Progression

Progression

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Joshua became aware that he was sitting in a park. I don’t think I’ve ever seen grass so green. He looked out over the lake, admiring the swans that seemed to glide effortlessly. It’s so peaceful here.

“Hi Josh, I’m glad you found your way.”

Josh turned, startled by the voice. He found himself sitting next to a girl, about his age of 16, with red hair that seemed to shine in the sunlight. A pale swath of freckles dusted her nose. Gosh, she’s so pretty.

“How, how do you know my name, Kali?” he managed to stammer.

“The same way you know mine.”

He must have looked dumbfounded. Her smile became laughter that seemed to float in the air, dipping and turning like a flight of butterflies.

“And thank you for the compliment.”

Josh felt his cheeks grow warm. Did I say that out loud? “Where … where are we? Is this some kind of dream?”

“It could be. We’ll see.”

Josh was about to ask what she meant when he felt a stabbing pain in his arm.

“Relax, you’re safe. Try and hold still,” a woman’s voice said.

Joshua opened his eyes. “There,” a nurse said as she held an intravenous needle in place and began taping it to his arm.

“What?” he tried to croak before she could shush him.

“You were in an accident. Don’t try to talk. They had to put a breathing tube in. Now that you’re awake, I’m sure the doctor will be in shortly to explain it all. For now, just rest.”

Josh took stock of himself. Other than a splitting headache, he felt fine. Make that confused but fine. I can’t remember what happened but I sure remember that dream. He felt his cheeks flush, although he wasn't sure why, and pushed the thought out of his mind.

As the nurse left, he tried to turn his head but found that he was wearing a neck collar. Rolling slightly on his side, he could see through an observation window. Several people were gathered looking at a back-lit image hanging on the wall. That doesn’t look like an X-ray. It looks more like cities at night that you see from an airplane.

The doctor was gesturing, explaining something it seemed. “Mom,” he croaked, recognizing her as one of the other people. Oh, shit. Hank’s there too. Hank was Katherine’s latest boyfriend and Josh didn’t like him at all.

I wonder what they’re saying, crossed his mind.

Focusing on the doctor, he heard, “You can see that both hemispheres of Josh’s brain show routine activity.” He pointed to a shining line on the right side. “This is the area that, quite frankly, we’re unsure of. There’s normally so little activity in this region that it doesn’t show up.”

“What’s that mean?” Katherine asked. “Is Josh going to be,” she hesitated, wiping her eyes. “Is he going to be all right?”

“As I said, his brain appears normal. What the extra activity means we’ll just have to wait and see. There’s a lot about the brain that we just don’t know.”

The doctor looked away. “He’s awake? OK, I’ll be right in.” Evidently he was talking to someone but Josh couldn’t see … couldn’t hear … who it was.

It was then that Josh became aware of the sounds around him. The clatter of bellows and the faint beeping of the monitoring equipment filled his ears. He glanced at the door and saw that it was shut. How am I hearing their conversation?

He moved his eyes back to the window and heard the doctor saying, “It appears he’s awake. I need to go and check him.”

“Doctor?” Katherine began.

“This is a good sign,” he reassured her.

As Josh listened, the doctor’s words seemed “lift” and Josh could sense more than just their meaning. The doctor was saying one thing but Josh could feel … doubt, curiosity; he’s not really sure about what my state is. He focused on his mother. Concern; she’s afraid for me. Sadness that I’m hurt; Love.

Hank put his arms around Katherine in a reassuring gesture. Anger! Fear! Josh pulled back, startled by the intensity of the emotions. He was distracted by the door to his room opening.

“Well, your back,” Doctor Jameson said a little too cheerfully.

“Ugggh.”

“Don’t try and talk. Let’s check you out and then we’ll see what we can do about removing all this,” he gestured. He ran a neurological check, asked about feeling in his legs and arms, and finally pronounced Josh “about as healthy as anyone I’ve seen.”

Josh sensed optimism behind his words.

“OK. I need you to close your eyes and when I say “now,” I need you to exhale really hard.”

Josh could see what was coming as the doctor ran over the steps in his mind. He nodded and closed his eyes.

“Now.” As he exhaled, he felt the tube slide out of his throat. “There you go. Now, you’re going to have a sore throat for a while but it’s normal and nothing to worry about. Nurse, I don’t see a need for the collar anymore.”

Josh sensed the nurse’s compassion as she undid the collar. “Poor baby. I’m glad you’re recovering so quickly. This should make you more comfortable.”

“Thank you,” he croaked. ”Yes, that’s much better.” The nurse looked startled and Josh realized that she hadn’t said anything out loud. He didn’t know exactly what was going on but, with the flexibility of youth, he accepted it. He realized, however, that he’d have to be more careful. No sense in freaking out the old folks. He stifled an urge to laugh.

Katherine came rushing into the room. “Josh, baby. Are you OK?” Josh held up a hand to keep her from squishing him.

“I’m fine Mom. I just have a bad headache.”

“Do you remember what happened? Hank said he found you in the driveway. Did you try and climb out your window again? I’ve told you how dangerous …”

“I don’t know, Mom. I don’t remember anything.”

“Temporary memory loss is not uncommon after a head blow like yours,” the doctor reassured.

“Thank you, Doctor Jameson.” Josh saw the doctor pull back and realized he’d done it again. Damn. I’ve got to watch that!

“How did you … “ he started but stopped when he saw Josh pointing at this name tag. “Ohhh. Well, I’d say you’re pretty sharp which speaks well for a full recovery.”

“I guess I owe you thanks as well, Hank,” Josh acknowledged.

Hank moved forward to stand next to Katherine. “Glad I was there.” The feelings of fear and anger coming from Hank surged over Josh and he gasped.

The emotions were dampened by feelings of concern. “Well,” said Doctor Jameson noticing the reaction, “we should let Josh rest. In spite of how well he seems to be doing, this was a major trauma. You folks can come back and see him tomorrow.”

Josh lay in the dim light, his thoughts racing. I’ve read stories about telepathy but this is just plain weird. And, speaking of weird, what’s with Hank? He closed his eyes …

The smell of early summer filled his senses. Soft grass lay under him, a few blades tickling the back of his neck. There was a warmth he could feel next to him. “Hello, Kali” he murmured.

“Hi Josh. It was easier this time, huh?”

Josh opened his eyes, squinting a bit in the bright sunshine. He turned his head to admire her profile. Watch what you think, he scolded himself. He watched her lips part and her magic laughter float out. He realized that it wasn’t laughter at him, it was laughter borne of joy and happiness.

“What was easier?”

“Coming here.”

“I only had to go to sleep.”

“Are you asleep? It doesn’t seem like it to me.” She reached over and took his hand. It was warm and soft. She smiled, her blue eyes twinkling. “We’ll see.”

“We’ll see,” he mimicked her. “What are you saying?

“Joshua – wake up.” It wasn’t Kali’s voice.

Opening his eyes, he saw his Mother sitting next to the bed. She was holding his hand, making him unsure of what just happened. Her smile was accompanied by a sense of caring and concern that washed over him.

“Hi, Mom.” He stretched. “ I was just having the strangest dream.”

He saw movement from the corner of his eye. He could tell Hank was there by the anger and … not fear, apprehension. He steeled himself and looked directly at the source and concentrated. There were the words and below that, the roiling emotions that had overwhelmed him. There’s something more. Like peeling back an onion, layer by layer, he saw … memories. There was Hank as a child, his father beating him while his mother cowered in a corner. He saw the boy grow, while his anger and frustration at being unable to stop his father festered in him. He saw the poison of those long ago wounds creep into Hank’s life until it permeated his every action. He watched in horror as Hank yelled at and threatened Katherine, each time promising it would be the last.

Joshua saw and understood and it made him feel like throwing up. He started to pull back but there was more. He saw Hank come into his room. You little bastard! I’m tired of you trying to come between me and your Mother. Consider this your only warning. If you don’t show me respect and start doing what I tell you, I’ll beat you within an inch of your life!”

The memory of what happened came flooding back. Josh had stood up to him even to the point of picking up a baseball bat and telling him to get the hell out. Hank had gone berserk, grabbing him, hitting him and throwing him across the room. Josh could remember the feel of hitting the window ledge … and falling.

Josh remembered everything. He whispered, “You don’t deserve respect.” As though in a trance, he repeated, “You don’t deserve respect!” several times, each time louder.

Hank’s head snapped up at those familiar words. Josh could feel the fear hit him. “I can explain.”

“Explain?” said Katherine in a horrified voice. “Explain what, Hank? What did you do?”

“Shut up, bitch!” he exploded, waves of intense anger driving Josh back into his pillow.

As if in slow motion, he saw Hank swing and Katherine crumple under his blow. He pulled back his foot and kicked her, sliding her limp body across the floor. “I warned you,” he shouted, spittle flying from his mouth.

Without thinking, Josh drove his mind deep into Hank’s, slashing with all the hatred he felt for this man who had hurt his mother. Hank froze. Josh watched as his eyes rolled up and he collapsed to the floor.

The door burst open and a flood of orderlies and nurses rushed in. As order returned to room, Josh watched as Katherine was placed on a gurney and taken away. Hank was pronounced dead “most likely from an aneurism,” the doctor said.

There were a lot of questions. Josh described what he had seen. He answered most questions with a simple, “I don’t know.” This seemed to satisfy the security people and the police.

I really don’t know. He wasn’t sure what he’d done but he was sure that Hank’s death was his doing. That, more than anything, bothered him.

Nurse Ida, he knew her name now, came in to check on him. “What’s the world come to?” she asked, her care and compassion soothing him like a balm. He closed his eyes.

“Hi Joshua,” a sweet familiar voice greeted him. The smell of fresh grass and the warmth of sunshine were like a welcoming hug. “You asked what this all meant the last time you were here.”

Josh looked around and stopped at Kali. “I’m beginning to wonder what anything means anymore.” Her magical laugh brought a smile to his face. “Just tell me – is any of this real?”

“Yes. It’s all real – if you want it to be.”

“So what, I go into a coma or something and live in my mind the rest of my life?” This time, the laughter came from every direction. Josh looked and saw others appear.

“Josh, haven’t you figured it out yet? You – we all – have a unique ability. It’s more than reading minds or even protecting ourselves. There are many who have this gift. We banded together and created this … space, this world where there are no secrets, where we can be ourselves without having to hide from others.”

Joshua blushed at the reminder but it felt good.

“If you decide to join us, all of you comes here. You’ll simply vanish. You’ll become a footnote in one of the stranger-than-fiction books.”

“My Mom,” he began and stopped. Now that Hank was gone, he felt sure his Mom would be fine. He was sure she’d miss him but, as he had learned, loss was a part of life.

“It’s you decision. Just know, you’d be welcome.”

He walked up to Kali, certain as to what her feelings were. He hugged her tightly and whispered, “We’ll see.” Her magical laughter was the only welcome he needed.


Notes:
An entry for the 7/28/13 round of "Invalid Item" 

Prompt: Image

Word Limit: Minimum: 500; Maximum: 5000
Word Count: 2,231

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