Cocoon

The best that I can say is, it's not getting worse. Yet.

Hm... Well, I suppose there isn't anything that can be done about it.

Compared to your situation, Popukar's numbers look pretty optimistic.

Although not so optimistic that we can stop monitoring her.

That said, she's doing the right thing by going to bed early and getting up early in the morning. You could learn a thing or two from her.

...

She has spent virtually her entire life living with Oripathy...

Maybe that's a blessing, in a sense.

The other day, I was reading a magazine with Popukar, and she said she hoped I could design clothes for her to wear when she grows up.

Will I get to see that day, though?

Try not to let that weigh on your mind.

Both for the sake of your condition... and her.

...

Okay.

*sigh*.

Dr. Li! I finished the coloring book you gave me! Do you have another?

So quick, Popukar? You're good.

I did it with Bubble!

We even drew ourselves drawing in the blank spaces.

Both of you are really good.

Here, I've got another coloring book.

Thank you, Doctor!

Bubble! I got a new coloring book!

She's not in the game room?

I guess I'll wait for her to come back.

Did you sneak out from the wards too? I don't think I've seen you before.

Huh? Who are you?

I'm Elwin. What is this place? There are so many toys everywhere.

I'm Popukar. This is the Rhodes Island game room.

Are you lost? I can take you back.

No. Ever since I got here, I’ve just been stuck in the ward. They won’t let me go out to play. What's that in your hand?

A coloring book. Dr. Li gave it to me.

You wanna do it with me?

I've never done one before. Is that okay?

Sure!

Dr. Li says the point of coloring is to have fun. We can draw whatever we want, as long as we don't get the table dirty.

This is Felitubby, this is Littlemon, and there are a bunch of empty spaces where Bubble and I draw the folks of Rhodes Island.

Oh, Bubble is my friend. She was here just now, but I don't know where she went.

Here, crayons. I always start with the brightest color.

Which one is the brightest?

(Digs through the crayons)

This one! This red's really bright. I like it a lot.

This crayon’s nearly got no tip left.

I use it a lot because it's nice!

It's short because it's been working hard.

Then I want to use the color of working hard.

Yellow's great too! It turns Felitubby into a tiny sun.

(Draws intently with crayons)

Do I have to stay in the lines?

You can go outside just a little bit. Felitubby will get bored if we're too neat.

Really?

Yeah, I used to draw it real neat, but Dr. Li said it's like Felitubby's going to work.

Hah, I won't be so neat, then. I don't wanna go to work.

Going to work is actually kinda fun.

It's hard, though. I often hurt myself and the others when I wasn't good.

I'm getting pretty good at work, though.

Work? You? You look about the same age as me. Work should be for grown-ups.

My mom and dad have to go to work, so they can't stay with me in the ward.

Why are you drawing these thick clothes for Felitubby?

It's a protective suit. Sometimes I have to wear thick clothes when I go on missions. Felitubby won't get hurt if he wears thick clothes.

What do I do with this? I drew a big hat for this Felitubby, but I don't think the hat will protect him.

Well... he doesn't have to go on a mission. He can draw pictures in front of a desk.

Every day?

Every day. He'll draw whatever he wants.

I'll draw lots of colors for him.

People who are sitting and writing or drawing look more important.

My mom and dad sit in front of a desk all day.

Oh...

Oh yeah, Miss Orchid is like that. The folks at Medical also sit in front of a desk every day to write reports.

Yeah, people who sit in front of a desk are important.

Elwin, there you are. The other doctors told me you snuck out again.

Oops, they found me.

Oh... so you've been coloring with Popukar here.

It looks nice.

This is... a Felitubby in a protective suit?

Yes! Felitubby's going on a mission. He's really important.

This Felitubby sits in front of a desk all day drawing. He's really important too.

Sits in front of a desk all day...?

Yes, Popukar says that people who sit in front of a desk writing and drawing are important.

Like my mom and dad, and the doctors and nurses here, and, and—

And Miss Orchid, and the others!

I see...

Can I borrow this page? I'll save it for you.

You're confiscating it?

No, saving it for you. That way, you can look at it anytime you want to.

Like Rhodes Island's filing cabinets?

Something like that.

Our drawing is awesome, Elwin! Rhodes Island's filing cabinets are awesome too.

Mm... okay.

Now it's time to go back, Elwin. You've been outside for a long time today.

Can I come and play again next time?

Well, it depends on whether you're a good boy in your blood check, which you need to go to now.

I'll be good!

Bye, Popukar! See you next time!

Alright.

There's still a lot of the coloring book left.

Hm... I'll wait until next time Elwin's here. Lemme do my homework now.

Your squad always wears proper protection when you're in the field, right?

Of course.

The scratch on Popukar's arm...

Just a small scratch, no sign of infection. Don't worry.

A tactical error. My fault.

You're doing good work.

The medical results are in. Not much change in the data compared to last time.

Still no significant drop in the cell assimilation rate... the suppressant is working, but there's no real improvement.

I stopped hoping for improvement a long time ago.

At her age, and based on where she started, though... the status quo is good news enough.

You'll be the one to tell her again?

Just the general gist. I don't think she should know the details.

I don't want to give a little girl a health report and ask her to consider how long she has to live.

...

Do you think she has a chance to make it long enough for a breakthrough discovery?

...

A 'chance' should not be how a doctor makes her bread.

But this is what we're fighting for every day, here at Rhodes Island.

Sometimes I wonder, is it better to be like Popukar, to contract Oripathy at a young age...

Or to be like me and the others, to contract the illness after we've lived our lives for a while.

...It's better to not get it at all, of course.

Heh... of course.

Would I have lived more freely and worried less, if I got infected at Popukar's age?

But the fact is, children like her live under so many restrictions once they catch the illness...

Limitations placed upon them by adults.

We tell them how they must not do this, how they must be careful of that.

Not to mention she still has to go on missions.

That's why I want her to live like a normal child outside of missions, to do normal things in a normal home.

After all, going on missions and understanding these restrictions are two different things.

All she needs to know is where to go, what to do, and that she'll be taken care of when she comes back. All she needs to be is a little bit more independent, on top of these things.

Yes. The rest is our job.

...

(I was going to ask Dr. Li how long I need to press the cotton ball against my arm.)

(I'll ask another doctor. I should remember these things.)

(I'll keep it pressed for a little longer.)

I think the bleeding's stopped.

I should throw the cotton ball into...

There, the medical trash bin.

I wonder if Miss Orchid is done with Dr. Li. I'll wait for her here.

I should finish writing the mission report.

I'll draw Miss Orchid, then Mr. Spot... he's raising his shield...

Hm, that's a little too round. Let's do this again...

Then a bunch of scary-looking bandits.

Mr. Midnight did this and this, then Miss Catapult did this and this, and the bandits went POW!

How do you draw someone flying off their feet?

Miss Catapult went boom boom boom... and then the mission was done, and everybody's happy. I'll draw some smiles.

Mr. Midnight was complaining about how hot the desert was. I'll draw some sweat on his face.

Should I draw how my arm got hurt?

I'll do that, then draw a Popukar wearing a thick protective suit on the side... and brum brum brrrrr spinning real fast.

That means I won't get hurt again!

Alright, report's finished...

Popukar! There you are.

Elwin? Did you sneak out of the ward again?

No! I got permission to come out for a little while today.

I'm done with all my checks today, so I told the doctor I wanted to play with you, and they let me come to the game room.

You completed a mission! That means you're all grown up.

What are you drawing? A new coloring book?

It's the report that I have to write after a field mission.

Field mission? What's that?

Going out to fight bad guys.

Oh, the 'work' that you were talking about!

You fight bad guys? You're awesome.

Did you draw how you were fighting them? Wow, you have a big saw!

Yeah, brum brum brrrrr is awesome too!

So this is a 'report'? I want to draw a report too.

You wanna do it? A report is recording everything that happened that day. It's really easy.

Lemme get you a piece of paper... here, this is your report. Draw the things you did today.

But all I did was get needles in me in the ward, then they let me come and play for a while.

You can draw that too.

Is that a mission?

Hm...

I think it is. The doctors told you to do something, and you did it. That's a mission.

Did you do what they told you?

...A little.

Then draw a little.

(Scribbles seriously)

But the only thing in the report is me lying on the bed getting dripped.

How about I draw how I sneaked out of the ward the last time?

You can't draw yourself sneaking out!

But... I guess you got caught anyway.

Alright, then draw it smaller, like really tiny.

Would that be okay?

Yeah, you can pretend it's not so bad if people can't see it well.

Hah, you're smart.

I want to be like you, going to work and fighting bad guys here.

Then you need to get better, and be really strong like me... or smart like Miss Orchid, or have a big shield like Mr. Spot.

But only if the doctors say it's okay.

Then you can write lots of reports.

But it's okay to think about it now.

Can I write it in the report, even if I'm just thinking about it?

I think it's okay. You can draw what you did today, and what you want to do.

That way, you'll know you were thinking about these things when you look at it in the future, and you won't forget.

I often draw everyone in A6 standing together and smiling happily, although what actually happens is that Miss Catapult is usually being scolded by Miss Orchid.

This is the 'future'.

So small?

Because I don't know how big it's gonna be, so I'll draw it smaller at first. That way, there'll be plenty of room for 'future' to grow bigger.

...

Then I'll draw a 'future' too.

This way, my 'future' will grow too.

And the futures of Orchid, Catapult, Spot, and Midnight.

Sometimes they frown when they're reading the reports, sometimes they smile. Maybe they're thinking about the future too.

Will you draw them frowning?

Yes, but smaller. If you draw the sad things too big, they'll frown even more when they see it. That's not good.

...

When mom and dad came to see me, they brought a lot of folders, and they were frowning at those papers.

But they never tell me what's on the paper.

That means they put sad things on paper like the doctors here, and put them inside the door, so that we only see the things that are nice.

Don't you get mad that they don't tell you the truth?

Hm...

I think they still tell us the truth, but just the parts about what to do today, and what to do tomorrow.

What about all the stuff that's left?

Those are reports for the grown-ups.

Grown-ups have grown-up reports. They have to write a lot of stuff about the future. Kids have kid reports, and we only have to write about today, and a little bit about the future.

That seems so hard... I don't understand.

Mom and dad say that once I get out of hospital, we may have to move house and go to a new school. They're always planning a bunch of things that I don't understand, and I don't dare ask.

But you look like you know what you're doing more.

Because I peeked.

Not the paper, but the faces of the grown-ups. They frown and sigh when they read the reports, but when I walk into the room, they smile and tell me Popukar has been a good girl today.

Yeah, that's what my mom and dad do.

So I thought... they already frowned enough inside the door. Outside the door, I want to draw things that make them smile.

Like what you just drew?

Yeah. That way, when they look at my reports, they see that I completed my mission today, and I did my homework, and smiled and laugh with the others.

Are we drawing the future so that the grown-ups will be happy?

That's half of it.

The other half is so that, when the future actually comes, I can tell it, 'See? I left a place for you.'

That sounds so cool! I need to remember that.

When I'm as awesome as you and I can lift a big saw like you, I want to work here and say cool stuff like you, except I'll be even cooler!

Hehe.

And I'll be all grown up. Maybe I'm even helping Miss Orchid make clothes!

Miss Orchid's always cutting cloth with tiny scissors. Maybe brum brum brrrrr can make lots of clothes in one spin!

Then I wanna draw more good things for them.

That way, when they look at my report, they'll see that today wasn't so bad.

Popukar? Are you there?

Oh, it's Miss Orchid.

Didn't I tell you to wait for me outside the infirmary? What are you doing in the game room?

(Whisper) Oh no, I forgot.

But I finished my report here!

Popukar taught me how to write reports. We drew a lot of 'futures'!

Oh, I think I have to go back to the ward now. We'll play together again next time, Popukar!

Sure! We'll write reports together again.

Reports about the future...

...

Alright, you've written your report, time to shower and go to bed.

Otherwise, you won't have the strength to draw a new report tomorrow.

Okay—

And get up earlier tomorrow, so I can take your measurements.

Huh?

I happen to have some time on my hands, so I thought I would make you some new clothes. You want to work on them together?

Yeah!