CHAPTER 35
Physical Recovery
The clinic smelled like antiseptic, wet clothes, and ash.
Naia sat on the examination table with her feet hanging a few inches above the floor while a nurse listened to her lungs.
"Deep breath."
She inhaled.
"Again."
She did.
The nurse nodded, wrote something down, and moved the stethoscope lower.
Naia looked toward the other side of the room.
Elena was sitting in a chair, still wearing the clothes she'd descended in. Someone had cleaned most of the ash from her face, but a grey line remained near her hairline.
Rico sat beside her with a bandage around one forearm.
All three of them had been checked separately.
All three were still there.
That was the only thing Naia cared about.
The nurse finished.
"Your breathing sounds clear. Mild irritation. No concerning signs."
Naia nodded.
"Any dizziness?"
"No."
"Chest tightness?"
"No."
"Headache?"
"A little."
"That's expected after the exposure. Drink water and rest."
Rest.
Naia almost laughed.
She hadn't been very good at that word.
Across the room, Elena looked up.
Their eyes met.
Neither smiled.
They didn't need to.
The nurse moved on to Elena.
Naia watched as the same questions were asked.
"Shortness of breath?"
"No."
"Chest pain?"
"No."
"Vision changes?"
"No."
Rico answered his own questions from the corner.
"I'm fine."
The nurse looked at him.
"You've said that three times."
"Because it's true."
"You've also got a cut on your arm."
"It's not important."
"It is to me."
Rico sighed.
"Fine."
Naia smiled faintly.
The room settled into quiet again.
For the first time since the alarm, nobody was asking them where they needed to go.
Nobody was handing them a radio.
Nobody was showing them a graph.
Nobody was telling them the mountain had changed.
They were simply being examined.
Human bodies after an impossible morning.
Naia looked down at her hands.
There were still traces of ash beneath her fingernails.
She rubbed one thumb against her palm.
Elena noticed.
"You missed some."
Naia looked up.
"So did you."
Elena looked at her own hands.
A faint grey line crossed one knuckle.
"Occupational hazard."
"That's what you call it?"
"What would you call it?"
Naia considered.
"Bad morning."
Elena smiled.
"Fair."
Rico glanced between them.
"You two always this cheerful after nearly getting buried?"
Naia looked at him.
"You're alive."
"So are you."
"Exactly."
Rico shook his head.
"Right."
The nurse returned with three cups of water.
Naia took hers.
Elena took hers.
Rico drank half of his in one go.
Then the room went quiet again.
No urgency.
No explanation required.
Naia leaned back against the wall.
Her body had finally begun to register what had happened.
The soreness in her shoulders.
The ache in her knees.
The heaviness behind her eyes.
Her father's jacket hung over the back of a chair nearby.
The ash stains remained.
She looked at it for a moment.
Then away.
Elena followed her gaze.
"You don't have to wash it immediately."
"I know."
"Just saying."
Naia nodded.
"I think I'll leave it."
"For how long?"
"Until it stops reminding me."
Elena looked at her.
"And will it?"
Naia thought about it.
"No."
Elena's expression softened.
"Probably not."
Naia smiled.
The nurse checked the clock.
"You three are staying here for observation."
Rico groaned.
"How long?"
"Until we're satisfied you're stable."
"That could mean anything."
"It means you're not going anywhere."
Rico surrendered.
"Fine."
Naia looked at Elena.
Elena looked back.
Neither objected.
For once, being told to stay was not a problem.
The hours passed slowly.
A curtain remained half-drawn around their section of the clinic.
Outside, people moved through the corridor.
Doors opened.
Closed.
Voices rose and faded.
Inside, the three of them rested.
Rico eventually fell asleep in his chair.
Naia watched him for a while.
Then Elena.
Elena had her eyes closed.
Naia wasn't sure if she was asleep.
"Are you?"
Elena opened one eye.
"No."
"Thought so."
"Why?"
"You breathe differently when you're asleep."
Elena smiled without opening her eyes.
"You've been observing my breathing?"
"Occupational hazard."
That earned a quiet laugh.
Naia shifted closer.
Their shoulders touched.
Elena didn't move away.
They stayed like that.
No confession.
No kiss.
No future.
No mountain.
Just warmth.
Just exhaustion.
Just two people who had spent too long surviving finally being allowed to sit still.
After a while, Elena's head rested lightly against Naia's shoulder.
Naia looked down at her.
"Comfortable?"
"Very."
"Good."
Elena's eyes remained closed.
Naia let her stay.
The clinic was quiet.
The mountain outside had entered its stable phase.
For the first time in weeks, there was nothing they needed to solve.
Naia closed her eyes too.
And for a little while, neither woman did anything at all.