I waited.
“Umm… pardon me?”
“Can I know the total bill of everyone in hospital right now? I would like to pay it off.”
Her eyes widened. “R-really?”
“Yes.” My smile widened.
“Yes. If you could give us a moment…?” She was scared to make me wait.
“Of course. Take your time. I’m going to go around and meet everyone, if that is alright.”
“Of course! If you want, Min here can help you around the hospital.”
“That would be great, thank you.” I nodded and Min was shocked and slightly scared but she walked around the reception and stood in front of me, wide eyed, unable to say anything.
Why was I having this effect on people?
“Let’s go?” I prodded her out of her shock.
She nodded vigorously. “Yes, Luna Queen, as you wish, Luna Queen.” She said and led me around the hospital.
We met a lot of people, some sick of some minor cold or fever who had come for a basic check up, and some with big diseases. But the most heartbreaking thing was that most of them were kids. The kids were humans until they reached their puberty and the wolf in them comes out before they finally turn into a werewolf. And while werewolves have a strong immune systems, humans don’t. And the human vaccines don’t affect our kids the way they should and no proper advancement has been done in this sector.
“The next one is Ed. He has stage four cancer, he only has a couple of weeks to live now.” Min’s voice turned soft. “And he still hasn’t let the light in him die. He’s one of the oldest residents in the hospital. He used to be in a small hospital of Alvar but his sister shifted him here because of better facilities and subsidised costs.”
My heart went out for the kid.
If it was in my control, I would have healed each and every person in here but there are some things I instinctively knew. I knew that a balance between life and death needed to be maintained. Especially when it comes to death from natural causes. If someone is hurt or attacked and has a wound, then that’s a different story. But I shouldn’t interfere with the Moon Goddess’s decisions. Everything is for the greater good, even if I don’t understand what good comes out of the death of a little kid.
I opened the door and widened the smile on my lips, holding it there even when I saw the sickly thin boy with bones jutting out of his thin skin. He had lost all his hair too.
His eyes snapped to mine when he heard me enter and widened. “You’re the queen!” He whispered.
My eyes almost teared up at his genuine expression and the adoration in his voice. “Yes. You can call me Avalyn.”
His eyes widened. “But that’s bad manners.”
“It will be our secret.” I winked and took a seat on a chair by his bed. He nodded eagerly.
“I have a surprise for you.” I told him and his eyes twinkled. “What is it?”
“Do you like magic?” I asked him.
“Yes. Do you know tricks?” He asked in awe.
“Yes.” I said created an illusion and made the hospital disappear and created a jungle in front of us.
“Is that a lion?” He looked scared but excited to see the big cat approach us.
“Yes. Don’t be scared, it’s very friendly.” I brought the lion closer to him and Ed extended his hand and ran it through the lion’s mane. I made the lion purr before he roared causing Ed to snatch his hand back quickly and then let out a small laugh.
Then I made the lion turn around and walk away and brought in an elephant.
“It’s so big.” Ed whispered, his eyes wide.
The elephant lifted it’s trunk in the air and trumpeted, making Ed jump and squeal. The elephant extended his trunk towards him. “He’s saying ‘hi’, Ed, shake his trunk.”
Ed extended his hand and shook the elephant’s trunk like he would someone’s hand.
And then the elephant too, turned around and left.
And then came a giraffe, causing Ed to crane his neck up to look at the tall giraffe. I handed him a long leaf, “feed it to him.”
He took the leave from my hand and extended his arm towards the giraffe. The giraffe lowered his tall neck and extended his long tongue and took the leave from Ed’s hand, causing him to jerk his hand back, “It’s tongue is hairy!”
I chuckled at his reaction and then asked, “What is your favourite animal?”
“Cheetah! It’s very fast!” He exclaimed.
I made the jungle disappear and created an image of an open area and then a cheetah who approached us. Ed clapped his hands in happiness.
“How about a race? Who do you think is faster? Us or the cheetah?”
“I can’t run, silly!” Ed said, not feeling sad about that, too entranced with the cheetah that he was petting.
“The bed has wheels, hold on to my hand tight,” I said and extended my hand towards him. He caught my hand in a deathly tight grip. “Ready?”
He nodded.
And them I created a mirage of the wind hitting us and the ground beneath us moving quickly so it felt like we were moving fast. The cheetah was running besides is too and then I made the cheetah win.
“That was so much fun!” Ed exclaimed, his face radiating pure happiness. He extended his arms towards me and I got up from my seat and hugged the little boy to my chest. “Thank you, Avalyn! That was the best magic trick in the history of magic tricks!”
“Anytime, kiddo.” I smiled and kissed his cheek.
I heard a sob and my eyes snapped to a girl at the door whose eyes widened and she rushed out of the door. I motioned Tessa to go after her.
Ed’s eyes dimmed.
“Is that your sister?” I asked.
Ed bit his lip and nodded. “She is sad because I’m dying.”
“Aren’t you sad?” I asked gently.
He shook his head. “I’ll finally meet mom and dad and I won’t hurt anymore. So no. But I’m sad to leave Sidney behind.”
How did Sidney manage? Did she take care of him alone?
“Does it hurt too much?”
He bit his lip and nodded. “Most times.”
I took his hand in mine and and used my powers to relieve his pain. I can’t stop him from dying but I can ease his pain.
His eyes filled with tears. “You did that?”
Giving him a small smile, I nodded.
“Thank you so much, Avalyn.” He wiped a tear of his. “Will you come to meet me again?”
“Of course.” I nodded. “Now you should rest. Sleep okay?”
He nodded and I tucked him under the blanket. I gave him a last smile before I walked out of the hospital room, wiping my own stray tear.
Why is the world so unfair? He is snatched of his entire life for no fault of his own.