Still Alive
***
Rhapsody frowned as she heard the sound of voices around her. So there is life after death.
“She’s waking up,” a voice said sharply.
“Rhapsody, can you hear me?” Harmony’s voice asked softly.
Rhapsody tried to open her eyes, but she could only manage a small slit that let a painful amount of light in. She could just make out the outline of Harmony’s form leaning over her.
“I’m not dead?” Rhapsody asked in surprise, then frowned as she heard how funny her words sounded. It was like she was trying to speak with a mouthful of mush.
“No, you’re not dead,” Harmony assured her in a tearful voice, gently running soft fingers through Rhapsody’s bruised scalp. “Thank you for saving my daughter’s life.”
“What happened?” Rhapsody mumbled through her swollen tongue and puffy lips.
“Apparently Aria is able to do more than heal people,” Dr. Lorenzo’s voice answered from the other side of her bed. “After those people attacked you, she began singing in a voice that could best be described as the wrath of God. Most of the pottery and glass in the building is destroyed. Everyone within range of Aria’s voice passed out until the police arrived and began escorting them to their new quarters downtown.”
“Is Aria okay?” Rhapsody asked in concern.
“Thanks to you,” Melody answered her, grasping her bruised hand tenderly.
“Who’s with her right now?” Rhapsody asked worriedly.
“She’s right next door,” Harmony replied reassuringly.
“We would like to try an experiment, of sorts,” Dr. Lorenzo said tentatively. “Would you mind if we move you into Aria’s room?”
“What kind of experiment?” Rhapsody asked suspiciously.
“We know that Aria can heal burn wounds,” Dr. Lorenzo explained slowly. “But…we would like to see if she is capable of more.”
“What, exactly, is the extent of my damage?” Rhapsody asked carefully.
Dr. Lorenzo took a deep breath before answering. “Pretty much every limb in your body has been broken multiple times and your head and face have suffered from extensive tissue damage. Without Aria’s help, you’re looking at months of reconstructive surgery and years of physical therapy.”
“Oh…,” Rhapsody replied quietly as she felt Melody squeeze her hand gently. “How long have I been unconscious?”
“About twelve hours,” Dr. Cole answered from somewhere near the foot of her bed.
“Okay,” Rhapsody replied with a sigh. She felt a swell of joy in her chest as she realized her desperate plan had worked; Aria was safe.
They rolled her bed into Aria’s room and then began unwrapping bandages from various places on her body.
“Do you mind if I record this on video?” Dr. Lorenzo asked tentatively. “I would like to study the process in slow motion later on, if this works.”
“Sure,” Rhapsody replied, grimacing slightly when she tried to smile as pain lanced through her torn lips.
“Are you okay?” Harmony asked concernedly.
“Yeah,” Rhapsody replied, careful not to smile. “I just need to avoid smiling.”
“That would be a true loss to this world,” Harmony told her tenderly.
Rhapsody felt her face flush slightly at the compliment. She had always felt self-conscious about her smile as a result of how wide her mouth was. While that kind of smile might have looked good on Julia Roberts, she felt like it made her look psychotic.
“Are you ready?” Harmony asked Melody.
“Ready,” Melody nodded, taking a deep breath.
Rose of May
her heart underneath
cries quietly
this part of me
I choose not to see
what lives must I take
for fealty's sake?
how much blood must stain
this warrior's blade?
war leaves its trail
in moonlight so pale
its shadows they flow
in rivers, in rivers
so put on my mask
I'll go where they ask
so I might once again see the
Roses of May
Staining my soul and stinging my eyes
the red on my hands
won't wash away, wash away
no where to run from what I have done
I'm no longer, no longer
a Rose of May
fate holds the blade before you
mirrored in maiden's eyes
far from myself I fly
into the perilous skies
and they said
follow the blade before you
fear fall and courage rise
leave all your tears behind you
far from where innocence lies
Cage of the kings
No need for wings
So turn them to stone
from roses to bone
when you look at me
what do you see?
this costume I weave
disfiguring me...
Storm clouds are creeping closer
danger is drawing near
why am I not protecting all that
I once held dear?
and you said
break free from all that holds you
kings hand and maiden's tear
run now into my arms
together we'll conquer our fears
Led here by fate
No longer afraid
So here now I lay
My Roses of May
As Melody and Harmony began at the start of the song, Aria’s voice joined in with a complex arrangement of ascending scales. Shivers ran up and down her spine as the foreign words seared into her body painlessly, forging bone and flesh back into place once again. The skin around her face grew loose as the swelling dissipated and her eyes were finally capable of opening all of the way.
Dr. Cole and Dr. Lorenzo were watching in stunned incredulity, their mouths hanging open in an almost comical manner. As the musical family finished their fourth rendition of the song, Aria’s voice quieted.
“How do I look?” Rhapsody asked nervously. She smiled without thinking when she heard the words coming out of her mouth in her normal voice once again. No pain!
“There’s that smile I love so much,” Harmony smiled back at her through tears. “You look amazing; even better than you did before, if possible.”
Melody brought a mirror over and held it up in front of her. She gasped as she saw the face staring back at her. It was difficult to say what was different; there were dozens of subtle changes from her former appearance that created an overall effect of an almost completely different person. Rhapsody 2.0, she thought with a wry smile. Her smile widened as she realized it no longer looked psychotic. What a nice change.
“Okay, stop admiring yourself already,” Melody told her with a giggle.
Rhapsody blushed self-consciously and then laughed at the indulgent smiles of the small group of doctors and nurses watching her. “Fine, I’ll stop admiring myself. It’s hard though; I’m smokin’ hawt!”
Everyone laughed, wiping at wet eyes as they hugged each other in relief.
“So she really can heal just about anything,” Dr. Cole noted, sniffling lightly. “I hate to treat her like an object, but I wonder if it would be possible to bring terminal patients in to see her until she wakes up.”
“I can assure you that she would insist on us utilizing her in such a manner,” Melody told Dr. Cole seriously. “In fact, if we didn’t and she remembers anything when she wakes up, she’ll be very disappointed with us.”
“Where did you come up with that song?” Rhapsody asked Melody softly.
“Mom wrote it while you were sleeping,” Melody replied with a grin. “Too bad you’re straight…”
“Melody!” Harmony growled in exasperation as her face turned bright red.
Everyone laughed good-naturedly as Rhapsody glanced at Me
lody with a coy smile. “Who said I’m straight?”
Harmony’s dark skin flushed even more as she avoided everyone’s gaze. Rhapsody had always found Asian features to be far more attractive than Caucasian. Harmony’s mixed Asian and Caucasian heritage had resulted in a woman of almost fantastical beauty.
“What happened to your eyes?” Melody asked suddenly, leaning forward to look closely.
Rhapsody blinked as she looked closer at her irises in the mirror. Her normally green eyes had small, almost invisible tendrils of lavender vines spiraling away from the pupils.