Chapter 8: My Condition

Chapter 8: My Condition

“Who did this to you?” Annie asked.

It pained me to even think about how this happened. I was sure she knew who did it; she just wanted to know the story.

I grimaced in pain. “The citizens.”

Her look wasn’t shocked. “What can I do to help you?”

“Darcy called Dr. Vian. He’s on his way.” I responded.

I am sure, since I am Alistair, one of the main characters in this story; you want to picture me in this situation. Well, I had a huge black eye, a broken nose, a bloody lip, and perhaps most important, a bloody patch on my back, where Annie’s parents tried to cut my wings off. They started to, they pulled and yanked and cut, it was the most horrid feeling in my life. Emotionally, it felt like I was losing a part of me. Physically, I practically lost my spine. How I wasn’t dead yet, I didn’t know.

She asked, “How did it happen?” Her eyes were locked into mine, her cold blue eyes. Her voice was perfect and sweet, like lemonade on a hot summer’s day.

I started to tell the story. “Well, they swarmed in like bees from the door. They all headed to me. Mrs. Ross broke my nose, the black eye was communal =, and your parent tried to rip my wings off. With Darcy, a group of boys my age beat her, and all the jocks. They treated her like when the Montague’s were making fun of the Nurse.”

“Did she fight back?” She asked.

I nodded my head. “But it was no use! They kept saying dirty and gross things about her.”

“Oh.” She responded.

I told her “I cannot kiss you for my back is dying. As I said before, your parents tried to take off my wings.” She looked at me, the blood gushing from my back, onto a towel behind me. “I don’t know how or why I am still living.” I responded.

She gently kissed my lips. She wiped the slight blood off. The reason why was answered.

Dr. Vian came. “Oh god. The villagers, attacked, didn’t they?” I nodded, slowly. Dr. Vian saw the blood oozing from my back. He flipped me over and examined it. “Well, they cut about half of what keeps the wings a bout half of what keeps the wings a package deal off, so with some stringent sewing, an all-night shift oh and some heavy-duty pain relievers for you, Alistair you’ll be all fixed in at least a couple of days.”

“Pain…Relievers…NOW!” I yelled every word in a short burst of dialogue.

Annie asked, “Can I help with anything?”

“Can you help me flip him?” He asked.

Annie nodded. “Wow, you are really light!” Annie exclaimed.

Dr. Vian nodded. “Now stay at that end and tell him to bite on this.” He gave Annie a pencil and pointed to the point where my head was.

I looked at her, then the pencil, then Dr. Vian. “It is to hold him until I can inject the anesthesia.” Dr. Vian responded.

I gave Annie a worried look. “How long is that?” We both asked.

Dr. Vian shrugged. “Just a second.” He took a little box out of his pocket. He took out an eyedropper too. He dropped a single drop of water on the box. A whole doctor’s office evolved around us.

“Where is that syringe?” Dr. Vian asked, the question was more intended for himself. He took one out of a drawer. He loaded it up. He stuck the needle in my back. He explained, “You will be out in a couple minutes.”

Annie asked, “How did you do that?”

Dr. Vian seemed to be put off by the question. “Oh, this? With this I can store anything in an easy-to-carry little box. Water makes it grow. One drop is all it needs.”

“Didn’t Megamind have one of those?” Annie asked.

Dr. Vian nodded. “Only his was more complex than mine, for mine I just need to add water.”

“Oh.” She responded.

I was suddenly extremely tired, and passed out. I could feel Annie’s loving gaze on me. She wasn’t about to let Dr. Vian screw up, though he never would screw up.

I had a dream. Annie and I were in a cute little cottage. She was making breakfast. I snuck upon her the way a husband suddenly caresses his cooking wife, when I did, I recognized her hand had a ring. Upon further examination, I had a ring. I noticed her stomach was big. Not gained weight big, pregnant big. I smiled.

She said, “I love you. I am so glad I am married to you, the love of my life.”

That wasn’t my girlfriend. I was talking to someone who was open to being chained at a man’s side for eternity, not my Annie. Somehow my dream self said “Well I love you and you, are the love of my life!”

We shared a kiss, a simple lip touch. We still had magic. I felt the baby kick. She smiled. “I love that we got this little cottage in the forest so our baby is free to fly. Pleasantville was not our style.”

I knew I was really dreaming when woodland were all around us doing chores like laundry and dishes. They were also singing.

It faded when I recognized that wasn’t us, it couldn’t be. I’m not perfect or in a fairytale and neither was she. Her imperfections make her perfect in my eyes. And every one of those imperfections was dead in that dream.

In the next, I was being chased by an angry mob. My brain knows no happy medium.

Annie ran beside me, grasping for air. “Alistair! Fly and go! I can’t keep up with you!”

“ I am aerodynamic, but I am also in love with you. I must keep you with me.” I responded.

She smiled for a brief second, only to be bombarded by the truth.

 I took her into my arms. I was strong. Well I am strong, not just in the dream world. I picked her up and I flew.

 She asked, “Won’t your arms give out?”

“I’ll tell you if they start to.” I responded. I was holding her over the sky, so inadvertently; she may feel bound by gravity.

I twirled around, threw her up and she landed on my back. She held onto my wings. I yanked her arms to be around my neck. I guess in the dream my wings had been sewn on. Though I moved her arms, a seam was split and we started falling. Before we hit the ground, I startled awake.

Dr. Vain asked, “Are you okay, Alistair?”

I turned around. “I just had a hideous dream followed by a horrible nightmare.”

“Don’t lay on your wings!” Dr. Vian yelled. I moved again.

Annie held my hand. “I won’t break-up with you.”

“In the hideous dream we were in a cottage with woodland animals and you and I were married and pregnant.”

“Oh yeah. Our being pregnant is not ideal. Plus I don’t think you have the plumbing to give birth.” She responded. I rolled my eyes.

I added, “Well the woodland creatures could’ve had rabies…”

“What was next, in the next dream?” She asked.

“Our…” I started. I swallowed. I thought about telling her the truth versus a safe lie. The truth made more sense. I love her, and she deserved the truth. I finished “Our death.”

She smiled ironically. She asked “Wouldn’t that be better? Our love could actually…thrive.”

“No. I want to live, Annie. As long as you are here with me, my life makes sense, and my life is worth living! I will die for freedom, but only if you come with me. Even then, I can’t come back here.” I responded, dramatically.

Dr. Vian rolled his eyes. “Go back to sleep so I can finish this. I have to hand stitch your wings back on. Do you want more pain?”

“Can’t you just numb my wings?” I asked.

He asked, “What do you think I did?”

“So what I am supposed to do?”

“Lay there and be a good Alistair. It was just a common side effect.”

“Okay, sounds good. Thanks for doing this.” I responded.

Dr. Vian is like a father to me. He is always fixing me, teaching me something or protecting me. “It’s not a big deal.”

“If it weren’t a big deal, you wouldn’t be complaining about stitching my wings back on.” I pointed out. He shrugged. Then he continued sewing.

Annie asked, “How did we die in your dream?”

“We were being chased by a mob, so we flew away then the seam on my wings broke, because you were pulling on them to stay up.” I responded.

Dr. Vian rolled his eyes. “Quit it. You will be fine. I am using the kind of thread I put Frankie together with.” Frankie was a very well put together handmade monster project for his scientist division.

We conversed for an hour. It was six when we were done talking about favorites and stuff that is exciting to me, but boring to someone else.

I asked, “Isn’t today a school day?”

“Oh yeah, I need to get ready!” Annie exclaimed, hurriedly grabbing her things. She opened a blind. She ate breakfast and talked to me. We share more favorites, stories and getting-to-know-yous. She kissed my head, which ended up being the back of it, since I was on my back. She hurried off to school.