Ubertines '07: Loving Care (489 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 1.66 on 11 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by ripple (View user info) at 2007-01-28 02:22:45 EST
You know how sometimes stereotypical monotony is depicted with images that can be repeated hundreds of thousands of times, in sketches that almost seem to reach infinity? That image can capture a train screaming through the changeless fields, a city block of identical apartment complexes, waves on the ocean- whatever picture renders us small in the face of ceaseless repetition. And we are almost sucked into the never-ending, never-changing, beautiful boredom.
That repetition is the portrait of my existence. I live every day exactly the same, from dawn to dusk, from casts to physical therapy, from Jell-O-mold to scrambled eggs. And this is all I remember. Since the accident, I've been waiting for someone to claim me- but no one has.
I thought once about ending it for myself, about slashing my wrists or taking too many painkillers. This was right after I woke up from the coma, by the way, and I was about as upset over my condition as you would imagine. Anyway, I really considered it, but I never went so far as to draw the bath or uncap the medicine bottle. I figured that I was still young enough to start a life, even if I never found out where I came from or what had happened.
Now, five months later, I am still in this infernal hospital. Pneumonia or something. I heard them talking about concerns and complications yesterday in whispers. They tell me it's not a huge deal, but I don't know. I sometimes imagine that I feel death's fingers tracing patterns across my skin; I'm sure that with the proper timing, under the right circumstances, I could die in simple peace. Sometimes I even wish that there would be someone here with me- someone to hold my hand, to sit by my side, to send me peacefully out of my battered flesh, but then I slip back into feverish dream just to wake up alone.
Alone- except for that one day. That one crisp morning in early February- the thirteenth, I think- I awoke to find an angel sitting next to my breakfast tray. "Am I alive?" I asked the creature, my trembling voice full of hesitation. She stood up and opened the curtains, the sunlight reflecting off her golden hair.
"Of course you are!" she exclaimed, laughing gently. "And what's more, it's a beautiful day."
"Umm..." I was beginning to think that my angel was little more than the village idiot and didn't know what to do with her. "Who exactly are you?"
"I'm Annie, Dan. Pleased to meet you." It had been so long since I'd heard my name that it sounded strange rolling off her tongue. Almost artificial. "I'm the new nurse, even though I'm not in uniform right now. I'll be taking care of you now."
I nodded slowly, my bleary eyes drinking in her face and body. She was not a perfect beauty- but she passed. I wondered what happened to the hag they used to have in here. My thoughts were interrupted by Annie's crystal voice.
"Look, Dan," she said simply, putting an electronic thermometer in my mouth, "I know how long you've been in here; I don't know when you'll leave. I know you have neither visitors, nor family, nor friends, though I don't know why. You don't seem like a bad guy, though. You deserve better than to suffer in a sterile cage without speaking to a soul. I'm just here to care for you and make sure you're comfortable, but I wanted to make sure you were all right emotionally, as well. There's no point in healing body with a festering soul."
I nodded blankly, far from understanding. This creature couldn't be one of those who pretended to care, could she? She almost looked like I mattered to her. Annie took out the thermometer and showed me the digital readout- my fever had risen again. I sighed. I didn't think that I would ever get out of there.
"What are you going to do?" I asked her blandly. She patted my arm, almost caressed it.
"We'll think of something," she assured me.
That night, I couldn't sleep for thinking about her. Sometimes, I thought about talking to her for hours, until I could scarcely draw breath; at other times throughout the night, I craved contact that I hadn't desired since I woke up in a strange hospital, remembering nothing. There was something about her, something so familiar...
The next thing I remember was the horrible, burning heat. Annie was on my left side, her face a mask of concern, and the doctor was situated across from her. Two orderlies were wheeling me down the hallway. It was right after this moment that I left the bag of blood and bones on Earth, and watched from a dimension unseen.
I saw myself slip into a cardiac arrest, watched them try to revive me. They couldn't though- the meat of my body had just ceased to work. I saw tears streaming down Annie's pale cheeks, though I couldn't understand why. Did she cry this way for all of her patients? I watched, curiously insensate, as she reached into her breast pocket and pulled out a wallet-sized picture. I was by her side, black suit and bowtie in perfect contrast with the clear white of her dress. She leaned over my body and tucked the picture gently under my pillow. She bent down and kissed my cheek, her tears moistening my pallid skin. "I love you," she murmured into the air.
I watched her walk to the end of the corridor, saw her disappear as she turned down the hallway. "After all she was willing to do for me," I though for myself, half imagined half- memories flitting through my mind, "The least I could do is care for her." I followed her quickly down the hallway, raised my invisible hands in benediction over her crown. I would bring her luck; I would keep her safe.
Outside the window, the newly-revealed sun shone on the fourteenth.
User Reviews
Submitted by Bubba2341 (user info) at 2007-10-17 21:24:01 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Wacky SACCY!!!
Submitted by Sacrilicious (user info) at 2007-02-03 11:45:03 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
HEY RIPPLE-
http://www.ubersite.com/m/98252
WOO
I'll try to try.
Submitted by Sacrilicious (user info) at 2007-01-30 00:26:49 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
I liked the overall theme and such, but I am a little confused. It's probably just my late night reading comprehension, but his angel was a live woman, right? And if she turned out to be his wife, why did she keep it from him? Was it to protect his fragile post-coma state, or was she not really what she seemed and it was all a hallucination to him? I may have to come back to this.
Submitted by Orgasmatron (user info) at 2007-01-29 15:02:31 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
An odd pairing, this one. The simple and loveable 'boo' poem, or this developed story.
I wonder if I'd ever be so casual as to say "this is right after I came out of the coma, by the way..." In a sense, I hope so.
Submitted by CaptainThorns (user info) at 2007-01-29 10:04:15 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I liked it.
Submitted by TheUniter (user info) at 2007-01-29 02:28:58 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
.
Submitted by TheUniter (user info) at 2007-01-29 02:28:23 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Submitted by MyTeeOne (user info) at 2007-01-28 22:53:22 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
This should have more reviews, it's a really good piece. Her dialogue felt a little forced though... it didn't flow.
Submitted by ghola (user info) at 2007-01-28 15:50:59 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by goferforhire (user info) at 2007-01-28 14:16:27 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Yeah
Submitted by coley (user info) at 2007-01-28 02:28:17 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
awww...