"C'mon!! The boss is so close to being beaten! Just keep spamming your attacks everyone-
we will emerge victorious!"
I mash the buttons on my controller furiously as I try to clutch the win for my team. While doing this everyone in my party screams
"We can do this, we can win!"
"Spam! Just spam everything!!"
I hear the door to my room open up and a nurse comes in.
"It's time for you to go to sleep now, I have already been instructed by your doctor to turn off all entertainment devices"
She walks over to my game console and unplugs it.
All sound coming from the television completely stops, I stop doing my hunched over gamer pose and fall back into my bed.
I use my lips to blow a raspberry.
"Man this isn't fair- I'm supposed to be enjoying the rest of my life.."
The nurse packs away all the stuff corresponding with the game console (headset, controller, etc) and then shoots me a gleaming smile.
"We are here to do another check-in on you and your health. How are you feeling?"
I cross my arms and turn my head to the side like an angry tsundere girl.
"Why should I do as you say, you took away my only joy in life!"
"I promise I will give it back if you just comply.."
She says, with a bit of irritation in her voice. I don't blame her though, I can be quite stubborn.
"I feel the same as always, shitty as hell."
I let out a sigh while saying that- look I just wanted my console back as fast as possible!
Covering my mouth, I let out a raspy weak cough.
"Well that's no good isn't it?"
I look up as she says this but the urge to cough is too strong and I fall back into the pattern of coughing my lungs out.
As far back as I can remember, I have always been sick. I never got to go out to places and make friends in person.
At just the ripe age of 10, I was diagnosed with an illness called "Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy". It's a sort of illness that causes progressive muscle degeneration and weakness. I need assistance from 2 different people just to stand on the floor.
And yes, this is insanely annoying when I need to go poop.
As the nurse pumps me with needles I simply lay back and sip on my boba.
"That reminds me, I just got a letter from your sister! Seems she is coming into town to see you. How sweet of her!! Are you as excited to see her as she is to see you?"
I rolled my eyes a little making sure the nurse didn't see.
The truth is, I envy my sister. She's 20 and already traveling all over the world. She's got a master degree in pretty much every line of work and I would say she is quite pretty so her love life is not that hard at all.
"Yea, I suppose so."
I say with a full mouth of boba.
"Welp I got everything I need today, I should probably go take all of this to your doctor and leave you to your games."
Then weirdly she points her hand into the air and begins to say a speech.
"You are a great warrior who has overcome the hardest of turmoils, a hero who refuses to give up! You must play the game and valiantly defeat the demon king! Do not disappoint me!!!"
After saying that she lets out a little giggle and exits the room.
I let out a weak chuckle and turned my head towards my game.
"And bed at 10 please mister!"
She says enthusiastically through the crack of the slide door.
I've always looked up to the nurse that tends to me. We have built a strong bond over the years seeing as I see her pretty much every day. It's not like my parents see me much because they have work overseas.
I guess in a way my nurse is sort of my parental figure in my eyes.
I pick up my controller and hold down the power on button and watch the television light up as the console powers on.
I go to hop on this RPG game I play every single day called "Kairo and the heroes' crusade 3". I've always loved the series.
To be honest, sometimes I wish I could be Kario- strong, valiant, heroic and with an undying will. He's someone I wish that I could've been, someone who doesn't have to live with constant weakness and suffering day in and day out.
"I have bad news doctor Temukatsi."
I hear the nurse's voice coming from outside- seems she hadn't fully closed the sliding door when she exited and now with it slightly pried open I could hear her chatting with my doctor.
"Doctor, his health is worsening each day. Every time I go in to see him he looks even worse than the day before.."
"You must understand that there is nothing we can do right now except give that boy everything he wants until the very end of his life. He doesn't have a lot of time right now so I expect you to be there by his side comforting him please."
The nurse spoke with absolute distraught and deep sorrow in her voice while the doctor just sounded like he was giving out another set of orders for her.
I look around my room while thinking about what they've said, seeing the dark corners of the plain room and feeling the cold wind from my open window hit my face while the curtains blow slightly smacking against the window.
I turn my head back towards the game and click the start button.
"Why can't I be like you, Kairo?"
"Hey! It's good to see you again little brother!!"
I hear the obnoxious voice of my sister as she opens the door to my room and runs in.
She wraps her arms around me tightly, like a bear trying to squeeze the life out of a smaller animal.
I put my hand on her right cheek and try to push her off of me.
"Get off me, you lunatic!"
"Aw come onnn~ give your big sis a smooch!"
She puts her lips together and tries to give me a peck of the cheek.
After fighting for a bit everything seems to calm down.
Looking at my sister to the right of me I see just how much she has grown.
"You look as beautiful as ever sis"
"Same goes for you, brother"
My eyes pierce her as I yell at her angrily in a playful way.
"Well you haven't lost your humour have you?! Hmph!"
She puts her right hand up to her mouth, clearing her throat before then putting her backpack on her thighs and going to pull something out.
"As you know, I have recently graduated university. I scored a sweet business job and I thought that I might treat you to something."
Once saying that she finally pulls her hand out of her backpack after digging around in there and I see her holding a game cartridge case with the title "Kairo and the heroes' crusade: full series".
"You're joking!"
I say out loud with a bit of excitement in my voice, slightly bending over towards her to grab the game from her hands.
To help me reach it she puts the game case out towards me and lets me grab it.
"Great surprise, huh? Your nurse told me how much you love the game series and I thought, "Why not!". But I am here for the whole day so I was hoping we could play together!"
"Yes of course! I'd love that."
I know I said I hated my sister but, god dammit I would be lying if I said she wasn't the biggest sweetheart. I suppose I just get far too jealous sometimes and that's no reason to hate someone.
My sister begins to speak in a very soft and heartfelt voice.
"Just know that I really do love you."
She sounds as if she is about to cry.
Hearing her say that made me feel quite guilty inside. For a long time I have been taking her love for granted, I never realized how much she truly cared for me. She was always there for me when our parents weren't. To be honest, she is my favourite person in the whole world.
"I know, and I love you too. But Kairo won't complete his mission alone!"
I move a little to the left of my bed and tap my hand on the right side of my bed, signalling her to come sit beside me.
She smiles and eagerly comes to lay next to me.
"Doctor please! Come and do something!"
My vision is blurry, I can only slightly make out my sister standing over me with her hands on my chest pressing down. My body is trembling, I can feel my mouth filling up with something sour. A sour foam.
My body shakes so much that it feels like it is going to explode. I see the Doctor and nurse walk in.
"Are we clear?"
"Clear."
I feel a giant rumble of energy flow through my body. One here, one there. Another couple. The corner of my vision gets increasingly dark. My ears ring but I can still hear the found sound of me choking on that sour taste in my mouth. It was foam. Sour foam that choked the back of my throat until it felt numb.
The darkness in my eyes only continues to get darker and darker. I try to make use of the remaining light in my eyes and look for my sister. Even though my eyesight is blurry I can make out quite a bit. I blink over and over again to clear my eyesight a bit more.
She is there sitting in a chair on my right, tears profusely running down her face as she is ugly crying. It was only now that I realized she was holding my hand very tightly to the point where it felt like she was going to rip it off.
"I don't want to lose you"
I try to say, but no sound escapes my lips. I can feel myself crying, I can feel the tears running down.
No, I don't want to die. I want to be here with you. I want to be alive, I want to live. I want to see you get married and I want to be by your side. I am fine with being sick just as long as I can live a long fruitful life with you. I don't want to make our time together meaningless.
I love you. I love you!
My sister, even though crying, leans down and with a cracking voice tries to speak to me.
"I want you to live. Live for me, please. You deserve to live."
As she spoke the darkness in my eyes became stronger, about to engulf everything. My heart drastically slowed down as my body went numb. Before everything went black the last thing I saw was the sweet smile of my sister.
Cold wind brushes against my body, circling all around me. My eyelids feel heavy as I open them to see a vast black space with a little light in the sky.
My body, as if drawn to the little light, starts levitating towards it against my own will.
I feel as if I have no weight—light as a feather, buoyant and free.
I put my hands out in front of me not to see flesh, but to see white outlines.
"Is this? My soul?"
I said to myself out loud.
At this very moment, I felt free. It was as if all the pain and troubles I have endured throughout my life finally felt worth it for just this one moment.
Then out of nowhere I felt a tug. A tug coming from behind. And after it was a tug it was a grab and after a grab it was a pull. Before I knew it I was being pulled downwards, away from the light at insane speeds. This once bright light in the dark was now only simply a speck in the void.
I finally hit something that feels like water after being pulled down for quite a bit of time. At first I feel like I am drowning but then I pass through this water-like substance and enter a domain. Unlike the void, this place has gravity, which makes me fall downwards until I hit the wet floor.
After getting my face planted, I look up to observe my surroundings.
The domain is not dark but somewhat lit up by a purple colour that fades in and out between dark and bright, there aren't any walls, the place simply stretches out infinitely, like a pocket dimension.
The most distinctive feature though is that in the middle of this domain there rested a throne made of granite. And on that throne sat a beautiful woman with long luxurious blonde hair shining gold.
"I have waited a long time for you, hero."
Her voice was soft and tender, as the words hit my ears they instantly made my body rest.
There was something about the tone of her voice that put me at ease- soothing, calming, divine.
I got up slowly and took a nice look at her. Very feminine, her body was shining bright gold, but her blonde hair shone even brighter. She sat there not daring to move as she had a smirk planted on her face. It was obvious that she was waiting for me to say something.
"Where am I?"
It was hard to mask the obvious hint of fear in my voice. But could you blame me though? I was in a place I haven't yet seen looking at what seems to be a divine goddess.
"Oh my poor child, how far you have strayed from home. I am the divine goddess Haro, mostly known as the goddess of heroism."
She spoke with absolute confidence. There was no hint that indicated her lying or any of the sort, she was being for real. This lady really is a goddess.
Golden leaves slowly float down from above, I could see where the sky started and where the ground met. This place was beyond anything I had seen- a sight to behold.