Passion Beyond Illusion

The lobby in The Venetian was absolutely breathtaking; I felt as if I had literally walked from the streets of Vegas into Venice, Italy. I had always wanted to visit Venice, and everything about The Venetian reminded me of all the pictures I had seen; from the vibrant mosaics to every other piece of décor in the place. Just the overall atmosphere of the luxurious hotel made me feel like I was really there; it was outstanding, and just plain beautiful, so beautiful that I was speechless. And…apparently day dreaming again because I was caught completely off guard by Starlene snapping her fingers in front of my face. “Eris?” she questioned, “you there?” Suddenly, I was jolted back into reality once more. “Yeah, yeah I’m with you.” I answered quickly. Almost too quickly. Wow that’s the millionth time today Eris, way to go. I was desperate need of some sleep, yet I didn’t even know how I would get any taking into consideration the tragic situation I was in. “Ready to get your key?” Starlene asked quietly, starting towards the check in counter.
“Of course!” I responded as I followed my sister close behind. As soon as I got up to the counter I was met with a warm smile.

“Hello there sweetie,” the very youthful looking middle-aged blonde-haired woman at the check out counter cooed. Okay so maybe she wasn’t exactly middle-aged but I didn’t know how else to describe her at the moment. I was traveling almost all day, give me a break. “Hello,” I said softly, my voice probably having that tired ring to it.
“Surname please?” she asked with exquisite kindness in her tone. Apparently Star must have put the reservation under our last name, but that was perfect for me, seeing as I was always questioned on weather or not Eris was my actual name. “Wrythern,” I replied my voice low and more raspy than usual. It was almost like I didn’t want anyone else hearing my last name, I must have been really exhausted. “Alrighty then…” she started, her long cherry red fingernails scanning down what seemed to be her reservation list. “Ah, here it is,” she declared which was an obvious time she had succeeded in finding the name. She told me the information for my room number and any nessicary information about the hotel itself. I was thirteenth floor, good thing I didn’t fear heights or believe in any of those old superstitions. I thanked her with a smile as I took my key card and walked over to join my sister on one of the extremely comfy couches. “ You ready?” she asked me, her voice too sounding as if it longed for some sleep. “Ready as I’ll ever be,” I responded. And with that we walked out of the reception area and headed towards one of the Venetian’s breathtaking elevators.

Describing the elevators as simply breathtaking was an understatement, hell even calling them truly captivating was an understatement. Truth be told, there was no one word to describe the beauty of the Venetian’s elevators, Vegas truly was as beautiful as everyone had said. Come on Eris, you’ve been in Vegas for hardly an hour, all you have seen was the airport and part the Venetian and you’re already drooling over the city like some star-struck, eh make that city-struck idiot. I mean seriously, what was my problem anyway? Finally, the mobile box of art had reached the thirteenth floor and once again my mind was violently thrust into la-la land, the hallway looked as if belonged in an art museum. Yes, it was that beautiful and no I am not over-excited. Don’t judge me-this is my first time in “Sin City.” “Um Eris” Starlene’s voice interrupted my pleasant thoughts once again, “don’t you want to see your room?” My room. I hadn’t thought of that to be completely honest, I was too taken aback by the view of mansion quality hallways. “Yes, of course!” I responded promptly, my brain thrown back into reality as if were a ping pong ball. Taking a deep breath, I turned the corner to my room and slid my key into the lock. Pulling it out swiftly, I waited for the green light and pushed open the massive wooden door which would soon reveal my temporary paradise.

As soon as I laid my hazel hued eyes on the interior décor of my hotel room, I could feel my heart scream with joy. The room was much more majestic than I had ever imagined, I mean it was perfect! It wasn’t a hotel room, it was a freaking mini apartment that was built for royalty, yes it was really that phenomenal! So phenomenal I could hardly contain myself, I felt like jumping up and down like a child who was excited for their birthday. I walked inside and my jaw dropped to the floor. It’s like I had just walked into a postcard, very picturesque I must say. “Damn, I wish I would have brought my camera!” I griped. I was in such a rush this morning, it totally slipped my mind.
“I can take a picture for you on my phone if you want,” Starlene offered. “That’d be great, thanks Star!” I thanked. “No problem,” she replied whipping out her phone and framing the room perfectly inside the screen before taking the picture. “Is that good?” she asked, showing me the picture she took. It was almost like a professional had snapped it, the quality of it was spectacular. “It’s perfect,” I replied with a smile. She smiled back and then went back to her camera. “What are you doing now?” I asked curiosity getting the best of me. Don’t get so curious, Eris, I chided myself mentally, you know curiosity killed the cat. But…satisfaction brought him back. I laughed to myself about the last part. Zombie kittens! I could have a rather twisted mind at times but I normally tried to keep that to myself. “We’re taking a picture together now!” she announced, pulling me towards her and putting her arm around me in a very sister-like way. She was only about two inches shorter than I was so it didn’t seem totally out of whack. “Say cheese!” Smiling, she held her phone out in front, making sure to get us both in the picture and snapped it once we were both smiling. After the flash went away, she released me from the “one armed hug” and took a look at the picture before showing me. “I think it came out really great! What about you?” she questioned excitedly. “It’s great!” I replied with a smile. It really was a fantastic photo, my sister’s phone did take high quality photos. “I’ll print them both for you then,” she said putting her phone away. “Thanks!” I remarked.
“No problem!” she smiled once again. I dropped my bag onto my bed and yawned, boy was I going to sleep like a baby tonight. “Now let’s go get something to eat!” Starlene suggested, headed out the door. I quickly grabbed some money from my bag and followed her out the door.

Starlene kept insisting on taking me to a fancy restraunt but I opted for McDonald’s instead. Besides I was craving one of their salads anyway. Fortunately, McDonald’s wasn’t too far away from my hotel, I was famished. The ride over was pretty silent but I could tell we were both tired as it was so it all made sense. Once we got into Mc D’s we headed straight for the bar to order our meals. Star ordered a Mcdouble, a large fry, a milkshake and medium soda and I ordered a Creaser salad-no chicken, a fruit and yogurt parfait and a medium strawberry and banana smoothie. “Still don’t eat meat?” she asked me taking note to my order. I just smiled and shook my head, I’ve been a vegetarian for five years now and I wasn’t planning on going back to eating meat anytime soon. “I’m still vegetarian” I said softly yet proudly. “I figured so,” Starlene responded with a small smile. It didn’t take too long for our meals to be ready and I was grateful for that, my shouldn’t have taken too long since it was relatively easy and quick. We grabbed our meals and headed to one of the plastic tables, which were normally as filthy as a landfill and that always turned my stomach. I wouldn’t say I’m a germophobe, but I’m a little funny when it comes to dirt and grime. That was the main reason I avoided public restrooms as much as possible. Though, I had to admit, the tables at this McDonald’s weren’t too bad, I could actually stand these ones. We ate our meals in total silence and I figured Starlene must’ve been tired too, Nadyia was her daughter after all. The meal was delicious, but that could’ve been due to the fact that I hadn’t eaten all day, either way I was grateful to have had something in my stomach. After our meals had been readily devoured and there weren’t enough scraps to feed even a mouse, I pulled the money I had brought, out in order to pay Starlene for my meal. She saw me doing this and stopped me before I could hand her my cash. “Keep it!” she declared, “You’re doing me a huge favor by coming here, the least I can do is buy you some food.” I smiled, but I wanted to double check with her, just to be sure, “Are you sure?”, I asked her. “I’m positive,” she responded, returning my smile. “Thanks,” I said at last as I put my money away; “No problem,” Starlene assured me once more. And with that, we got up from the table and headed back to the car. “Hey Star…?” I questioned once we were out in the parking lot, she turned to me, as if to tell me to continue the question, “can we make a stop at the store before we head to the hospital?” “Yeah, sure!” she responded quickly as we got into the car. “Thanks,” I thanked her once again, she shrugged and we closed our doors, buckled our seatbelts and drove off.

We pulled into Sunrise hospital around nine o’clock pm, it was hard to believe I’d been in Vegas for about three hours already, but I guess time does really pass before you know it. Oh, and we did stop on the store on our way to the hospital, I had gotten my toothbrush and toothpaste, among the other toiletries I needed, a photo album(if Starlene was going to keep taking pictures I was going to need one) and I bought a bear holding a get well soon balloon for Nadyia which was my main reason for wanting to stop at the store anyway. “We’re here,” Starlene announced, looking at me, a nervous look on her face, I shook my head and quietly responded with an okay as tears started forming in the corners of my eyes once again. I’d been okay the past few hours seeing as my mind had been elsewhere, but now that I was actually at the hospital, where Nadyia was staying, my emotions swarmed over me once more like hornets and wasps. I had to swallow hard to stop the lump in my throat from rising, it was just too much to handle. “You ready?” Starlene asked me her voice softer than I’ve ever heard it before, clutching the bear to my body, I bit my lip and nodded. Slowly, my sister started towards the emergency room doors and followed her, the blue waves of her hair bouncing with each step she took.

The noxious stench of the disinfects and cleaning supplies made me queasy and light headed and the overall hospital atmosphere caused my nerves to sky rocket. Or maybe it was fear for Nadyia that was making me sick to my stomach. I had always hated hospitals anyway, ever since I was little I dreaded having to go to them. I often resorted to blaming my distaste for ERS on my frequent visits when I was a child. I was in and out of them quite frequently due to always being so accident prone. Seriously, I had to be one of the clumsiest people alive, I tripped over nothing for Christ’s sake. And if that wasn’t bad enough, I was a big fan of heels, which made matters even worse. I hated being a klutz. The room was spinning and my head was buzzing wildly, I could feel the blood thumping inside, I was going to be nauseous, and I felt like I was going to faint. “Eris?” Star’s worry-filled voice caught me by surprise. I didn’t respond, I had yet to come back from the world of spinning rooms. I assumed she had signed us both in, but I wasn’t entirely sure. “Eris, you need to sit down,” she demanded, a tight grip on my arm as she pulled me down into a seat. As soon as my butt hit the chair, I could feel a difference. My head was no longer causing the room to spin out of control and the objects around me were no longer blobs of nothingness. I still had a stomachache but for the most part I had recovered to normal, well except for the excruciating headache I now had. “Eris?” it was Starlene and concern filled her voice, “are you okay?” “I’m fine,” I responded almost instantly, “except my head and stomach are killing me.” She smiled, as if something to seemed to amuse her, “well at least you’re in the hospital,” she chuckled. It wasn’t really that funny, but I couldn’t help but laugh, at least Star had held onto her humor through all of this. “Anyway, you ready to go see Nadyia?” “Ready as I’ll ever be,” I answered climbing slowly to my to feet, careful not to send myself into another dizzy spell. Starlene smiled at me once again, and together we headed into the room down the hall.

Nadyia’s hospital room seemed pretty home-like and fortunately, it didn’t have the same nauseating smell as the rest of the hospital did, at least I wouldn’t end up sick to my stomach again. “Nady-iaaa,” Starlene called in a sing song voice, “someone’s here to see you.” At the sound of her mother’s voice, the tiny blonde-haired five year old yawned and rubbed her eyes, as if she were wiping away the sleepy dirt. “Aunt Eris?” she asked in a sleepy voice, once her vision had cleared a little. “Yeah, Nadyia, it’s me,” I responded leaning down and giving her hug. After releasing her from the hug, I smiled a little and asked her she was doing. “I started feeling dizzy and then I woke up in the hospital,” she told me, “I don’t remember anything, but I’m doing good now.” I looked at her, the small smile still on my face, “well I’m glad you’re doing better now,” I said which caused the corners of her mouth, to turn into a mini half smile as well. “Oh, I almost forget, I bought this for you,” I declared as I handed my eldest niece the bear I had gotten. Nadyia looked at the bear and gave a little gasp, “thank you Aunt Eris!” she cried taking the bear and hugging it, then me afterwards. “You’re welcome, sweetie.” I responded, a warm smile on my face, just glad to see my niece happy. I pulled up a chair, placed it next to Nayia’s bed and sat down as Starlene sat down on the end of the bed Then, just as I was about to say something else, the door opened a bit, and the three of us turned to look at it.