Under the Mask

Release

A small chocolate brunette teen lays weak in her hospital bed breathing shallowly. Wires and IV's snakes around her pale body as if they are trying to squeeze the last bit of life out of her. A lanky ravenette has fallen asleep slumped over in an uncomfortable hospital chair once again. The small body starts to shift causing the boy with drooping yellow eyes to wake. With a rub of his eyes he smiles to the girl, "Hey is my bone marrow doing wonders on your body?" He tries to fight back the tears knowing that the transplant wasn't working and his baby sister was growing tired of the fight. The petite girl with big brown eyes tries to smile sympathetically and answers, "I feel like I could start Med School with you tomorrow" she coughs haggardly, a little blood spots her Kleenex. The conversation continues as normal, how is school, how are the parents really, how is the hospital staff treating her, etc. Suddenly the girls big brown eyes fill with an upsetting seriousness, "If I don't beat this, promise me you will still open up our practice." The ravenette's heart starts to thump out of his chest, "Hey you're going to beat this and we will open it up together just like me promised all those years ago." A ghost of a hand rests on the boy's tan cheek, "We all know it is just a matter of time Law. Please don't let our dreams die." The boy was about to protest but the girl's hand slides limp off his face and the monitor starts to make an awful noise. The boy screams out for help as he hold his dying sister's hand trying to grasp the last of her life. The terrified boy is pushed back as the doctors try to resuscitate the boy's sister. "Lami stay with me! Lami!" His messy black hair hides his face and as tears stream down his face as he tries to deny reality.

*Law POV*

I force myself to wake up. I run a hand through my damp hair, I rub the wetness off my cheeks and the crust out of my eyes.

It has been a really long time since I have had that dream.

I push myself up and reach for a silver frame on my night stand. My thumbs traces the cool frame as I stare at the picture.

The picture was of my family and me on our vacation to Alabasta a year ago. Well kinda vacation. The medical convention there wanted to award my dad with the Humanitarian Award and the family tagged along and made it a vacation out of my dad's accomplishments.

This particulate moment was before the dinner where my dad was going to receive his reward. My dad and my mom were in the middle and my sister was on my mom's side and I was on my dad's. We looked really mature.

My dad's black messy hair was combed nice and he see wore a tux with a black bow tie, my mom's brown locks were piled on her head in an elegant updo to show off her collar bones in the simple strapless sapphire mermaid style floor length gown she was wearing,  I had on a black suit coat, black pants, and a white shirt with the few top buttons undone and my hair was as messy as ever, and my sister's short hair was done up in old fashion curls to complement the white Marilyn Monroe style dress she had on.

We all had candid smiles on our faces. We looked like the perfect family, one that everyone should and did envy.

Why did it all have to go? What was wrong with having a close to perfect life?

I rest the picture back on my side table and check the time on my phone: 10:36.

I hit the message on button on my touch screen but am greeted with no new messages. At that moment I really didn't think much of it.

For the next few hours I did my average Saturday thing, brunch, a little homework, some Grey's Anatomy, all of that brilliant me time stuff.

When 1:00 rolls around and I still have no messages I start to worry a little bit.

She should of texted me by now. She wanted to meet at noon.

I pace back and forth behind my brown couch for a while debating what I should do. Miss Hayashi has been very distance the past few days after our little incident, but she insisted that we continue with her catch up sessions. However they were now held at school. At our last meeting she told me she would text me when she was leaving so we could meet up at the library.