The Legendary Actor - Chapter 60

Jennifer took a casual look around the room and quickly noticed the mess left on the bed next to the door. A dark blue backpack, a pair of scraps of paper, and some crafting tools, “Is today’s activity about making something?”

In order to keep her muscles healthy and flexible, Hazel has to do a lot of rehabilitation every day, and even moving her fingers like writing can also be considered a form of rehabilitation.

“Kite.” Hazel answered subconsciously, but then realized that she was not really answering the question, “No, today’s rehabilitation is not making anything, but …” Heather was a little irritated and did not want to continue talking about her rehabilitation, so she just cut off the conversation. “Anyway, those aren’t rehab things, they’re just … just …” Hazel couldn’t find the right words to describe it, and it was a really bad feeling!

Jennifer could sense Hazel’s ambivalence and torment, and instead of pressing further, she half-jokingly condemned, “So, where’s the kite? Did this guy make something halfway and then just slip away?”

Heather didn’t say anything and turned her head to look deeply out the window with an obscure, unreadable expression.

Jennifer walked to the window, and then saw the happy crowd below – Alex was running down the slope with a kite in his hand, a little girl standing behind her pulling the kite shaft, a tall man crouched down behind her, grasping the kite string with both hands and controlling the speed of the kite, and then a group of little kids all running aimlessly behind Alex.

The sound of laughter, noise, and hoopla … flew freely under the early spring sun, and the vitality in the air broke through the shackles of winter, venting out soundlessly.

Inadvertently, the corners of Jennifer’s mouth lifted slightly.

As a children’s hospital, Mount Sinai Hospital wasn’t new to trying to remain optimistic, and the children’s laughter was always boisterous, but there was always a deep, lingering heaviness in the hearts of the young people who were suffering from the diseases. But today, the sound of laughter, stirred by the gentle breeze, brought the entire hospital to life.

Turning back, Jennifer could see Hazel quickly loosening her teeth, but her lips, slowly regaining their blood color, betrayed what she had just done, and the stubbornness under her eyes could not hide the envy that surged through them.

Over the past few months, she had visited Hazel whenever she could. Perhaps because they were both girls and close in age, Hazel didn’t resent her lingering around, which had made them good friends. But today, Hazel’s reaction was a bit unusual.

Thinking about it, Jennifer inquired, “Hazel, is he the one who made the kite?” Although she didn’t specify, Jennifer’s instincts told her that Hazel knew who she was talking about, but Hazel didn’t answer directly, but instead dropped her eyes and avoided the question, which was even stranger.

Suddenly, with a flash of light in her head, Jennifer said tentatively, “So, he’s the guy? The guy who disappeared for almost eight months for work.”

Every nurse here knew him, and many of them spoke highly of him, and then he left New York for work, and he kept calling back to check up on her. Even Hazel, who was always happy to tell funny stories about the guy, seemed to have bright and warm memories.

But as time went on and he never came back to New York, Hazel gradually began to lose her smile, almost thinking that he wasn’t coming back, just like the friends in her life who had faded away. So, Hazel closed her heart again, refusing to make new friends, and was less than forthcoming even with her rehabilitation.

It was as if … she had given up.

Jennifer’s words had only just come out when she saw Heather’s brow furrow, the turbulence in her eyes almost impossible to hide, and even if she didn’t speak, Jennifer had gotten the answer she wanted.

Jennifer couldn’t help but turn her head to look out the window again, she was too far away to see the man’s face, only a palm-sized silhouette smidge, but the bright smile that could eclipse the sunlight was still clearly visible, making her eyes lean towards him.

“Yes, that’s him.” Hazel replied abruptly, breaking the silence in the room, “He’s Renly.”

“The legendary Renly!” The secret between the girls could not have been more obvious, and Jennifer was barely hiding the fact that Hazel was secretly in love with Renly.

The quip made Hazel bite her teeth, “I just like the music he recommends.” After the explanation, Hazel felt it wasn’t enough and added, “He’s a very knowledgeable person who seems to know everything, and I just simply enjoy talking to him.”

No one can know everything. But Jennifer didn’t burst Hazel’s bubble of fantasy; every teenage girl has a crush, someone who seems to be omnipotent, whose every move radiates the light of the sun, and whose presence is all that matters. Every teenage girl is the same. Jennifer, however, couldn’t help but recall her own crush, which was … in high school? Or was it middle school? It’s amazing how fuzzy the memory has become.

“So, shouldn’t you be happy that Renly is finally back?” Jennifer inquired curiously.

Hazel envied the people who could run wildly and feel the solidity and weight of the earth with their feet; she envied the people who could laugh so loudly that their lungs would never feel burning or clogged; she envied the people who could enjoy the sunshine like a normal person. Talking, writing, and walking, things that were taken for granted even by other patients. She was stripped off of all of it from her body. She had a burning sense of humiliation.

“But he’s going to leave again eventually, isn’t he?” Hazel said softly. She was tired of going through the experience of leaving again and again.

Jennifer sighed softly, “And how do you know that deep down he’s not worried about you leaving?”

“How can I leave? I’m trapped right here! Forever!” Hazel cried out in excitement to the point where she even sat up, clenching her fists. Her cheeks flushed, as she expressed her anger with all her might.

Jennifer wanted to give her a hug, but she held back because she knew that Hazel didn’t need comfort or pity in this moment, “Hazel, you know what I mean.” There is no cure for the disease of gradual freezing, so the first to leave at the end of time will most likely be Hazel, not Renly, or anyone else, “Renly chose to come back, he had more courage than anyone else, while you chose to run away.”

Jennifer’s words were seemingly merciless, they cut right through Hazel’s defense and left her speechless, but Jennifer didn’t stop there as she continued, “The doctor said you can still walk.” Hazel’s condition progressed a little faster than expected, but it didn’t deteriorate to the point of being bad, and now Hazel can still walk. She just chose to give up.

Hazel had no other way to refute other than to shout at Jennifer, “You don’t know anything, you don’t know anything, you’re a healthy person, you just stand around and watch my jokes, your words are so easy, but you don’t know what they mean to me!” Hazel pointed in the direction of the doorway, “Get out, I want you to get out!”

Jennifer opened her mouth to say something else, but after a moment’s hesitation, she finally took it in stride and left.

She wanted to help Hazel, she really wanted to, but she was still too young and hadn’t experienced so many ups and downs in her twenty years of life, and sometimes, even when she wanted to help, she was powerless. This feeling of powerlessness and frustration made her hate herself a little bit.

However, she also knew that this wasn’t about her, it was the patients who were suffering that were the main characters, and she couldn’t force the patients to accept her good intentions just because of her powerlessness and eagerness, could she?

Jennifer left the room, her mind was in a mess. Before she could look up, she saw a wall at the door. She couldn’t help but step back for a half pace. When she raised her head, she saw Renly standing at the door. This is the man she met last time at the airport in Los Angeles, and the kite in his hand suggested that he was the Renly that Hazel was always talking about. The amount of information was too much for Jennifer to process for a moment.

Renly also saw Jennifer in front of him, the tail of his eyebrows could not help but raise lightly. He just overheard the end of the arguement, and was wondering who the other person was, without expecting to see someone that surprising.

However, there were more important tasks at hand, and Renly smiled and nodded toward Jennifer, pushing open the hospital room door and walking in without saying anything more.

“Get out!” Hazel didn’t even see who was coming and just roared over. But this time she got no response, so she yelled again, “Get out!” He looked up, and then there was Renly.

Renly was holding a butterfly kite in his hand, standing there smiling, not at all surprised by Hazel’s mood swings, just standing there peacefully and calmly.

Hazel just felt like she had hit a wall of cotton and couldn’t make any effort, so she angrily turned her head and refused to have any kind of communication with Renly.

Renly stepped forward again, walked over to the window, carefully set the kite up, and then took two steps back to make sure it was in all in order before smiling at Hazel. As if nothing had happened, Renly walked to the side, gathered his things, and then left the room.

The room was quiet again, but Hazel’s eyes could not help but fall on the kite. Behind the transparent window was the blue sky, and the kite was placed there motionless. The design looked somewhat counter-intuitive but also unique.