(Update, 2022-09-17: I'll be self-publishing the ebook and hardcopy soon, so I've archived these very early drafts for historical purposes.)
Washed-up online gaming champion Chie "Rose Crow" Shibuyama is forced out of retirement when her family is t...
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Glancing at the IV tube snaking across the sheets and into the crook of Ken's arm, Chie trimmed his beard short and neat, exactly how she liked it. "No complaining now, honey." With a damp towel, she brushed the trimmings off of his neck. Caressing the soft bristles on his cheeks, she wiped tears from her eyes and then pushed Ken's hair out of his closed eyes. "You'll be due for a haircut soon too. Now stop being your old lazy self, you've got to look decent when you go to church—not like a shaggy dog—I know, I know, it's only once a month, but Mom and Dad always go and you know how they are." She tucked her mother's pink silk quilt with a floral border under his chin.
If only she'd been faster; if only she'd been the real Rose Crow.
She pulled a chair up closer to the bed, and rested her head on her crossed arms next to his head. "I also found out about Jake Robertson, you know, the founder and now the VP of the combined Three Kingdoms and Quantum Katana Online division. Did you know, he's also on the board of Nano Crisper. They—"
There was a knock at the door and Dr. Kiyo Ng walked in. After shaking Chie's hand, Dr. Ng looked at Ken's chart and then sat down in a chair next to Chie.
Dr. Ng smiled. "He can go home tomorrow," she said. "You'll need the help of a nurse for his bodily functions. And even though the cranial MRI was negative, you'll have to watch for signs of seizures or numbing of his limbs."
Chie nodded.
"How's Hayden doing now that he's back at school?" Dr. Ng said.
"I guess he's getting back into the swing of things. At least, he doesn't have time to be depressed around the house and he has his friends."
"Is he still somnambulating?"
"Less." Chie looked down at her phone to see if she had any new notifications.
"Don't worry, children are reslient."
Chie stared out of the window. Bare spindly branches of the tree outside shook in the cold wind like the claws of a kappa.
Dr. Ng walked in between Chie and the window and Chie broke out of her reverie.
"Adults, less so," Dr. Ng said. "Get some rest."
"I'm fine." She glanced down at her phone.
"Although, occasionally, I can pass"—Dr. Ng pulled something red out of the pocket of her white lab coat—"for a clown!" She stuck a red ball on her nose.
Chie laughed, stood up, and clapped.
Dr. Ng bowed with a florid flourish of her hands. "I can assure you that I am a doctor, and I can certainly tell when someone is exhausted."
"Really, I'm fine." Chie tugged at the long-sleeved cuffs of her cropped denim jacket and straightened her back, lifting the hem of her t-shirt just above the top of her jeans.
