The Sleeping Prince

The heart monitor beeped quietly by the side of the bed. Ethan’s chest slowly moved up and down. He was living, but at the same time he wasn’t. He was in a deep sleep and he had been like this for quite some time now. Grace checked on him at the same time she did every day. He was one of the many patients here that she looked after, but there was something about Ethan. He was young, around her age. He was also very handsome, and she really couldn’t help herself when she stared occasionally. Ethan’s story was a sad one. His car was hit by a drunk driver, causing severe damage to his brain. As the main Doctor put it “That kids practically a vegetable now”. Ethan’s father had the same ideas. Grace over heard him say one day, “He’s as good as gone Linda, we should just put him out of his misery.”
“No! He’s my boy. My little boy.” Ethan’s mother would sob. So that’s why he was still here, lying in this bed. Grace wished so much that she could do something about it. He was too young; he had so much potential with his life. She’d be lying if she said it wasn’t for her benefit too. Somehow she’d slowly begun to fall for Ethan. In the pictures by his bedside he was always smiling. All locals could tell you about Ethan and how we was the epitome of funny and sweet. He used to be so popular. His room could hardly contain all the gifts by friends and families. But over the years the gifts began to dwindle. No one remembered Ethan Clive Walker.

“Hey Gracie, when do you get off?” Grace sat in the break room. Her microwave meal sat idly, getting colder and colder by the minute. “I get off at 5 Aunt Lacie.” She said into the phone.
“Five? I thought you said yesterday your shift was four?” Grace sighed, she really didn’t feel like talking about this again.
“Well yeah, technically it’s Four, but I have some stuff to do.” Grace heard her Aunt grunt some into the phone.
“Gracie, please don’t tell me you’re going to spend an hour after work just to read to that boy.”
“Yes, I am. What’s so wrong with that?” She asked her Aunt knowing exactly what was wrong with it. She barely knew Ethan. Her Aunt had told her over and over what a lost cause he was. She tried not to be defensive, because why would she be defensive? He wasn’t hers. He was gone and she hated to admit that. It always led to a fight between them and she couldn’t handle it anymore.
“Honey, I know you’re tired of hearing this. But you need someone who can be there for you, someone who isn’t in a coma. You barely know him Gracie! This boy, he’s gone. You can’t help him now and I know you wish you could. But Gracie you have so much to offer, and I’m sure the perfect guy for you is out there somewhere. Please Gracie,please just listen to me this time.” Grace sat there and tried to absorb what her Aunt said. “I know you have the best interests for me Aunt Lacie. I see where you’re coming from. But I still want to try to help him. I just have this feeling that he’s not gone. I think he might be in there somewhere.” Her Aunt sighed. “I can’t tell you how to live your life Grace, I can only make suggestions on how to improve it.” Then her Aunt hung up. Grace wanted to feel mad at her Aunt, but she couldn’t. Because deep down she knew she was right.
When 4:00 rolled around she punched out and went to the bathroom to change out of her scrubs. When she got to his room a new vase of flowers sat by his beside. They were a breed of blue flowers she forgot the name of. His Mom must have dropped them off. She always thought that specific color was manly even if the flowers weren’t. Grace plopped down in the small reclining chair by his bed.
“Hey Ethan, it’s me Grace. So today I thought I’d read you some poetry.” She said, pulling her battered poetry book out of her bag. It was an old book from the library that no one seemed to want. It had old children’s poems compiled in it and over the years, she had found herself becoming very fond of it.
“I’m sure you’re sick of Robert Frost, so how about some William Blake?” She asked. Ethan’s form was still, the heart monitor beeping in the background. She began reading The Tiger.

“Tiger! Tiger! Burning bright,
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?”

She paused, looking up at him. His soft blonde hair lay smooth and flat on his forehead. His skin was pale and he looked more and more like a ghost each day. She put the book down and walked over to the bed. “Oh Ethan, I wish you could wake up. There are so many people who need you right now.” She leaned down and pressed her lips onto his. His lips were surprisingly warm and a shock of electricity seemed to jump right through her. She jolted back away from the bed, her lips still tingling. Ethan didn’t move, the steady beep on the heart monitor stayed the same. Grace’s heart sunk. For one small second she really believed she had done it. She believed that he was like sleeping beauty and that maybe just maybe that kiss could have woken him. She looked at the clock. It was 4:15 and suddenly she didn’t feel like reading anymore. She grabbed her book and shoved into her purse. She was almost toward the door when she turned around. “Bye Ethan..I’ll see you tomorrow.” And with that she was gone.

12:00 am

His eyes opened to a world he had almost forgotten about.
He had spent so much time away from this world, but the one thing he couldn’t forget was her.
Her voice that was sweet and soft like rain pitter pattering on tree leaves.
“Grace.”