“Dashyl, wake up. Someone wants to see you.” The sweet voice
floated into his dream state and slowly pulled open the boys eyes. Rathyra
stood at his bedside, looking down from her blue robes, her nose and smile
illuminated by the morning sun. “Our friend, Fretly, has awoken.” the curic
said as she stepped from between the two occupied beds.
The face that peered at him from the bed across the aisle
smiled, but Dashyl could not tell if the adolescent was dead and his lips were
just curling back from thinning. An image flooded Dashyl’s mind of the red hood
of the Krill assassin, its skull pattern eerily similar to the sunken skin of
his roommate. Fretly stopped smiling and broke the disturbing visage sneering
in the boy’s mind.
Dashyl threw his covers off and swung his legs over the edge
of the bed that faced Fretly. “So your name is Fretly? My name is Dashyl. I am
glad you’re here. I mean, I’m not glad you’re injured, but I am glad you are
here and awake so I can have some company. These curics don’t talk very much
and I have been bored out of my mind.” The younger boy jumped out of bed and
scuttled over to the edge of Fretly’s bed, who nodded affirmatively to the
question.
“Not that I don’t appreciate everything they have done for
me,” Dashyl clarified, smiling sheepishly at Rathyra. “They’ll have you feeling
the strength of an anchor in no time. I’ll help you. We can do physical therapy
together and I’ll help feed you and we can play games. I have so many
questions…”
“Dashyl, that’s enough, don’t wear our patient out,” Rathyra
interrupted the enthusiastic introduction. “You remember how weak you were when
you first awoke, don’t you? Run along and find Sheemyra to begin the day’s
exercises and lessons.”
“Okay, yes, Rathy. Talk to you later, Fretly,” Dashyl called
out as he left the room. The boy was looking forward to the evening after his
exercises for the first time in ages.
