If you have clicked on this story, it either means you are way too curious, or you are one of us. Then again, I have too much curiosity too. Know that once you scroll down, there is no going back. You can't just walk away and forget about it, because the memories and dreams will haunt you. So be ready for the journey ahead. Because it is going to be a tough one. Anyone that isn't ready, go ahead and click out of this page.The rest of you, take a deep breath and scroll down.
It had been a week in the hospital. The doctors and nurses could find nothing wrong with me. They could tell I wasn't pretending because my energy levels were way down. I was perfectly healthy, and they didn't know what to think. My exhaustion got to the point where it was hard to stand up, but I sucked it up. I've always been the one in my family that never gave up, that barely cried. Sure, I argued a lot, but I never showed anything like sadness or anxiety. I couldn't afford to. I mostly laid in bed all day, watching tv, playing on my new phone, or sleeping. Once, they let Sarah, my dog, in the room. She immediately jumped on the cot with me, and I laughed when she licked me. Staying at the hospital was always nerve-racking, and it didn't feel like home one bit. But when Sarah came in, my world lit up. Sarah was like my daughter, in a way. Once, my mom was letting me take Sarah for a walk by myself, and she was telling me about an aggressive dog in our neighborhood. “If they do get in a fight, then remember, your life is more important than Sarah's.” She said. I knew she was just worried about me, but I shook my head. “I'm not leaving her behind, mom.” My mother's face went rock hard. “Yes, you will.” I don't usually defy my mom like this, but I was never going to leave Sarah to die. “No, I won't. If a dog was attacking me, you would just leave me there to die, would you?” She shook her head, and tried to argue.”But that's different.” I led Sarah towards the door, and yelled back, “Not for me!” Luckily, we had no encounters with the dog, and we never mentioned the situation again. Now, Sarah was back, and my face went from bored to happiness in an instant. The doctors could tell that I was happy, and so they let Sarah stay on my bed with me for the entire day. After that, Sarah visited every day, and every time, I was happier than before.
It was Wednesday, of the second week. Ivy came to visit me, and I was happy. We talked about a lot, from what could be wrong with me from Ivy's new crush. When she left, I was sad. It felt good to feel normal, even for just a second. I sighed and looked around the room. It was the first time I noticed there wasn't any color, just four blank white walls. I smiled and began conjuring up a scheme. Just then, a nurse walked in. Right on time. “Need anything?” She asked, and I nodded. “Actually, I do. I know this is an odd request, but…”
I was sitting on the floor. There were eight cans of paint next to me, the rainbow colors and black, white, gold, silver, and several paintbrushes. You can guess where I was going with this. I picked up my phone, clicked on Youtube, and let my favorite songs start to play. I began painting, letting all the emotions I've been feeling out onto the wall with the paint. My body felt better, more awake. I painted the sunset over the sea on the wall closest to the bathroom, and I painted a spring picture with flowers, a rainbow, trees, deer, and a bird on the wall behind my bed. I was alone in the room, but I didn't feel alone. I felt like I was in a room full of people like me, people that were weird and proud of it. I grabbed a chair and painted the top wall, the roof, a night sky mirage. To the left of my bed, next to all the medical stuff, I painted it gold. Then, I dipped my hand in my favorite color, lavender, and printed it on the wall, leaving my handprint. Under it, wrote in dark blue, I put Anyone who has ever been in this room, put your handprint on this wall. That way, you won't feel alone when you see the other handprints. Because others have been here too.
I felt good. Now, when other people came into this room, they wouldn't feel alone. Whether it be tomorrow or weeks from now, there would always be handprints on the wall. For the last wall, the wall I looked at pretty much all day, I painted a wolf howling at the moon with her pup. The wolf was gray with magical purple marks down her body. The pup was also gray but had cyan marks instead of purple. When I was done, the whole room looked great. It smelled bad but looked awesome. Just then, my parents walked into the room. They had left me in the room for about three hours, and I had gotten a lot done in those hours. I was dancing to my favorite songs, using a clean paintbrush as a microphone and lip-singing. When they walked in, I just slowly lowered the paintbrush and backed away. “Oh my God.” said my mom, and my dad just widened his eyes. “What the beep!” He said, and I just remained silent. They both looked at me. “I uh… got bored?” I said, trying not to get in trouble. “Bored is right! What are we going to tell the hospital managers?!” asked my mother, her face a combination of worry, anger, and surprise. Just then, one of the doctors walked in. I had learned his name was Dr. Emton. He was carrying a tray with a blood-drawer and some bandages but dropped them the second he saw my art. The room was silent for a moment, and then my mom tried to explain. “We are so sorry, we will pay for-” Dr. Emton held up his hand, and my mom stopped talking. “No, stop,” He said, and looked around. I prepared myself to get yelled at, but he didn't yell. “I love it. Can you do this in other rooms?” Dr. Emton said, and I was shocked. My parents were too. My mom turned off my music, and I almost collapsed. “Woh!” said my dad, but I caught myself. I leaned against the cot and smiled. “I could do this in other rooms. But one thing. I want to have whoever is in the room choose what I paint, and also, they might have to stay in another room while it dries.” I said, and Dr. Emton nodded. “Sure. I know this would make many patients happier, and God knows that we need that right now.” He said, and I crawled back into my bed. I felt exhausted but proud. That night, they had to put me in the hallway to sleep. And I have to say, I had a good sleep that night.
