Neo Chicago

I was on an educational trip to Chicago. I was told to stay with a lawyer named Greg in his apartment. He met me at the bus stop, where he introduced himself.
"Hi, you must be Bella," he said, his typical lawyer briefcase at hand. "I'm Greg, and you'll be staying with me for a little while." I nodded and we headed down the sidewalk to his building. I noticed that in one place, the sidewalk was interrupted by a large bush. Greg balanced himself on the curb instead of merely walking on the street. I followed suit, thinking that I would like this man.
We reached his apartment building, where the landlady greeted us without a smile. She was an old Latino lady clad in a worn-out red bathrobe and wielded a newspaper in one hand.
"Hello," Greg simply answered as he stuck his key in a hole in the wall. He turned the key and a door slid open, revealing a white elevator without a ceiling. In fact, the whole lobby was white and spacious...
We stepped into the elevator, which didn't take us up too far. I saw Greg's apartment before we reached it, thanks to the odd elevator. It was a messy bachelor's pad, with blankets and college sweatshirts tossed on the furniture haphazardly.
"Sorry about the mess," Greg apologized, placing his leather case on a table. "Your room is set up in this curtain here. It's only a two room apartment, so sorry for the lack of a door."
I smiled and nodded in return as I entered my "room". It was small, but cozy, with a lumpy mattress and tons of blankets and a soft pillow. I grinned, knowing this was the nest to cradle my adventure-ridden body at the end of each full day in this new world. I set down my backpack and looked out the window in the "front room". Outside, I could see Chicago, a cloudy city full of busy life, cluttered with cars and office buildings. Churches, for some reason, were all over the city, discernible by their large, towering crosses casting the shadow of Christ over the windy city. I had much to see and much to learn on my trip.

* * *

The next morning, me and Greg woke up and headed down the strange sidewalk with the bush to town. Most of the activity in Greg's part of town took place on one street. He told me to keep myself by buying groceries and anything I might need until he got home from work. He stuffed two twenty dollar bills in my hand and waved as he boarded the bus. I smiled and waved back before setting out on the town.
The stores mostly consisted of Latinos, speaking in the romance language, pricing and dealing and conversing. I used my little Spanish to buy groceries and a book on psychology I found for two bucks. I was on my way back to Greg's apartment when the man himself came running up behind me.
"How did you enjoy your day?" He asked. I told him what I did and the people I saw with a smile. He, in return told me of his boring day at work.
"Nothing but papers about people with problems," Greg noted with a sigh. I sighed with him and he laughed. I laughed with him all the way back home.
I would spend the next few days doing a vague assortment of things. Some days, I would go to town and look at the people and sometimes try to talk to them. Some days, I would stay at home and read the book I'd bought. Finally, Friday came and Greg had the weekend off. He caught me coming home from town and we were discussing what we'd do over the weekend. Greg was a very nice young man, I'd decided. I wanted to be good friends with him, even after I left Chicago.
We stepped into his building and an odd feeling washed over my body, my temperature changing from cold to hot very quickly. I was sweating underneath my jacket. Oh no, I thought, it's happening again.
We entered the strange elevator once again, and rode up to Greg's apartment. I was going to tell him once we got up there, but as soon as I lifted my foot to step out of the elevator, my brain gave away and I fainted back in. The last thing I saw was Greg reaching for me and calling my name.

* * *

At a very young age, I had been diagnosed with a very rare disease that caused my body temperature to go down very, very fast. My body would become so cold that all of my vitals would shut down, and I would die. My parents sought out a cure from all the doctors they could, but in the end came up with nothing. All the professionals could tell them was to watch for signs of when an attack came, and get me help as fast as they could.
I'd only had a few attacks in my lifetime, each one with the same results. First my body would get very cold, then I would get a heat flash. I'd black out, and once I was unconscious, my body temperature would drop quickly and lethally. There was no way to stop an attack, only to keep me stabilized until my temperature went up again to a normal 98.6 degrees.
It happened randomly with nothing known to trigger it. I was a medical mystery, an anomaly that I could not, nor any doctor, figure out. I could only hope that Greg took me to a hospital before my condition reached fatal.

* * *

I woke up. That was the first thing I was thankful for. The next thing I was thankful for was that it was in a hospital. The walls were dark navy blue, almost black, splattered with bright blue paint every once in a while. Medical equipment was illuminated in the dim florescent light. I only saw the ceiling and my thick blanket; I could hardly move thanks to wires and tubes connected to me.
The moment I opened my eyes, my mother rushed up to me and leaned over me. She took my hand and wept into my blanket. She had come all the to Chicago to see me, presumably along with my father and my aunt. Me and my aunt were very close, and she was the person I was with when I had had my first attack.
"Oh, my baby," mom sobbed as she stroked my thin face. I wasn't sure, but I assumed it looked worn and fatigued. I smiled up at her, a hopeful, quiet smile.
My family took turns watching me over the few hours. Later, I heard the doctor talking to Greg, saying that they caught me just before my body shut down completely. They were able to stabilize me just in time, they told Greg.
Greg was my hero.

* * *

My body always took a day or two to recover, so I spent a little more time in the hospital. I would try to cheer me and my family up by singing and telling them stories. It was a big scare whenever I got an attack, mostly because the were so rare.
I was eventually permitted back at Greg's place, but only to get my things. I packed up my clothes and my book, then took a last look out Greg's only window. The churches stood so proud and tall, showing off their steeples to the city that was too busy for God. I saw my reflection in the pane against the darkening sky, and closed my eyes.
I waited to wake up from this lovely dream, to end up in my own bed with my own walls staring back at me. I would wake up soon. But I would not forget. I would recall, time and time again, my adventures in New World Chicago, and the lawyer Greg.