Kami Cursed (Dragon and Phoenix) Read Free

not crazy anymore.”
    The nurse raised
her eyebrows and gave him a look that said she thought he was the crazy
one.  The new Ryuu glared at her.  “Don’t give her anymore of those meds.  They
don’t do a thing for her.  I’m getting her dad and he’ll tell you the same
thing.”
    She shook her
head.  “Visiting hours are over.  You need to leave so she can have her dinner.” 
She turned to deposit a stack of white towels on the chair Ryuu had just
vacated.  “And I can’t hold her meds just because some kid told me to,” she
muttered under her breath.
    Ryuu grabbed a long
black jacket off the back of the plastic chair and hurried toward the door,
leaving behind the scent of leather and something else, something smoky and
flowery at the same time.  It was strange.  My Ryuu didn’t smell like that.  Pausing,
he glanced back at me, looking dark and strange.  “Don’t worry, Kit.  I’ll be
back.  We’ll come and take you home.” 
    Then that
weirdness about him vanished and he was just a kid, pushing through the door
and into the hallway with an excited bounce in his step.
    The nurse shook
her graying blond head and closed the door firmly behind him.  Then she turned
to me.  She wore her hair pulled back in a slick, severe bun, but the lines
around her eyes were soft.  I could see that she was being careful, like she
expected me to freak out.
    “Don’t let that
boy get you all riled up, honey.  He’s a sweet thing, but he’s got a terrible
habit of making up stories.”  She sighed.  “Besides, we all know how much he
upsets you.  I won’t let him back in here today.”
    “He doesn’t
upset me.”  In fact, Ryuu’s weirdness was the only familiar thing- it was kind
of comforting that at least that was still the same.  “Where am I?” 
    My voice still
sounded strange to me.  I tucked my knees up under my chin, curling my toes
into the mattress.
    She barely
glanced at me as she went to the pressboard dresser in the corner and started
taking out a change of clothes.  “You’re at Birch Hill sweetheart, just like
yesterday.”
    I didn’t know
much about Birch Hill, just enough to know that it was a place for crazy
people.  Not fourteen-year-old girls. 
    “No,” I said
slowly.  Why didn’t she understand?  “Yesterday I checked out a book from the
library and went to walk home from school with Ryuu.  And today I’m here.  How
did I get here?”  My breath caught and my chest started to ache.
    She stopped and
looked at me with wide eyes.  “Calm down honey, it’s okay.” 
    I couldn’t
breathe; my lungs weren’t working right.  Everything felt wrong.  “What’s wrong
with me?  My body doesn’t feel right!”
    The nurse
crossed the room and pushed the little button attached to my bed.  A crackling
sound came over the speaker in the bedrail, followed by a bored male voice. 
“What can I do for you?”
    She leaned over
the little speaker.  “Hey Joe, its Wendy.  I think we should call Dr. Norton. 
Something’s up with 103.”
    More crackling. 
“Okay, I’ll let him know.”
    Then she turned
to me with a soothing smile.  “C’mon honey, you can take your shower while we
wait for the doctor.  He’ll explain everything.”
    *****
    I stepped out of
the shower, refusing to look in the mirror while I dried off.  Seeing my reflection
the first time had been enough of a shock.  I wasn’t doing it again.  I’d grown
up.  Overnight.  My flat chest was gianormous, I was taller, and everything was
all wrong- my legs were too long, my feet were too big, and I had trouble just
moving around.  Had I really been here for three years?  Why couldn’t I
remember?  When I tried, all I got was a pain in my head and burst of fear.  So
I stopped trying.
    I smoothed the
towel over my new arms and legs, not believing what my eyes and hands were
telling me.  I’d been fourteen yesterday.  Today I was seventeen.  I was
awkward, gangly, and beyond