ruki, what are you doing here?”
I turn around and see Kisa. “I live here now. I am the Head of the Family now, so I have to live here. I also have to stay under Hatori’s observation for a while.”
Kisa walks over to me and hugs me. “I can come see you all the time now.”

I stare at the ceiling. “I wish Mickey was here. I haven’t seen her in a while.”
Hatori sighs. “Can you go one day without mentioning Kyo, Mickey, Yuki, or Shigure?”
“Probably not.” I smile at Hatori.
“Read a book or study for your pop quiz.”
I fall out of the chair I was sitting in. “Pop quiz?!?!”
“You have five minutes to study; the test will be on a diabetic’s diet.”
I run over to my new desk and flip through my health textbook.