"264" by Meghan Wilson

264

The hallway smells of old broccoli and mold. The sour smell of urine lingers in the air. She arrives at his room and shivers as she looks upon the number on the door. “264,” she says to no one and begins to enter the room with a bit of hesitation. She pushes the door open, it seems a little heavier today than the day before. She starts to head for the bed, which is being petitioned off by a long row of odd colored fabric and geometric shapes hanging from plastic hooks. She peaks behind the curtain to reveal what she had hoped would just turn out to be another bad dream - her father, lying in a hospital bed, helpless, and asleep. She moves forward placing her hand on his and gently kisses his forehead; her father’s eyes begin to open, revealing the beautiful cobalt color she loves so much.(He looks so much like hell.) She thinks to herself as she gazes down at the dying man in front of her. He sees his daughter looking at him and tries to speak, gurgling and choking on the blue and red tubes the doctors have shoved down his throat to keep him alive. He gets frustrated, pulling on them with swollen fingers; he never was one to be kept a mute. “I love you daddy.” The girl says practically choking on her tears, trying to be so strong. Nevertheless, tears begin to flood her eyes and the father can only stare at his daughter, knowing that nothing he can do will comfort her. He motions her closer. “I love you too, my hippy girl.” He mouths. The girl shakes trying to hold back the emotions that want to flood her body. The air begins to turn an icy cold. The father now closes his eyes as the daughter places her hand one last time on his. She now knows that her father will never again open his eyes, that he is in darkness forever. It is in this moment that the girl looses all feeling of the heart, no longer lets people in, and no longer cares for life. She leaves the room, never to return to her once perfect life, her last true friend and hero is gone.