Drabble 1

[annjirika.livejournal.com]

Challenge: Silence
Title: The Waiting Game
Words: 300
A/N: Thanks to Astaldotholwen for helping me out when I got stuck. I apologize for the word count; I realize I just barely skimmed the mark. ^_^

 

He had never understood the oxymoron ‘deafening silence’…until 12:07 A.M. Thursday morning. He tried sitting patiently in the cold, plastic chairs but found it was impossible to get comfortable. He tried reading a magazine but he could not seem to focus long enough to read more than a sentence before the words began to swim together, blurring into random swirls of black and white lettering.

 

 

He even tried taking a walk outside, but could not bring himself to get past the doors. What if they needed him? He settled for the coldness of the chairs and heaved a tired sigh. The waiting room smelled like antiseptic, and the walls were painted a blinding white. He hated hospitals.

 

 

The room was completely empty. The clock on the wall above him did not tick, the soda machine did not hum, there wasn’t even the steady beep of a heart monitor. He was beginning to doubt his sanity, much less his hearing, when a door down the hall opened. He jumped to his feet, his heart pounding, running his hand through his hair nervously.

 

"Riku!" His best friend exclaimed, practically glowing. Riku had never been so happy to see Sora in his life. "Guess what?! I’m a dad! Ten fingers and toes, perfectly healthy - a girl!" His grin could have been seen from Traverse Town.

 

"Congratulations! Is Kairi okay?" Riku knew the answer to that just by Sora’s euphoric behavior but he felt compelled to ask, since he had not heard any yelling.

 

"She’s fine! She’s just tired." Just then, a piercing cry broke the through the abnormal quiet of the waiting room. Sora’s proud grin widened. "Ella. Come see her!"

 

Riku followed the wails, knowing and welcoming the fact that the silence he had endured in the waiting room had been permanently stamped out.