KISSES || a violet evergarden fanfic #2

II

Lunch was delivered to the side of my hospital bed that afternoon. The voices of the soldiers replayed in my head. By tonight, you will receive an envelope all the instructions you need in it. Find the package, and deliver it to the address. We hope this mission will be a success to you. Good luck, soldier.

I perched on the side of the window as I poked at my afternoon food. It was pale, lumpy porridge as usual, paired with a small bowl of fruits and cold vegetables. The sun was already setting, and the sky had turned red-orange. I waited. And waited.

A knock came at the door, and the visitor led herself in. It was Koharu, and she'd brought another tray of food to replace with the lunch tray I had barely touched. "Miss, it's time for your dinner," She announced. The menu for today's dinner was different than that of lunch.

It was steak and mashed potatoes as a side. It was the first luxury I was accustomed to during my entire stay in Leidenschaftlich's hospital. But it was not the food that had caught my eye. It was in fact, just as the two soldiers had promised - a cream-coloured envelope, sitting underneath one of the plates, waiting to be opened.

I waited until Koharu left, closing the door behind her. I knew I was being watched. My hand whipped out lightning fast, stealing the knife from the dinner tray that had been set next to my hospital bed and sliced the envelope open as discreetly as I could. I was taken aback when I pulled the folded piece of paper out of the envelope, only to find the surface of the paper empty.

That's not right, I thought. They had said that there were going to be instructions. This was merely a piece of blank paper. Frowning slightly, I tried every method possible to have message visible to naked eye, from positioning the paper underneath the flickering overhead lamps to splashing droplets of water onto it, but nothing seemed to work.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught the flame of a candle dancing. Heating the paper ... I thought. I'd heard of this method before, but never before tried it. I crossed the room, and lightly hovered the paper over the flame ; careful not to set the entire piece of paper on fire. Once the paper was thoroughly heated, my eyes widened at the change. Word by word, the ink started to become visible to see.

Mission 789,
Your task is to deliver. The package contains valuable items, and it can be found inside one of the restricted rooms of Leidenschaftlich hospital. Retrieve the key from the Head Physician's office, but be careful to get caught. Once the package is in your hands, deliver it personally to Leidenschaftlich Harbour. We will be waiting for you.

Good luck, soldier.
p.s. burn this after you read it.

I re-read the instructions over and over again, memorising it, though it doesn't seem like a complete instruction. What does the package look like? I let out an annoyed grumble, and set the paper on flames, leaving it to burn to ashes in the bin in the corner of the room. I checked the clock, confirming it with the skies outside. Evening stars took the dark-blue coloured sky. Perfect.

I slipped out of the room as quietly as I could. The hallways were dark and eerie, with only flickering lights to aid me as I walked. There were the loud moans and groans of the patients as well as the continuous beeps of machines attached to them that could be heard from the outside. I tip-toed down the hallway, my feet cold against the marbled floor.

During one of the many times I'd pretended to sleep while they had nurses check on me, I'd hear them spit out the directions of the Head Physician's office. I'd repeat what they'd said in my head when they'd left, hoping that one day, one day the information would come to use. And today was the day. Third storey, two turns to the left.

I skipped two steps at a time up the emergency stairs and pushed at the doors. I jumped when I suddenly came face-to-face with a patient. He was old, hunched elderly enough to be supported by a cane. His machine was attached behind him, and he stared ominously past me. I tried not to turn to follow his gaze, and instead, I held my breath as I made my way around him. He seemed to be sleepwalking, I thought as I looked over my shoulder. He was still staring at the emergency exit door - where I had came from.

I took two lefts as I'd remembered and smiled triumphantly to myself as I stopped before the Head Physician's office. I turned on the doorknob and entered. And there it was - hanging right beside the Head Physician's white coat, was a bunch of copper, rusted keys. I examined my surroundings ; it couldn't be that easy. The overhead lamps were on, but the shades were pulled shut together. I carefully made my way to where lamp switch was, and flicked it off.

I half-expected an obstacle course that was invisible to the naked eye, but instead, standing in front of me was a masked man dressed in black. A pair of familiar lime green eyes stared down at me.

"Do you miss me, love?"