"Cooper, come back here!"
A loud scream echoed throughout every corner in the hospital's hallway. He fastened his pace even more after hearing the scream.
The beanie he's wearing fell into the floor so he stopped midway from running away to quickly pick it up. He wore it again to hide his hair that is slowly falling out. He turned his head left and right, he didn't even know where to go because every nurse or even other hospital staff were going to block his way if he did crash into them. His sight caught a room for children patients like him so he quickly went in.
He heaved a sigh of relief when he saw no traces of anyone inside the small room, except for a little girl his age sleeping in the bed.
"Hey kid, don't tell them that I'm here, alright? It's a super secret," the young Cooper exclaimed and immediately hid under the bed; he didn't even care if the white pajama he's wearing gets smeared with dust and dirt.
Several minutes had passed when he got tired of hiding under the bed so he finally crawled out, and sat on the edge of the bed.
He was confused to see that the girl is still sleeping despite the ruckus he made so he leaned closer to her face.
"Did you know that sleeping all the time is bad?" Cooper's cheesy remark, and a smile tugged in his lips as if a new silly idea had come up in his silly little brain again.
"And because I don't know your name–" Cooper fished out a marker from his pocket and waved it in the air. He slowly removed the oxygen mask from the young girl; he drew a dot on the side of the girl's nose until it looked like a big mole.
"I will call you Gloria! Hello Gloria!" Cooper announced while laughing. He returned his glance to the girl and got annoyed when he saw her still sleeping.
"So you still don't want to wake up, huh?" he muttered irritably and once again drew on her face, this time, he gave her a mustache instead of a mole, and two pyramid shapes in her forehead that looked like a horn.
"Hey, can you wake up?! Faster, look at your face!" he kept on laughing while holding his stomach. He even tried to wake the girl up by pinching her cheeks but she still didn't wake up, which made him even more annoyed.
"Why don't you want to wake up?!" little Cooper frowned and slightly bowed his head. He examined the girl's face seriously and slowly leaned his face to hers a little closer to see her better.
The gap between their faces was only a few inches away when a mischievous smile once again appeared on Cooper's face… without a warning, he pinched the little girl's nose. Because of what he did, the girl temporarily couldn't breathe.
"Just wait and see if you still won't wake up–" Cooper's eyes widened in shock and halted his talking when the door creaked open.
"I'm dead…" Cooper whispered to himself and gulped. His grip on the girl loosened and immediately turned around to face the door.
"You child! So you were here all along?! We've been looking for you everywhere! The injection doesn't even hurt, it's just like an ant's bite! Don't play around please!" the guy nurse who had been looking for him since earlier pleaded. He was full of sweat and was catching his breath.
"But Kuya Leo! An ant's bite is not better either. Go get the injection instead, if you want. Marry it even! I'm serious, I don't want to get injected." Cooper exclaimed, irritated, almost sprawling on the floor to make a fuss.
[Note: Kuya means older brother]
"Cooper, I'm pretty sure you want to get better–" the guy nurse stopped midway when his eyes landed past Cooper's shoulder, as if something really shocking was happening behind Cooper.
"What's your problem?" Cooper turned around to see what was the reason of Leo's sudden change of expression.
"W-Where's mommy…" the little girl whispered weakly in her bed. Fear and confusion was evident in her ash eyes. Despite her weak body, she still tried to speak.
"My God, you're awake!" the nurse exclaimed in amusement and suddenly rushed outside to call for a doctor, and Cooper was left again in the room.
And Cooper, despite being so confused about the nurse' reaction earlier, couldn't help but to snicker at the girl's face who still had her mustache and horns in her face.
"W-Who are you?" she asked, stuttering as her eyes landed on Cooper.
"I'm Batman!" Cooper confidently introduced himself, laughed at his own doing, and suddenly ran outside.
•••
"But Kuya! Do I really need an injection?" Cooper whined and cried when he saw that the nurses were already preparing the syringe and the medicine.
"Yes. You want to get better, right? Okay fine, let's do it like this. If you get the injection today, then I won't tell your Dad that you escaped from your room again and that the nurses had to chase you again. Deal?" he suggested.
"Hhmm. Injection or Dad's sermon? Wait wait, I'll think about it!" Cooper uttered while looking up to the ceiling and massaged his jaw as if he was really taking this matter seriously, the nurse shook his head.
"Ah, right, Kuya Leo, who was the kid earlier?" Cooper changed the topic.
Leo grinned, "Ah, that? Why? Is she your crush? Ayiieee! You're growing into a young man, finally! But the question is, are you already circumcized?" Leo teased and Cooper immediately punched his arms.
"Crush?! I'll never have a crush! It's so corny! Yuck!" Cooper explained, now obviously irritated by Leo.
"Really? Why did you ask about her then?" the nurse teased once again, winking at him while grinning.
"Because you're ugly! You look like a foot!" Cooper screamed and ran in annoyance.
"Damn this kid." The nurse cursed silently and could only frown. He was already getting old, which is why he felt so discouraged at the thought of having to chase the kid once again. For him, chasing after Cooper is equivalent to rheumatism.
Cooper kept on running. Despite the sly grin plastered in his face is a fear behind it, he was really serious when he said he's scared. Fear of the injection and fear of the pain he feels everyday.
He stopped running when he was approaching the door of the little girl he saw just earlier. He was confused to hear so much noise inside, so he peeked through the gap of the ajar door.
"What's happening?" he whispered silently when he saw several doctors and nurses inside the room, and they all seemed so delighted to talk to the girl.
"Good thing I caught up with you," Cooper winced in surprise when the nurse finally catched up with his pace. He was breathing so heavily and sweating a lot.
"But kuya!" Cooper complained and scratched the back of his head.
"Sorry! What are you even looking at–" he stopped talking when he finally got to see what Cooper was looking at. He once again glanced at Cooper with a knowing smile, who was obviously now planning on teasing him when he realized Cooper is looking in the girl's room again.
"I'll tell Daddy about this! I'll tell him you're picking a fight with me. He'll fire you!" Cooper warned in frustration.
"Just kidding! You can't even take a joke, why are you even here in Agatha's room?" Leo asked in fear that he might actually lose his job due to Cooper's nonstop babbling.
"Agatha? What's up with her and why are they so happy inside? It's her birthday?" Cooper whispered and once again glanced at the girl.
Leo laughed and tapped Cooper's shoulder. "You're still nine years old, you won't understand it yet."
"That's why I'm asking to understand, alright?" Cooper sarcastically replied. Leo heaved a defeated sigh because of the kid's sarcastic remarks.
Leo lowered down and squatted to level with the kid. "It's like this, okay? Agatha is a different kid. She suddenly falls asleep even if she's not sleepy. Last year, she fell asleep and we all thought she would never wake up again, so for us, it was a miracle that she woke up yesterday," he explained calmly.
"So it means it's been a year since she fell asleep? Is there even something like that?" Cooper's brows collided at the thought and almost wanted to tell that his nurse, Leo, is a big fat liar.
"That's why I'm telling you that Agatha's different, okay?" It was Leo's turn now to be sarcastic.
"So that means she gets to go home? Must be nice." Cooper weakly muttered and lowered his head. Leo could feel Cooper's deep sadness and envy that he's feeling so he tapped Cooper's shoulder.
"Let's go. You should rest. You kept running away," he muttered and pulled the kid away.
Cooper couldn't help but to glance at Agatha for the last time.
7 years later…
"Cooper, for the love of God, come back here!" a scream echoed all throughout the hallway. It was this scene that has been going on for almost everyday and seen by everyone in the hospital. Cooper heard the shout, and instead of running faster, he slowed down and turned to Leo, his nurse ever since he was a kid.
"Run, old man! You can do it! Don't give up!" Cooper shouted, giving encouragement – or anger – to the poor nurse who seemed to collapse at any moment from now.
"Cooper, you have no shame!" Leo, in his old age, could feel the heat in his eyes as he felt the tiredness enveloping his whole body.
"Just do it! Don't be picky. It's just like an ant's bite." Cooper sarcastically replied back, mimicking how Leo once tried to convince him before to take the injection.
"You're really crazy! This is not even an injection!" Leo screamed once more before finally giving up as knees lost their strength. Everyone who saw them couldn't even do anything but just fan the old nurse who has been whining about his pained joints.
Cooper took a deep breath and jogged away. He didn't mind the displeasure of everyone's stare and still kept on running. He doesn't even care if he'll get scolded again.
•••
He was already covered in sweat when he returned to his room. Because he had been staying in the hospital for so long due to his illness, he was eventually given his own room where he had lived for many years.
He was just about to enter the room to rest when he noticed that the room next door had its door open and even the lights were on. It was very unusual since that specific room has been unoccupied for how long, and no one even wants to stay in that room for so long because of him, his neighbors are always scared of what crazy things he might do to them.
He decided to knock to check on his new 'neighbor'.
He was even more confused to see a young woman sleeping in the white bed. This scene was so familiar for him that he slowly took a step forward.
"Deja vu…" he uttered in a whispery tone when he fully saw the face of the girl. He slightly lowered his head to examine her. For a moment, silence enveloped the whole place.
All of the sudden, the woman's eyelids sprang open. The two were both startled by each other, and both of their screams echoed.