Breathe the ocean in

17

MARI

I'm having my shower in the morning and making coffee, everything's just as usual, but something's subtly bothering me. Something except for the routine worries about Alex and my parents. I decide to check on Kir when he doesn't appear on his regular time for the breakfast. I'm knocking his door, but he doesn't answer. Probably he's sleeping it off after the yesterday's events, it's his well earned day off. The itchy anxiety still makes me open the door and take a look into his bedroom. The boy is sleeping as expected, but something in his image alerts me. I understand that he's all covered with the beads of sweat as I come closer, and when I touch him, I register an extremely high temperature. Damn, just what we need! I'm shaking him slightly in hope to wake, and Kir doesn't react. So how am I to transport him to the hospital? I won't be able to carry him to the car myself. It's dangerous besides, it occurs to me that there's something serious with his ribs. I don't know the ambulance number, I don't even know if it exists or not here. The only option on my list is to call Dina and ask for their help. That's what I do, and Dina picks it up very quick surprisingly. After listening to the details she tells me to wait and cuts it off. I can hear the familiar sounds of emergency siren like fifteen minutes later, Javad arrives almost at the same time. I'm glad he's here, my knowledge of Palerian wouldn't be enough to describe the situation to the paramedics apparently. They put Kir to the stretcher and carry him to the resuscitation vehicle after check-up. I'm grabbing the documents, wearing my gown of martyr in a rush and hurry to follow the ambulance together with Javad. He's calling someone on our way, Kir's parents I guess. They wouldn't let us go any further than a waiting room in the hospital of course, and we're meeting Kiram's father and his mother right there soon. They're asking Javad and the receptionist what happened to their boy, but neither we, nor male nurse can go with any details.

The minutes of waiting turn into hours, and they don't bring us any news. It comes to my mind that they will probably send me home if he dies, this thought it's sneaky in its nature. This thought shocks me so much that I deny it with all the might. Not at this price. When my head is spinning around with the amount of coffee I drank, the doctor appears at least and explains something to Samir quite for a long time.

The news isn't most comforting. One of the ribs is cracked, so the inner bleeding started in the night. Now there's no danger to his life, all the excess of blood was pumped out, the operation was successful. Doctor says that Kir will need to spend several days in the hospital to be under the medical control. But the chances for a rapid recovery are good as far as his organism is young and strong. So the prognosis is favorable.

They let us visit Kiram in the chamber with the instructions not to worry him. The boy looks not that good honestly. I don't understand what they're talking about, so I stand silently aside. His parents leave the chamber finally, thanking me for calling the ambulance.

- There's nothing to thank for, - my answer is firm.

Javad offers me a ride to get back home for dinner and some rest, but the hero of the occasion steps in here:

- Stay, - Kir asks exactly the way he did it yesterday.

And I think that everything could be much better if I'd stay. I could have figured it out much quicker that he needed medical aid. I shake my head shushing this thought away. It wasn't me who made him do that dangerous sport, and we don't have that kind of relationship for me to stay for the night. There's no my guilt for what happened definitely.

Nonetheless I'm staying, sit by the bed and hold his hand. Javad nods reflectively to his thoughts and leaves us alone promising to bring my car later in the evening.

It's clear boy feels himself not so good, he's tongue-tied from anesthesia still but stays true to his manners:

- Got you, you're not going anywhere now.

- I'm not, - I agree. - Sleep, healing goes better while you're sleeping.

Day seems to be endless. Kir sleeps for the most part, but we almost don't chat even if he's awake for he's feeling weak. Attentive stuff brings us a dinner: normal one for me and some dilute soup for Kiram. Boy sniffs unhappy with that and tries to talk me into sharing my meat with him, calls me greedy not achieving success in it. In the evening I receive my car key from Javad and head back home with a promise to return again in the morning. Our week passes in such depressing hospital way. At his request I read my favorite book aloud, and he keeps commenting it sarcastically incriminating the characters being improbable. I tell him about some of my trips. He's especially interested in my tour to Listan, and who the hell did let me go there. Well. Nobody did, it was a spontaneous one. The guys I know traveled there on a humanitarian mission, and I tagged along with them. My parents and Alex found out about this trip ex post facto. Parents lectured me on my stupidity and recklessness like forever. But this ride, it wasn't for a waste, I helped a real good person there. And what about Alex, he just looked at me sadly and asked never to do that again. My heart is bleeding at that memory. So much for not making silly choices. But who knew that the peaceful Palera would be more dangerous than a war-torn country?

In a few days of his chamber imprisonment Kir, who's not allowed to get up still, annoys me to no end. He acts up like a child, demands for attention and entertainment. When I say he behaves like a toddler, he's pouting and asks me to lean down. In order to prove he's not a baby. When he's not getting the desired, he complains and promises me all the possible scary penalties as soon as he's able to walk. That's when I realize that he could have caused me injuries a hundred times already if he would want to. But Kir doesn't touch me for two months. Almost doesn't touch. And I'm not scared of him anymore, certainly not the way I was in the beginning. I'm sure boy won't rape or hit me, but will be trying to get under my skirt all he wants. And I don't know how to convince him to stop.

At least they discharge him from the hospital with strict instructions not to go in for any martial arts the next two months. For a whole week he stays home safely following it, but in the middle of May not able to stand it anymore starts visiting the office, still refraining from gym though.

Kir's more pensive after the hospital, although it seemed it couldn't get any more. He stops pestering me with his failed sex life for a while, and I can finally relax. But I'm afraid, it won't last long.

KIRAM

I can't recall how I got to the hospital. According to Javad's words Mari walked in on me passed out with a high temperature and called Dina. She was worried for me and it's heart-warming. My ribs hurt like hell and I'm awfully tired of staying in bed. Maybe I'm being capricious but not that much. Besides, I have a right to, don't I? Mari visits me every day and stays at my side till late evening. Her quiet presence brightens the black nightmare of being hospitalized up. I love to listen about my girl's adventures, she's a good story-teller. It strikes me how much she traveled before, and the amount of situations she's been through is unbelievable. I took her for a fragile girl, but now I get it that Mari's much stronger than you'd think at first sight. Guess that's the reason I lost that stupid bet with myself, the one she's gonna be mine to the end of March. It's May, and I didn't succeed yet. One evening she says that her mouth went dry and she got tired of being my Shaherezade. I know this very story, also I know that Shaherezade became Shahriyar's wife in the result. No, my heart, you'll be telling your fairytales to me all life long. Our thousand and one nights are just started.

It feels much better when I'm home at least, but I don't know what to do with myself on leave. I'm bored without training and it's not fun on the whole. Once in the night when my crack sores particularly strong it comes to my mind that Mari could have been late, and there'd be no Kiram in this world anymore. The breath of death passing so close by me for the umpteenth time freezes something inside of me, and I reflect on the frailty of life a lot. I write a will even to devise all of my fortune, not that small now after getting a championship, to my girl. Also I'm telling Javad to take her to Arana or some other western country if something happens to me. Brother only called me an idiot for that, he ordered to get all the bad thoughts out of my head and to come buckle down.

I'm getting back to normal as my wounds are healing bit by bit. But there's a silver lining still: we found a common ground with Mari. We almost don't bite in our conversations, and it looks like we reached a whole new level in our relationship. When I tell her about it, she laughs and says:

- Yeah, we're like the old couple who feels bored together, because one knows in advance what the other wants to tell. But in general, - she adds after a small pause. - I should've given you a proper kick long ago, - I can hear a smile in her voice and don't feel offended. This girl of mine is quite a bitch still.