Heartbeats

Chapter 15: Heartbreaker

Daniel stayed inside a private room in the west wing of the hospital. He was a sight to see, with his bright smile, pale blond hair and lively grey eyes. Daniel was very cooperative, friendly and most of all kind. Now, Daniel was not really one to ask for attention, but the gentleness he exuded attracted all that was nearby. Thus, in only a few days that he had stayed there, he was easily adored by a majority of the nurses and doctors in the hospital. He was loved, even by the people who were not assigned to care for him.

Daniel sometimes would wake up and see letters on his bedside table; they were from the admirers he had in the hospital. He often sighed and looked sadly upon these letters, for he did not really want them to have feelings for him like this, especially since he never knew any of them that well. So at the end of each day, he wrote back to all of them, profusely apologizing that he could not feel the same.

Daniel sometimes would wake up and see gifts. They ranged from small to big, and from cheap to expensive. On his first day in the private room, Daniel received a pineapple. A pineapple! The tropical fruit was considered precious in their Community, since it could only be artificially cultivated.

Daniel would instantly buzz for Doctor Rob. The kind doctor understood Daniel's distress and he would take them back to their senders, or at least that was what they agreed to.

Daniel thought that it would end with those. He had never led on anyone and he answered them all truthfully. It should be clear to all of them that he was not interested at all.

However, on one chilly morning before any of the visitors arrived, a nurse confessed her love for Daniel.

The nurse, she was pretty. Petite with a heart-shaped face and long fingers, she looked like a little porcelain doll. Daniel could not take his eyes off of her — but not in a romantic kind of way— he could not take his eyes off of her simply because he thought that she would instantly shatter if she would trip or fall.

This nurse was the one assigned to take samples of his blood. She had been a regular visitor ever since he was in quarantine. He must had lost at least a few liters of blood in the duration of his stay here. So Daniel thought that it must be due to the frequency of their interaction, or maybe the intimacy of sharing his blood to her, that caused some sort of feelings to grow inside of her.

Daniel had never fallen in love. He had never felt his heart beat fast, or had difficulty to breathe upon the sight of any person. But even though he did not have any of these feelings, he could understand it pretty well. He had seen love among the people around him. Both the cruel ugly truth behind it, and the beautiful magic it possessed. It was a feeling he should never take lightly of.

"I am thankful of your feelings. Truly, I am," Daniel gave a small smile, while sorrow reflected in his eyes, "but, I am afraid I could not return your feelings."

Daniel watched her as tears streamed down her cheeks. Her shoulders quivered, as she sobbed in front of him. Without another word, the nurse had dashed out of the room, before she could even hear him say, "I am sorry."

The next day, Daniel had a different nurse, someone he had never seen before. He felt guilty about what he did and asked this new nurse about the previous one, but Daniel never got an answer.

It was until Doctor Rob came in to check up on him that Daniel had finally someone to talk to about it.

"Do not worry boy, she's over it already." Doctor Rob said with certainty, "She basically falls in love with every handsome patient here. Although she looks weak, her heart is pretty persistent."

Daniel still felt guilty, but such feelings could not help her alleviate the pain of rejection. The only thing he could do for her now was wish her well. "I hope she could find someone that will reciprocate her feelings."