The Brilliant Light of Amber Sunrise by Matthew Crow

Author:Matthew Crow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon Pulse

On my last night Kelly had been groaning for hours on end. She had lost her hair too but hadn’t learned anything from the experience. She would still try to glance at the footwear or accessories of the doctors and nurses frequenting her bedside, and form all character judgments based on her findings.

“Why don’t you ever try with Dr. McCallum?” Jackie asked one day after Kelly had remained mute throughout one of his routine checkups.

“’Cuz he’s only got a Nokia 3210 . . . the loser,” she said, before snorting a cheap laugh, then returning to her magazine.

In the middle of the night I heard her throwing up in the toilet. She had left the door open. For attention, I thought, and put a relaxing song on my iPod to try and lure me into sleep.

Halfway through the second verse of “Orinoco Flow” I caught a glimpse of a shadow walking past my bed. At first I thought I might have been tripping from the zoned out playlist Chris had made for me. When I realized this wasn’t likely I just assumed I was hallucinating. Mum told me that when I had meningitis I’d carried out an entire conversation with a Sesame Street poster on my bedroom wall, so I knew I was prone to such flights of fancy.

Then I saw the way the shadow shuffled and slumped down the length of the ward, and realized even a mind as unconventional as mine couldn’t have invented a character so formless. It was Amber, I realized, making her way sleepily toward the toilet.

Before I had time to turn off my iPod I saw her go into the bathroom. She was there a while, as Kelly retched and gagged and sniffed back tears. I heard Amber speak but couldn’t tell what she was saying. She talked longer than she ever had to Kelly before. Usually they spoke one line at a time to each other. And usually even that was an effort. But Amber seemed to be talking at length tonight, just quietly whispering things that I couldn’t make out. They were in there so long that I thought perhaps she was happy to have finally made a female friend to discuss our blossoming love with. Kelly seemed unresponsive at first, so I assumed Amber was waxing lyrical about our time together. I sat up to try and have a better listen, then slid back down into pretend sleep when I heard Kelly mutter something in response, and then the sound of the bathroom light being turned off.

When they came back they were together. I’d muted my iPod so that I could hear all that transpired, but kept my eyes closed to maintain the illusion.

I heard Kelly being tucked back into bed, and someone filling a cup for her from a jug of water.

“Thanks,” Kelly said tearfully. Then, I assume to maintain the status quo, she added, “I still hate you.”

“Good,” I heard Amber say as she made her way back across the ward.

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