It’s 6 PM and 24 hours after Elliot was stabbed. He’s lying on the hospital bed after his operation the day before.
Elliot (quietly humming):
“Fall, fall, fall
But not from too high
Fall, fall, fall on me
Let me catch you before you go
Stay with me for as long as morning dew
I would never ask you to be forever mine
I know I can’t own you
You’re only on loan to me
So fall on me before you go
Touch me with your grace and let me know
I will not be alone
As long as you visit me from time to time”
Nurse (cheerfully): “We are feeling a bit better today, aren’t we, Mr. Crane?”
Elliot: “Whatever. I’m just passing time, Miss…”
Nurse: “Hannah Sanders! Just Hannah to you, Mr. Crane! Oh, this card just arrived as an express delivery! Where would you want it, Mr. Crane?”
Elliot: “Er… Just put it on the table, please… Hannah. Thank you. Nice card.”
Nurse Hannah (with a big smile): “No problem at all, Mr. Crane! Would you like me to bring you something else? Like more orange juice?”
Elliot: “Morphine. Nothing more.”
Nurse Hannah: “Um, I’m afraid you will have to ask for that from doctor Achilles. He will be here soon to update you on your condition.”
Elliot: “Whatever… Hannah.”
Nurse Hannah: “Oh! I almost forgot! There’s someone here to see you if you are up for it, Mr. Crane. Sorry! I’d forget my hair if it wasn’t rooted on! Thi-hi-hi!”
Elliot: “Where have I heard that before? Anyway… Who is it?”
Nurse Hannah: “Someone called Ben Deering. Would you like me to ask him in, Mr. Crane?”
Elliot: “Yeah, I suppose he has to come, even if I ain’t up for it…”
Nurse Hannah goes to let Ben in.
Elliot (turns his head away and tries to cover his face): “Here it comes…”
Ben (sits beside the bed): “Hey you! I took the earliest flight here as soon as they called me from this hospital. Now that I see you’re alive, I just have to ask you something. I mean: what the hell?!”
Nurse Hannah: “Please do not upset the patient. He’s stable, but still in bad shape.”
Ben (lowers his tone): “Please leave us in peace, nurse Sanders. I promise to behave. Or at least try my best.”
Elliot: “They totally dug your number from my phone, didn’t they? I wish they didn’t. What right do they have to use someone’s phone when he’s not able to say no? Then they hide the phone from me, because ‘you’re not allowed to use it here’, they say. Blah, blah, blah… What hypocrites!”
Ben: “Well, they did the right thing. You could have died, for God’s sake. Your mom and sister send their love. They’ve been so worried since I told them…”
Elliot (angrily): “Wait, wait! You told them?! Fucking idiot! You had no right!”
Ben: “As I said, you could have died! I had to tell them. They almost came here too, but the peeps at the hospital assured me that you’ll be fine. Why did you have to get into a fight with knife swingers anyway? Who’s the fucking idiot ’round here, really?”
Elliot: “Sorry… I guess that was a bit outta order. Please tell Mama and Indy that there ain’t nothing to be worried about. Absolutely nothing. Those crooks… They just didn’t like the way I spoke, really.”
Ben: “Well, they’re the fucking idiots then! I hope the police catch them!”
Elliot (amused): “Yeah…”
Ben: “See what I’ve got?!”
Elliot (tries to get up enough to sit): “Ouch… What’s that? (sees the cover) Oh my fucking God…”
Elliot (eyes wide open, quickly browses the pages): “Unbelievable! This is the issue Choco wrote the second article for… Apparently much longer than the first one…”
Ben: “Hell yeah! It just came out today. It’s a long story, all positive since it’s written by Sybil… Choco.”
Elliot: “Why, oh why did they have to do it this big… I mean: I thought it was gonna be a lot smaller… But they used all the photos and all… This ain’t what I wanted.”
Ben: “Not what you wanted? Are you effing kidding me? You’re famous now! Aren’t you supposed to be happy?”
Elliot: “We are famous now. You are mentioned as well. I’m not doing this on my own. I couldn’t… I don’t wanna be some fucking poster boy that gets famous overnight and gets forgotten as fast. They are calling me a ‘poster boy out of nowhere’ on the cover! What about the article?”
Ben: “Well, like I said – it’s all positive. Trust me. I’ve read it – twice.”
Elliot: “I’m sure it is. But… I never asked Choco to sing my praises… No wonder the nurses here act so strange. They are like overly nice. One of them keeps calling me ‘Mr. Crane’ and blushing while doing so, and what’s worse… I heard another one ask the doctor behind the door: ‘Can I be the first to give Mr. Crane a bedbath?’ Since I’m gonna be here ‘for so long’. Yuck!”
Ben: “Haha! So what did the doctor say? Did he say ‘no’ to the poor woman?”
Elliot: “Nah! Even worse! He said: ‘Join the queue!’ I need to get the hell outta here!”
Ben: “Shit… Well, there’s some fans for you… It’s only gonna get worse now. Which reminds me… What happened to that stalker Ophelia, your number one fan?”
Elliot: “She was sitting here all night. You just missed her. She left home to sleep, since my condition ain’t no longer ‘critical’ and the visiting hours will soon be up for the day.”
Ben: “And how did you feel about having her sit here?”
Elliot: “Well, I guess I’m grateful to her for calling the ambulance… even though I said not to… But she acts like we’re married. I can’t handle that for much longer. I’m gonna have to get rid of her somehow…”
Ben: “Aww! The little girl must think the world of you, especially now since you saved her life. She seems to love somebody who saves lives… Hmm… Why don’t you try to push her into some doctor’s lap instead? Like that doctor Achilles?”
Elliot: “Um…”
Ben: “He looks like he needs some steamy, hot… (turns to look who’s standing behind his back) Oh, hello, doctor!”
Dr. Achilles (flushes red): “Uh, I just came to talk to Mr. Crane about his condition. So if you would please…”
Elliot: “He can stay here. He’s a good friend.”
Dr. Achilles: “Right. Well, as I told you last night, Mr. Crane, the operation was a success. You will fully recover in time. However, you will have to stay here for a week to be monitored. You can’t get up yet. You need to rest to allow for a perfect healing of the wound on your chest… And we need to run some tests. I’m concerned about your high tolerance of pain… I have never come across with a similar case before.”
Elliot: “What?!”
Elliot: “What tests? I didn’t understand the half of that. If I’m gonna be fine, I don’t need to stay here. I can rest at home. No need for any tests no more!”
Dr. Achilles: “The nurses will have to change the dressing frequently…”
Elliot: “I can do that myself at home! Just give me enough of that dressing to take home, and I…”
Ben: “Elliot.”
Elliot (panicking): “No, no! I need to be at home! And I have an important meeting tomorrow! I have to attend that!”
Dr. Achilles: “I’m sorry, Mr. Crane. You are simply not in the condition to get up – not to mention leave the hospital at this time. The nurses will take good care of you…”
Ben: “That’s what he’s fretting. Speaking of which…”
Dr. Achilles (sees nurse Hannah enter the room): “Um, did I page you, Hannah? Shouldn’t you be in another ward right now?”
Nurse Hannah: “Hihi! I just popped by to see if Mr. Crane needed anything… like magazines to read since he’s going to be here for a week. That one magazine isn’t going to be enough, surely… And there’s a new guest to see him here…”
Sybil (walks in): “Hey, Elliot!”
Elliot: “Fuck!”
Ben (laughingly): “Aren’t you popular now, or what?”
Dr. Achilles: “Only one guest at a time for now, please. And may I remind you that the visiting time ends in 25 minutes for the day.”
Ben: “Well, I was gonna go in a minute anyway. See you tomorrow, Elliot! Do what the doctor says – not the opposite.”
Elliot (miserably): “Haa haa.”
Ben (stands up and moves past Sybil, nodding toward her): “Sybil.”
Sybil (nods, smiling): “Ben.”
The doctor and the nurse leave with Ben, and Sybil takes a seat by the bed.
Sybil (raises an eyebrow): “‘Fuck?’ It’s nice to see you, too.”
Elliot: “Oh well… I guess they called you too and told you what happened, huh?”
Sybil: “Yeah… But please don’t blame them. Thank God you’re okay! I was so worried, but I didn’t hurry here ’cause they told me that the operation went well, and…”
Elliot: “And ’cause you hate these places, too?”
Sybil: “Yes, but not as much as you do. And not as much as I’d hate not to have been able to see you conscious in this place.”
Elliot: “I’m sorry…”
Sybil: “Don’t be. Just don’t ever do anything as stupid anymore. Can you promise me that?”
Elliot: “I can promise to try… But I need to get outta this place now. These freaking hosepipes or whatever they’re called are driving me mad! In addition, I told the nurses that I needed a cig, and they swatted this fucking nicotine patch on my arm! I can’t handle this!”
Sybil: “Poor, sweet Elliot… You never responded well to orders, did you?”
Elliot: “Are you laughing at my face?”
Sybil: “No…”
Elliot (pats the bed): “Come sit here… That chair has short legs. I need to see your eyes up-close.”
Sybil moves to sit on the bed.
Elliot: “You are! You are laughing at me inside! Your face is serious, but I can still see that tiny, impish sparkle in your eyes that tells me you’re laughing at me!”
Sybil: “Okay, maybe a little! God, you always were so good at reading people’s moods from their eyes… You haven’t lost your magic touch.”
Elliot: “You have the most amazing eyes… I could never tell if they were green or light brown… Maybe a mixture of both… Green leaves and brown mud… Like a jungle in the equator.”
Sybil (laughingly): “You’re such a smooth talker! That’s another thing about you that hasn’t changed a bit.”
Elliot: “Some things have…”
Sybil: “I was hoping you’d say so… (puts her hand on his) for your own welfare.”
Elliot (stares into her eyes): “Choco, I…”
Sybil (quickly moves her hand away): “How many times do I have to tell you that my name is Sybil? You are too stubborn to change some ways, and I guess this habit is one of them. Ben told me that you call him Boniface! Haha! Poor guy. So, he brought you the magazine, I see… What do you think about it?”
Elliot: “It’s… too amazing. I don’t deserve that.”
Sybil: “Sure you do, and more. You’re too modest for your own good. Too modest people don’t get by very well in this harsh world.”
Elliot: “When did you become so wise?”
Sybil gets up and moves back to the other side of the bed, never dropping the gaze she’s holding with Elliot.
Sybil: “When I met you… Well, not right at that moment of course, but I learned bit by bit about what is good… and what is not. Just by spending time with you.”
Elliot: “It can’t have been all bad, then?”
Sybil: “I never said it was… But still… I have changed, too. If you know what I mean.”
Elliot (sighs): “I know… Ya know, that meeting tomorrow…”
Sybil: “Oh, I forgot to tell you! I called Mr. Lumi and explained what happened. He’s happy to come here tomorrow, if you are up for it… And if you’re not, it can wait until you get out of here. He truly believes in you, as do I.”
Elliot: “I don’t know what to say anymore…”
Sybil: “You don’t have to say anything. He’ll come here tomorrow to see if you wanna talk… It’ll be fine. Just relax and rest. I need to go soon. Just you sleep here.” (gently pushes him down)
Elliot: “Why are you doing all this for me?”
Sybil: “Because… I still care… (takes his hand in both of hers) more than I should. As a friend. A very, very good friend. If you’ll have me as one.”
Elliot (fighting tears): “Of course I do… Haha! I thought you’d never ask!”
Sybil: “Goodbye, Elliot. I don’t know if I can come to the hospital anymore due to work, but I will see you again someday soon… Take care.”
Elliot: “Someday… Bye.”
Elliot is left alone in the dark room.
Elliot (quietly humming):
“Fall, fall, fall
But not from too high
Fall, fall, fall on me
Let me catch you before you go
Before you go… know that I love you so”
To be continued…
