Deserted Wings

                                                                    Dedicated to Dreamers.

When I let the heavy school bag slip down my arm before entering the dimly lit hospital room, I knew. Today is not like any other day. This time the air felt different, and wrong. It was all in her face. The one which was always brimming with childlike confidence, and happiness was now mature, and brave for sad reasons. Maybe because she knew what was going to happen, and she made her peace with it.

When the creaking door announced my arrival, Granny put on her happiest face, and welcomed me. I reached her side, and planted a kiss on her cheeks before placing myself on the steel stool. The silent room was filled with three different kind of beeps, and nine blinking lights. When you enter such a room for the first time, it tends to disorient you, makes the vision blurry for even the visitors. Unlucky for me, I have been here too long, I feel perfectly fine.

On the night of Memorial Day, Granny fainted, and never woke up until doctors pumped some fluids in her. We thought maybe she pushed herself too much to prepare the perfect dinner for us, since Mom and Dad visit us only once a year from across the country. We found out it was more serious than that, when Doctor Roth had to explain what Achalasia is. My head caved inside with pain as he went onto explain the necessity, and complications of conducting the surgery, and how her inherent potassium deficiency would push her into a coma after the surgery, if not kill her during the surgery.

The cold touch of steel crept beyond my jeans to skin. It was uncomfortable but I have already spent the better part of my last four days in that chair. My mind wandered through the evenings I shared with granny, sitting on our backyard, feeding the dogs, and luring the birds with seeds for a feel of their feathers. With every wave of grain she tossed on to the ground, she would say something wise. It's not really rare for an old woman to be wise, but she was different. As my late grandfather used to say, she was as wise as a hag since the day he first met her.

Even though their story was beautiful, my story with her was the best story of love I would ever hear. Since the day I born, she was the one who took care of me, not by necessity but by choice. She would always say that I was her second true love. She was my first and I might lose her.

With every passing day, it felt more normal for the whole family to stay in hospital. Maybe she can stay here for a while, I could visit her after school every day. Maybe she don't have to go through surgery to get well. Maybe she can just stay with me forever. Disregarding the promise I made to myself earlier in school, tears rolled down my cheeks.

"It's not bad as it looks, sweetie. I'll be out of here in a week," Granny said. We both knew that was a lie, but sometimes pretending helps.
"Of course! You have to. Summer starts next week, and I have planned so many things for us to do."
"I know," She took a deep breath and her eyes went distant.

"You know life is-" She said before abruptly stopping and squeezed my hands tighter, "You are a smart girl, you probably already know it. You will be a better woman, and a lady than me!"

Suddenly I felt a strong goodbye crushing my windpipe, and pushing out all the tears I had saved in the last few days. I saw dad move behind me through the corner of my eye, but he never reached me. Granny's hands wrapped around my shoulders tight. With her assuring breath on my back, and my tears froze in their place.

"Remember the stories I used to tell you? In front of that old barn on Saturday nights?" She continued, "Your favorite one was the creatures of the grey!"