Chương 9: Blue Voyage

Upon awakening when the anesthesia's effects wore off, the first thing Histoire experienced was a brumous kaleidoscope of a luminescent yellow, a fluff of pink and an incomprehensible number of blue hues. The sight was that of a spectacular display of fireworks, except it was better enhanced by the effects of the gas. She had to blink a number of times and lift her weakened arm to touch the colors to make sure they were tangible.

"Hey. It's me," Jotham said after he noticed she was stuck in a stuporous daze. He allowed her soft hands to caress his cheek for a few seconds before he wrapped his hands around her arms to assist her with siting upright. He propped the pillows behind her so she could comfortably rest her back.

Histoire's eyes were still heavy but her vision gradually cleared up until she was able to see Jotham seated in a chair beside the bed. He had a small smile playing on his lips.

"For a second, I was starting to think you were going to sleep the entire day away," Jotham said as Histoire took it to herself to scan the room she was in. She was still drowsy but was able to make out her surroundings. When the operation was over, she was carried back to her bedroom, Blaise's to be accurate. She had to rest in a place where she would not have to leave for a while and her room was the best option.

There was some pressure on her left foot and she turned her attention to that next to see that the ice block that encased her injury was replaced by a cast that enshrouded her entire foot and stopped mid-lower leg.

She scrapped her knees on the rough carpet and they were bandaged. All ten of her fingertips were also bound by bandages. Months had passed since she extracted her nails and, after carefully treating the wounds, they were no longer an inconvenience and did not vex her as much. Dr. Amin must have felt he needed to soothe any trauma in posse.

She noticed she had on a peignoir she owned, which entailed the doctor had thoroughly inspected her body. Histoire was inquisitive about his thoughts when he saw the state of her forearms.

"What time is it?" She asked with a low and raspy voice. Her speech was slurred. After she affirmed that her back was rested comfortably against the pillows, she attempted to raise her left foot and managed to elevate it only a few inches off the bed. The swelling had attenuated tremendously. There was no irritation or pain when she attempted to convolute her mortise joint.

The cast functioned as the perfect restraint to impede Histoire from moving and to eventually further detriment her wound before it was fully healed.

"It's roughly nine o'clock," she heard Jotham state from his seat and relaxed on her pillows.

"AM?" She asked and he responded with a slight chuckled, "No, PM." He saw her facial expression change to that of disbelief. She could not believe she had slept that long. Suddenly, she noticed that the curtains were drawn and no sunlight swam into the room like earlier. The lights were turned on in her room and in the hallway.

That elucidated why the cast was unaffixed to her foot. The swelling had enough time to go down, however, she was certain it should have taken longer for that to occur.

"I don't understand. It feels as though I was never injured," she said, marveling at the doctor's magnificent skills. This was Jotham's queue to expound on what happened when she was unconscious.

"The operation was protracted but with a good reason. Dr. Amin has a 'gift' of healing. It has its limits and a caveat, though," Jotham explained, arousing Histoire's full interest and curiousity.

"I'm not sure how the process went, I was not allowed into the operation room," he began, "but he did explain it in a way we can both comprehend. Fundamentally, the doctor can heal only bones, that includes using his body's matter to fill in cavities, treat inflammations, and-"

"Please, get to the point. I'm too sleepy to understand this complicated stuff," Histoire intervened with a low giggle. Jotham returned the laugh and nodded agreement.

"Right. The drawback is that he has to be in physical contact with the bone," he added.

As far as Histoire was concerned, she did not procure an open wound during the accident. In order to be in physical contact, the doctor would have to form an incision and... She could not fathom the image.

"The torn muscles, tendons and ligaments will have to heal over time, probably three weeks at best. You'll be able to walk in a few days since the fibula is as good as new," he finished off with a smile. All she heard was too much for her drunken mind to comprehend, but what she could was that it was not necessary to worry as much as she did before the surgery.

"Did you spend the entire day here?" She asked.

"I volunteered to take care of you. Even if I did want to leave, Dr. Amin would not have allowed you to stay in the mansion by yourself. You need someone to tend to the strenuous tasks. In fact, I was just about to make dinner before you woke up," and he responded.

He did not want to admit it, but Histoire was aware that the doctor would have assigned at least one of the nurses to remain and monitor her progress. The reason Jotham volunteered was because he wanted to tend to the task himself. Histoire was somewhat glad, as she felt there was no better person for the job than someone she was comfortable around.

But having Jotham take care of her meant he would have to ignore the other aspects of his life.

"What about school? You'll miss out on important material," she asked with concern evident in her voice.

"It's nothing I can't catch up on. There's nothing wrong with taking a day off every once in a while," he replied. Histoire feared she may have been an inconvenience to him. Jotham would never imagine her as such.

"Besides, I called the university and explained your situation to them. They gave you two weeks leave to recover. Well, the doctor recommended it, actually. I was able to get three days off so you won't be here on your own," he explained, finishing off with a wide grin.

"And work?" History asked next. As far as she was concerned, Jotham had never taken a day off from work. Working there was another one of his passions. The company scouted him long before he graduated from high school. His talent and passion for photography was recognised early on, probably due to Deus' recommendation to his father. She hated being the reason he had to stay away from work.

"Deus came by when you were unconscious," he began, arousing more of her curiousity.

"Normally he's reserved and keeps a cold demeanor towards others, but he showed up anyway. He did not say much nor did he stay long. He wanted to inform me he's giving me a paid week off from work so that he won't have to bother himself with checking in on you," Jotham said. Histoire did not think she would see Deus so soon after the encounter that morning.

Of course, even though he did make it known she was nothing more than a liability to him, she appreciated what he did to help her. She wanted to thank him properly for it.

"It's awfully generous of him to do that for a stranger," Histoire muttered to herself, but Jotham was close enough to hear her words.

"You mentioned you met him just this morning. Even though you met him a long time ago and may have forgotten, the fact that he's your father's business partner should have served as a reminder," he stated, suddenly realising he had crossed an emotional barrier, an action he wished he could retract. He reached for her shaking hand and gently held it in his.

"I should not have said that. I'm sorry, Histoire," he apologised but she immediately responded with a smile. Nothing was his fault. Nothing ever was. She could not have him blame himself for the shattered relationship she once had with her own father. She could not avoid the topic forever.

One thing she did perceive was how all she learned that day seemed to have been too much of a coincidence. That she moved into to a house that faced an old friend's house, who so happened to have been a business associate of her father and a close friend of her best friend.

"You should try to get more sleep," Jotham interrupted her thoughts and released her hand. Histoire shook her head. She had slept too long.

"No, you should head to bed. I want to stay awake for a while," she suggested, but he shared her idea.

"I can stay awake for a few more hours. I guess I should prepare dinner?" He suggested and she agreed, realising she was famished. As Jotham left and went downstairs to the kitchen, she thought of how less lonely she felt being in the mansion with him. She considered what it would be like if he moved in with her, but that would be too dangerous. In the end, she dropped the idea. She did not want to put Jotham at risk and discarded the idea completely.

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