- micah && shiloh -
/ once upon a time in a cave by the sea, lived a selkie that ran away with me /
I tried to ignore the bleeping. Took a breath. Continued.
"And the selkie girl swam out to the ocean with the boy, down into the sea, where they lived happily ever after." Not really. But she was asleep now, and I didn't want to wake her by reading more. Didn't want to tell her that actually, the selkie drowned the boy and ate him on the sea bed. So many parallels. Shiloh was the selkie girl. She was drowning me. Not deliberately of course, but as I sat in the Intensive Care Unit, watching her smothered by machines and IV drips, I felt I was going under with each drip of saline pumped into her.
There was a time that I would have liked to take Shiloh to the ocean. To watch her play in the waves again. I shut my eyes.
"Micah!" Shiloh called from the surf, her pale skin glimmering in the water. I waved to her, watching her bedraggled form as it dipped in and out of the sea; the sound of her laughter echoing back to me even from the beach. "Mi?" Came a quiet voice. Jolting upright, I found Shiloh gazing tiredly at me from the bed, but she was smiling.
"You're tired." I poked her gently;
"Get back to sleep." She had a faraway look in her eyes as she reached for my hand.
"What were you dreaming about, Mi?" "The ocean, Shiloh. I was just thinking about when we can go again." We were interrupted then, by the nurse. She glanced once at me, then did a double take.
"Micah Jones- what on earth are you still doing here? You haven't left this hospital in a week! You look terrible, sweetheart. Look, get out, go shower. I'll be sitting right by Shiloh- she's stable, and she's not going anywhere. Go get some fresh air."Reluctantly, I stood, blew a kiss to Shiloh, then left. I was gone an hour.
Just an hour.
-x-x-x-
I felt better as I strolled through the hospital lobby. I'd eaten decent food, and had a hot bath. At least I looked somewhat normal now. As I made my way up to Shiloh's room, the bright lights of the gift shop caught my eye. Smiling, I picked up a mermaid plushie, and squeezed it. To my surprise, it began to play
music.You are my sunshine,
My only sunshine,
You make me happy,
When skies are grey.
You'll never know dear,
How much I love you,
Please don't take my sunshine away."We're losing her!"
"Chest compressions- start!"
"It's too late-"
"Time of death 3:52."The mermaid in my arms, I let myself in to Shiloh's room.
It was empty.
The mermaid crashed to the floor, still singing.
And then, in reality, I realized I couldn't hear anything. No beeping, just silence.
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