I lay in the hospital bed I had come to know pretty well by that time, just staring idly at whatever cartoon was on the TV. After that got boring (which it did, really quickly), I turned my eyes to the ceiling and sighed loudly, curling my fingers into the off-white blanket that perfectly matched the shade of the walls. Pouting a little and closing my eyes, I started singing softly to myself. Didn't really much matter to me that my throat was hurting; what mattered was that I was distracting myself somehow.

See me here in the air
Not holding on to anywhere
But holding on, so beware
I have secrets I won't share

. I shouldn't have done that, I thought, raising up a bit and coughing so it would hurt a little less. Still, what sound I could force out of my throat and lungs helped the ache of the boredom slightly. Apparently while I was paying attention to nothing in particular, someone had been knocking at my door.

"Come in," I said and managed a small smile at the nurse who entered, holding an envelope in her hand. I tilted my head and took it from her when she gestured that I should do so. "What is it?"

The woman shrugged. "I don't know; all I was told was that I should deliver this to you." I pursed my lips a little and started opening the letter as the nurse left, closing the door softly behind her. As I scanned over the writing on the page, I blinked a few times and stopped at a particular line. I reached over and grabbed my glasses from the bedside table, wanting to make sure I had read that correctly.

"You have a little brother. His name is Alex, and he's almost 8 years old."

Had I really closed myself off so thoroughly?