Waiting

By thanonymouslibrarians

Note: I do not own the Bartimaeus Sequence or any of its characters.

In a small hospital room in the New London Hospital there lies a young man, practically a boy, who hasn't woken up in several months. His chart says his name is Michael Jones, but the world knows him by two different names and believes him to be dead. Few people know he's there and fewer still come to visit him. In fact, in the months since the Demon Rebellion, there have only been three visitors.

The first visitor is a woman with shoulder length hair that is black tinged with grey. She visits three times a week, each time staying at least an hour. Sometimes she talks to him about her day. Sometimes about government. And other times she remains silent, simply looking at him.

The second visitor is a young Egyptian boy, whose attire (a loincloth) looks very out of place in London. This visitor comes five days a week and stays the whole day. He watches the door and windows, as if expecting assassins to burst through them at any minute. Sometimes he talks to the comatose man, switching effortlessly between a variety of languages. Sometimes he sings to him. And other times the Egyptian boy sits cross legged on the patient's chest, poking the sleeping man in the cheek no matter how many times the nurses tell him to stop.

The third visitor only shows up at nights, but never misses a night. This visitor is a cat. When visiting hours are over and the woman or the Egyptian boy are told they must leave, the cat invariably shows up. No one sees the cat come or leave, but when the night nurse comes to check on the patient, the small desert cat is always there, perched on the end of the patient's bed, refusing to be dislodged.

One day, perhaps, the patient will wake or die. Or perhaps a government official will visit and recognize the comatose man. And then, everyone's routine will change. But for now, the three visitors continue their vigil, as the patient continues to sleep.