Nirvana Effect

75



Callista sponged Edward’s head with cool water. She dipped her hand in the basin and splashed some on her face, herself. She was tired. She’d been at it for days. She would not leave Edward’s side.

His breathing had grown stronger and more regular. His heart was doing fine. He would wake up, soon. She wanted to be there when he woke up. She didn’t want him to have the shock of wondering if she’d survived the ordeal. And she wanted to be the first to greet him back to the living.

James had rented an apartment near the docks that overlooked the harbor. Edward’s room had the best view. James had taken to calling it the “sick room.” Callista kept the windows open to keep the air fresh.

She stretched and walked to the window. The door clicked open behind her.

“How is he doing?” It was James. He’d come up and check on her now and then.

“Fine,” she said. A couple boats dear the docks almost hit one another. She could hear the faint strains of a couple of the deckhands shouting back and forth.

“Yeah? How are you doing?”

“He should wake up any time. His vitals are strong.” She turned around. “Thank you for helping. I don’t know why you are, but thank you.”

James rubbed his head. He looked tired, too. He leaned against the wall. “Sure,” he said.

She took her seat by the bed. James had been looking at her and Edward but now was gazing out the window.

“Callista, do you mind my telling you something?” he asked after a long silence.

“No, I don’t think so. No, I don’t mind,” she said.

He nodded. “Well, I just want to thank you, too. You see, well, I’m sure Edward will tell you all about it once he wakes up, but, well, you see, I’m not exactly good folk…”

“Nonsense, James, you’re…”

He waved down her protest. “I’m not. I’m a crook, really. It’s why I’m on this island. I used to doctor crooks, see. And it backfired. It’s why I’m here.” He sat down in the corner in one of the spare chairs. “It’s why I’m here,” he repeated. “And I’d gotten pretty low in my life, I mean real low. And I met you, and I wanted to be with you, and so you inspired me to try to be something that I used to be a long, long time ago. You reminded me. So now I’m here, and it’s not too great a circumstance, but it’s better than where I was, in spite of everything. So, thank you. That’s all.” He smiled.

Callista opened her mouth to respond, but she did not answer. Edward’s body moved. It tensed just a bit, but it was enough to rivet her attention. His eyelids fluttered. She grabbed his hand.

She remembered James and glanced back at him. He was already taking his leave, smiling once more and waving for her to turn her eyes back to Edward. The door clicked closed.

Edward’s hand tightened around hers. His eyes opened. He took in her face for a long while, then frantically eyed the room. He tried to pull himself up, but he wasn’t strong enough.

He was strong enough to lie there awake for hours as she cried holding him. He was strong enough to whisper, “It’s okay,” “We’re okay,” and “I love you,” and listen to her mumble and laugh and cry some more.

Eventually, she fed him soup. She helped him sit up, which he managed fine, but his hands shook too much for him to reliably get his food to his own mouth. After he got some sustenance down besides IV fluid he seemed sharper. He was the same Edward, only exhausted. He hadn’t changed at all.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“For what?” she asked.

He looked at her incredulously.

“Listen,” she said. “That was the worst experience I’ve ever had in my life. But it’s not your fault. It’s not your fault, okay? And we’re okay, okay?”

He still looked doubtful.

“Look, if I had died, then you could have been sorry, okay?”

He chuckled.

“Eat more soup,” she said, lifting another spoonful to his mouth.