Ariadne was a great friend, and Raphaela wanted to make sure she knew it. Being alone in a hospital bed for a week was no fun. Poor Ari. All she had told Raph was that the operation was for "woman stuff." How much "woman stuff" could one little dragon have?
Raph planned to make the long trek to visit Ari in the hospital the next day. Getting there would be a challenge. She wasn't well herself. It would take 2 trains and 3 hours to get to the hospital that Ari was in, and then there was the trip back home. The whole day had to be dedicated to the trip.
As she packed her bag, Raph thought about Ari. Their friendship had grown close over the years living in OZLAND. Raph was one of OZLANDs first residents. Ari had not moved next to her til many years later, but they quickly became good friends. They even talked about joining a tunnel to their two properties under the water so they could visit more often. Ari was there with a listening ear whenever Raph was feeling low. It didn't take long for Ari to make Raph laugh. Just seeing Ari made EVERYONE smile. After all... how could a little green dragon NOT make one smile?
Her packing done for the night, Raph looked at her ticket for the train. Seven AM was very early for her to get, up but she wanted to get to the hospital before Ari went to lunch. She made a sandwich to eat on the train, stuck it in the fridge and made a mental note to not forget it in the morning, and went to bed.
The alarm woke Raph and she fumbled to turn it off. She was tired but the trip to visit her friend would do her good. She spent too much time alone in her apartment. She was not looking forward to the train ride. Three hours was a long time to be stuck on a train, so she made sure she took a book to read with her. Everything she needed was packed in her bag except for her lunch so she grabbed it and a bottle of water out of the fridge. Looking at her apartment as she stood by the door to leave she whispered "be back later" and giggled as she closed the door.
At the train station Raph realized she hadn't brought anything to give Ari in the hospital. She had made it to the station early so she had half an hour til she needed to board. Luckily there was a store at the station. She went directly to the greeting card section. It was busy. Lots of people needing cards to give to loved ones. She didn't have time to look at the people she had her own mission and not a lot of time to do it. Someones arm grabbed a card in front of her... they muttered "PERFECT" and then rushed off bumping a guy and making him drop his card. Raph looked at the card on the floor and saw the flowers on the card. "Hummm... That one IS perfect" she thought then looked up to see where the arm had grabbed the card from. It was the same card on the floor. She took one off the shelf and read the wording inside. Happy with the card she took it up front to pay. She walked past the guy who was still brushing off the card he had dropped. She thought to herself that he looked familiar but she had no time for second looks. She had to get to her train. She got to the front of the counter just as she saw Arwin rushing off. Raph yelled to Arwin but Arwin didn't hear her and sped off in her bus. She paid the lady then made her way to the train.
The first train ride had been a busy one. Lots of people going to work, and the hustle and bustle of everyone talking and walking didn't give Raph much time to get any book reading done. Some guy sat next to her and chatted on the phone the whole time til he got off the train. "And they say women talk a lot" Raph thought to herself. Her stop was next and she got off the train.
She made the next train with 10 minutes to spare so she settled in to her seat and took out the card. She read...
I give you lovely flowers
to show my love for you!
I hope they make you smile
even when you're feeling blue.
I hope they brighten up your day
and fill your room with scent
So when you look at them you'll know
how much your love has meant.
"That IS a lovely poem," Raph said to herself as she signed GET WELL SOON and her name at the bottom of the card. She scribbled out the last "love" and wrote "friendship" instead.
The line read...
So when you look at them you'll know
how much your friendship has meant.
"Doesn't rhyme as well but much better" she thought as she slipped it back into its' envelope.
The second train ride was a little quieter and Raph was able to get some reading done. The time had gone fast and she was thankful. She was just finishing up her sandwich and water when the train reached her stop.
Refreshed and fed she made it to the hospital an hour before Ari was scheduled to eat her lunch. Raph had never been to a Para-human hospital before so she was quite surprised when the part wolf/human nurse told her she would show her where Ari's room was. As they walked Raph saw all sorts of human hybrids. It was really quite facinating to see all sorts of hybrids being helped. There were even a few humans helping with the injured.
Being a shape shifter herself, Raph was accustomed to being any creature/human she wanted to be. But still this was quite nice, seeing humans and hybrids all living together in harmony.
The nurse pointed to the doorway where Ari was staying and continued down the hall. The room was very sterile. White walls, white floors, even white beds. Ari lay sleeping on her bed. Raph didn't want to wake her but Ari sensed someone in the room and her eyes opened wide. "Hiiii Raph.. Thank you for visiting me," she said. Raph went over to the side of the bed and gave Ari a big hug. "I brought you something," she said as she took out the card and gave it to Ari. When Ari read it a big smile came to her face. "THANK YOU!!! This makes my day," she exclaimed.
They talked for hours and Ari even shared a bit of her bland lunch and dinner with Raph. They were still talking when the nurse came in and told Raph visiting hours were almost over. Raph had paid for an evening ticket on the train and she wasn't going to miss it. She gave her friend one last hug and she was off to catch the train home.
The ride home was long and tedious. It was rush hour... people going home after a long day at work. More phone conversations over heard to loved ones waiting. It DID make for an interesting trip home though and Raph even managed to JUST finish her book reading. She was lucky the trains liked to keep their schedules.
Opening the door to her home Raph smiled remembering her earlier whisper..."be back later." She was home and she had a wonderful adventure. She felt GREAT!!! She had made her friend happy and that's all that mattered.
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