Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2012 0:41:02 GMT
2020, january 1st, Smith's apartment
I tried to wrap my head around what I had just heard. These people, hair now gray, visibly aged- a relic of my life, turning up out of the blue to tell me that Eric just woke up all of a sudden? It had been years now. I didn't have a perfect memory but Eric to me was simply the guy I knew as I was growing up who I unfortunately had to leave in a hospital in order to move on. I was reminded of my depression of not long ago which had consumed my life, and wondered what was wrong with me. Have I stopped caring about Eric? Is this news even relevant to me?
I stepped aside and without a word, waved my hand, telling the Maysons to step inside. I gulped. This news wasn't nearly as exciting to me as I had expected it to be.
Eventually, me, the Maysons, and Maria were downstairs sitting in awkward silence, sipping on piping hot tea.
Eventually, Miss Mayson spoke up. She cleared her throat.
"So, Eric saw the picture you had left when he woke up." She said.
I was quiet, thinking to myself 'what picture? Oh, that one...'
I nodded quickly, trying to keep eye contact even though I really didn't want to.
"He doesn't appear to have any memory loss. After some disorientation, he appears to remember everything up to some rock perfectly." She continued.
This confused me. I knew that they knew about the machine, I hadn't lied.
"He didn't remember the machine?" I asked.
"Nope. He remembers you leaving then waking up immediately in the hospital bed." She responded.
Convenient. A question that I thought would be answered should Eric wake up... now forever left unanswered. Damn, if only I hadn't fallen asleep... ridiculous anti-climax.
I suddenly felt a sharp, painful headache, like I'd just been impaled through the head.
I held my head.
"So he wants to see me?" I grunted.
"Yeah. As soon as possible, he said." Mr Mayson replied.
"Thanks." I responded, then got up.
"Excuse me, I'll show you out." I said quickly, and unapologetically showed them out as I began to feel sick.
Maria, who had remained quiet throughout the entire conversation, came up to me and spoke when the door closed.
"Are you feeling ok?" She asked, putting her silky hands on my forehead to check my temperature.
"... Yeah, ok enough." I responded wearily.
"Mmm..." She mumbled, not quite believing me. Then she continued.
"What are you going to say to this Eric person?" She asked.
I thought about it for a moment. Will he have changed? Will we recognise each other? Even now I could barely remember his face, definitely not his eye colour. His eyes had been closed for 7 years.
"We'll say what needs to be said." I answered, then ran my hands through her hair.
"This wont change anything in the long term. It'll just be a day out of our lives." I reassured her, sensing that she was worried about the whole situation.
She nodded and smiled, and we hugged. But the stabbing pain remained, and wouldn't go away even as I went to sleep that night.
Next morning, my head was still in pain, like a spike was lodged in it.
Nonetheless I drove all the way back to my home- where I grew up, where Eric was located, and the hospital I had spent many a day just sitting in and brooding.
The town was different. Things I remembered, gone, all of a sudden. The park I had played in as a kid, playing frisbee with my Dad, now the wrong kind of park. A car park. Maybe that had already been there when I left, I couldn't remember. But the hospital- that place had remained the same. It was as if I were stepping back into my teenage years, when I did nothing but bite my nails in anticipation, worrying and worrying. Dark times.
Me and Maria stood outside the door to Eric's room for a long time, even though we were allowed in. It felt as though once we opened that door, whatever happened afterwards, whatever it was, we would never be able to go back to the same days. University was over now, last shreds of anything resembling freedom. I was still shackled to this boy who I'd let be put in a coma.
I opened the door, clutched Maria's hand, and stepped inside.
Eric was lying in bed, in his hospital gown, reading a book. He looked exactly the same as he did 7 years ago, as if he had been in stasis. He was much thinner, paler, but he still had the same aura and look about him. Any hair that may have grown, he cut off, but I couldn't tell. He was still a teenager, and even as a teenager, he had had a childish demeanor to begin with.
His face lit up when he saw me walk through the door first. My face however could have looked like anything. Relief? Or maybe I just looked sad?
His expression eventually hardened as Maria walked in sheepishly behind me, and clutched my arm, looking at Eric shyly, wide eyed.
I looked over at the picture I had left him. Eric had aged, apparently, he did look different in the photo, younger. But that wasn't what shocked me. There I was, looking completely different. The Mark Smith I saw in that photo looked like an alien compared to now- I had a beard, was taller, wore completely different clothes- I was in my mid 20s, and I even had something similar to wrinkles, at least compared to the younger Mark.
Eric spoke up, his look of distrust immediately replaced with a grinning smile.
"Smith! GOOD TO SEE YOU BACK BUDDY!" He said loudly, immediately jumping from his bed like a wild cat attacking it's prey, and he knocked me to the floor and stopped me from breathing as he hugged me so tightly.
I had loved Eric 7 years ago, before that even. Best friend. But he had taken far too long to reintroduce himself into my life. It wasn't his time. I looked up at Maria who was standing above us looking at us with shock and even a look suggesting she found the scene humorous, and smiled weakly. Defeatedly. And I felt terrible about it.
I tried to wrap my head around what I had just heard. These people, hair now gray, visibly aged- a relic of my life, turning up out of the blue to tell me that Eric just woke up all of a sudden? It had been years now. I didn't have a perfect memory but Eric to me was simply the guy I knew as I was growing up who I unfortunately had to leave in a hospital in order to move on. I was reminded of my depression of not long ago which had consumed my life, and wondered what was wrong with me. Have I stopped caring about Eric? Is this news even relevant to me?
I stepped aside and without a word, waved my hand, telling the Maysons to step inside. I gulped. This news wasn't nearly as exciting to me as I had expected it to be.
Eventually, me, the Maysons, and Maria were downstairs sitting in awkward silence, sipping on piping hot tea.
Eventually, Miss Mayson spoke up. She cleared her throat.
"So, Eric saw the picture you had left when he woke up." She said.
I was quiet, thinking to myself 'what picture? Oh, that one...'
I nodded quickly, trying to keep eye contact even though I really didn't want to.
"He doesn't appear to have any memory loss. After some disorientation, he appears to remember everything up to some rock perfectly." She continued.
This confused me. I knew that they knew about the machine, I hadn't lied.
"He didn't remember the machine?" I asked.
"Nope. He remembers you leaving then waking up immediately in the hospital bed." She responded.
Convenient. A question that I thought would be answered should Eric wake up... now forever left unanswered. Damn, if only I hadn't fallen asleep... ridiculous anti-climax.
I suddenly felt a sharp, painful headache, like I'd just been impaled through the head.
I held my head.
"So he wants to see me?" I grunted.
"Yeah. As soon as possible, he said." Mr Mayson replied.
"Thanks." I responded, then got up.
"Excuse me, I'll show you out." I said quickly, and unapologetically showed them out as I began to feel sick.
Maria, who had remained quiet throughout the entire conversation, came up to me and spoke when the door closed.
"Are you feeling ok?" She asked, putting her silky hands on my forehead to check my temperature.
"... Yeah, ok enough." I responded wearily.
"Mmm..." She mumbled, not quite believing me. Then she continued.
"What are you going to say to this Eric person?" She asked.
I thought about it for a moment. Will he have changed? Will we recognise each other? Even now I could barely remember his face, definitely not his eye colour. His eyes had been closed for 7 years.
"We'll say what needs to be said." I answered, then ran my hands through her hair.
"This wont change anything in the long term. It'll just be a day out of our lives." I reassured her, sensing that she was worried about the whole situation.
She nodded and smiled, and we hugged. But the stabbing pain remained, and wouldn't go away even as I went to sleep that night.
Next morning, my head was still in pain, like a spike was lodged in it.
Nonetheless I drove all the way back to my home- where I grew up, where Eric was located, and the hospital I had spent many a day just sitting in and brooding.
The town was different. Things I remembered, gone, all of a sudden. The park I had played in as a kid, playing frisbee with my Dad, now the wrong kind of park. A car park. Maybe that had already been there when I left, I couldn't remember. But the hospital- that place had remained the same. It was as if I were stepping back into my teenage years, when I did nothing but bite my nails in anticipation, worrying and worrying. Dark times.
Me and Maria stood outside the door to Eric's room for a long time, even though we were allowed in. It felt as though once we opened that door, whatever happened afterwards, whatever it was, we would never be able to go back to the same days. University was over now, last shreds of anything resembling freedom. I was still shackled to this boy who I'd let be put in a coma.
I opened the door, clutched Maria's hand, and stepped inside.
Eric was lying in bed, in his hospital gown, reading a book. He looked exactly the same as he did 7 years ago, as if he had been in stasis. He was much thinner, paler, but he still had the same aura and look about him. Any hair that may have grown, he cut off, but I couldn't tell. He was still a teenager, and even as a teenager, he had had a childish demeanor to begin with.
His face lit up when he saw me walk through the door first. My face however could have looked like anything. Relief? Or maybe I just looked sad?
His expression eventually hardened as Maria walked in sheepishly behind me, and clutched my arm, looking at Eric shyly, wide eyed.
I looked over at the picture I had left him. Eric had aged, apparently, he did look different in the photo, younger. But that wasn't what shocked me. There I was, looking completely different. The Mark Smith I saw in that photo looked like an alien compared to now- I had a beard, was taller, wore completely different clothes- I was in my mid 20s, and I even had something similar to wrinkles, at least compared to the younger Mark.
Eric spoke up, his look of distrust immediately replaced with a grinning smile.
"Smith! GOOD TO SEE YOU BACK BUDDY!" He said loudly, immediately jumping from his bed like a wild cat attacking it's prey, and he knocked me to the floor and stopped me from breathing as he hugged me so tightly.
I had loved Eric 7 years ago, before that even. Best friend. But he had taken far too long to reintroduce himself into my life. It wasn't his time. I looked up at Maria who was standing above us looking at us with shock and even a look suggesting she found the scene humorous, and smiled weakly. Defeatedly. And I felt terrible about it.